The Rector and congregation of St John's Episcopal Church in Aberdeen have offered the hand of Christian fellowship - and part of their church building - to the hundreds of Muslims attending a neighboring and overcrowded mosque. The Aberdeen mosque is so busy at times that members of the Muslim community were having to pray outside in the wind and rain.
Bullied every day for years because of his lisp, Josh moved to London, Ontario, in 2011. Determined not to be put in a box by his new classmates, the remarkable young man dramatically changed the trajectory of his life with one small idea: he would hold open the door at school each day. He held the door open for hundreds of teenagers that first morning - and every morning since. At first they didn't know what to make of the stranger, but then, something happened.
A stray dog has run alongside cyclists on their 1000-mile journey across China after a rider gave him some food. He ran alongside them for 24 days, covering up to 37 miles a day. Remarkably, the dog was indefatigable throughout the rest of the adventure and climbed over 10 mountains along the route.
We've all found ourselves around friends that just don't benefit us positively anymore – so here's how to detach yourself from the unhealthy relationships.
On this Memorial Day, here is a heart-warming story about a soldier who vowed to take care of his partner if they both escaped Afghanistan alive. Marine Sgt. Ross Gundlach made that promise to a canine bomb-sniffer, a loving co-worker he felt especially indebted to. His persistent pleas with Iowa officials about adoption eventually earned empathy, and an elaborate surprise.
Sometimes change happens in the most unlikely ways, fostered by the most unlikely people. In the last few years, while Israel's relationship with the Arab and Muslim world has drastically deteriorated, an Israeli heavy metal band has been uniting thousands of Jews and Muslims across the Middle East, touting the power of music to turn purported enemies into friends.
Near Bridgewater, Mass., a band of brothers from a football team heard about their fiercely-loved water boy getting teased. The small 6-year-old boy who has some speech impediments was being teased for wearing tweed suits with ties every day.
Air Force officer James Mitchell, overwhelmed by the hardship and destruction he witnessed in Vietnam, decided to visit the Sacred Heart Orphanage. When baby #889 was placed in his arms, he knew it was meant to be. 19 Years after her adoption from the Da Nang orphanage, Kimberly Mitchell chose a career in the Navy to fulfill her fathers wish.
Seeing eye dogs usually help blind people get around, but at one Florida Humane Society, there's one little dog who's actually helping out a four-legged friend. Sarah is visually impaired and Max acts as her seeing-eye dog.
In the scrub-brush desert town of Queen Creek, Ariz., high school bullies were throwing trash at sophomore Chy Johnson. Calling her stupid. Pushing her in the halls. Chy's mother wanted justice, so she called the captain of the football team, who knew the girl.
When she was 15, Sarah Cronk set up her school's first inclusive cheerleading squad at Pleasant Valley High School in Bettendorf, Iowa. Now, at 18 she is the founder of The Sparkle Effect, which helps schools around the country to include boys and first with disabilities in the dance teams and cheerleading squads. While Pleasant Valley's program is now in its 6th season and includes 21 students, Sarah's national program has raised more than $150,000 and generated 65 inclusive squads across the country.
Muscular dystrophy robbed Nick Torrance of his ability to walk and open his locker at school. Fortunately, Nick's high school classmates cared enough to used their robotics ingenuity to create an automatic locker opener.
A San Diego woman first formed a bond with a Chinese goose at Miramar Lake 20 years ago. After a 10-year break, she went back to the lake to see if he was still there. As soon as she pulled up in the car she said she recognized 'Blanco'. She got out of the car and said, Blanco? His telescoping neck shot up in the air and it was like they'd never been apart.
As a Muslim woman who teaches classes about the Holocaust at a Catholic college, I am constantly frustrated by the negative media coverage of the Middle East. A documentary recently aired on Al Jazeera was an extremely heartening exception to the rule. The film, Jerusalem SOS, told the stories of Jews and Muslims saving each other's lives.
Benetton's spring and summer catalog is a brilliant photo essay documenting real-life Palestinians and Israelis getting along together in friendship, and even love- historical enemies working, living and playing together.
126 years to the day since the copper lady was first unveiled in New York City's harbor, and after a year-long renovation, the Statue Of Liberty is set to receive visitors once again inside her crown. A Sunday ceremony marked the reopening of the statue's crown and new access to a lower observation deck for the first time to visitors with disabilities.
When Beth Zilbert trained her rescued Golden retriever, Luke, to become a therapy dog, she had no idea that one day he would help her survive her own trauma.
In October 2013, Louis Munoz donated one of his kidneys to William Lynch. The organ match would not have occurred without a bit of serendipity and a big love of football: Munoz and Lynch hadn't seen each other in years – then they found themselves randomly seated next to each other with season tickets for San Diego Chargers games.
A goat meant as a meal for a safari park's tiger so impressed the big cat with his bravery, they've become best friends.
Tyrell Clay, the football quarterback, is the most popular boy at Miller High School in Corpus Christi, Texas. Adam, on the other hand, has been picked on and called names - and was nominated to the prom court as a joke. What Tyrell did that night on stage surprised everyone -- especially Adam, who can now walk down the hallways with his head held high.
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