It was hope in the form of a 12-year-old boy that saved Vincent Shao from sinking beneath the waves and drowning at Waihi Beach on Saturday. I thought I was going to die, the 32-year-old Auckland resident said after he lost his footing in waist-deep water while checking crab pots, and succumbed to a rip current.
Two brothers with Duchenne muscular dystrophy have formed a special relationship with the Ohio State Buckeyes football team, one that resembles a loving family. Jacob Jarvis, 14, and his younger brother Noah Studebaker, 7, each have the disease, the most common fatal childhood genetic disorder. The siblings have been friends of the Ohio State coach, […]
When a seven-year-old girl left chemotherapy for a Winnipeg Jets hockey game, she couldn't have known how a whole city was about to rally around her, particularly a generous boy named Keaton.
Makenna Finnegan was on a pace to break her own personal record at a middle school cross-country meet, but was more interested in helping someone in pain.
A British teenager has become the youngest person to reach the South Pole. Lewis Clarke, 16, from Bristol, spent almost 50 days on ice, skiing for an average of eight hours a day in frigid temps of 50 below zero with ferocious winds.
After hearing her parents fight, this adorable little girl delivers a stunningly-wise lecture about the importance of being kind to one another.
Born premature, Erin Baur (pictured, left) has learning, hearing and speech disabilities. She also has a passion for dogs. The Ohio middle schooler learned that Chief Powalie of Painesville Police Department would like a new K9 because his current K9 will be retiring soon, so she set out to raise $11,000 and rally a community.
Eboni Stevenson, a senior at Thomas Jefferson High School in Denver, won an award recently for devoting more than 3,000 hours of her time to volunteer work - a new record.
When elderly veteran Charles Mowbray came to her primary school to talk about his experience in World War II, Leanna Morris wondered why he didn't bring his medals. He only brought pictures of medals. When she learned it was because her government forgot to send them, she wrote a letter to her senator. This week the girl was honored at a school assembly. The letter had worked.
When she was seven, Blakely Colvin had to endure three years of chemotherapy to counter the effects of a rare auto-immune disease, but her empathy for child cancer patients really kicked-in when she was in eighth grade and heard about another student her age who was diagnosed with leukemia and forced to quit school to battle the cancer. Without even knowing the boy, she decided to help his family and give him a reason to smile again. Her inspiration came from her love of baking and cupcakes. Her desire to make a difference in the life of just one cancer kid has in five years blossomed into a cupcake charity empire spanning fifteen states that has raised more than $85,000 to help children like Kevin.
16-year-old Allyson Ahlstrom of Santa Rosa, Calif., wasn't satisfied with the idea of underprivileged teen girls settling for wearing used clothing from a thrift shop. At an age when outward pressures can easily threaten a girl's self esteem, she should be able to look her best and take pride in her appearance. That's why Allyson created Threads for Teens, a clothing boutique that gives girls in need a confidence-booster when they walk out the door with two brand new head-to-toe outfits. This month she was named one of 15 teen Huggable Heroes and awarded $10,000 in cash and a $7,500 educational scholarship for her outstanding work.
Regular family suppers contribute to good mental health in adolescents, according to a study co-authored by McGill University professor Frank Elgar. Despite the fact that teens may squirm under the barrage of parental questioning, there are benefits to these family meals -- regardless of whether or not they can easily talk to their parents.
Tracy Lynn DelValle of Gardner, Massachusetts posted a story and photo on Facebook proving that (in her words), Not all kids nowadays are thoughtless. It only took them 30 seconds to respond to an elderly lady laboring to shovel snow.
Nick Ruth has been playing the Lottery for just over a year, but this past Friday, he said it "just felt right." Following that intuition made him $250,000 richer. The young winner, who has been in remission from leukemia for seven years, said: "As a cancer survivor, it is really important for me to give back. I want to ‘pay forward' what some wonderful local organizations did for me.
Natasha Tse was born prematurely at 29 weeks with congenital cerebral palsy but starting at age five she used therapeutic riding to re-invent herself as an athlete. She earned Hong Kong a place in the London Paralympics equestrian dressage competition in London this week.
14 Year old Will Thomas is not just shooting hoops. He's using his jump shot, and Operation Hawkeye, to honor and raise money for fallen special operation troops and their families.
Before his swim meet on Dec. 7 had even started, Florida swimmer Josh Zuchowski, 9, decided he was not only going to compete in honor of his biggest rival, but also win the top trophy in the event and give it to him.
Avid soccer player Bree McMahon was undeterred after an accident took her leg in her final year at high school. Keeping herself fixed on her goal, she is now running again.
It was through sheer force of will and spirit -- and not fancy sneakers -- that a group of indigenous boys from the mountains of Mexico won a world youth basketball tournament, trouncing their opponents even while several players ran barefoot. The boys, even with their short stature, won with scores ranging from 40-16 to 86-3, according to their local Oaxaca state government, which hailed them as returning heroes Thursday.
An Edmond, Oklahoma boy wrote to a television station about his brother who has cerebral palsy. The words, the penmanship are clearly those of a young child, but the compassion and caring speaks of a much older soul.
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