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One Mom's Wish for her Dying Son: Banana Splits for Dinner

Moms and dads all over the world are serving banana splits for dinner in the sweetest of tributes to a dying child and the mother who's determined to find the joy in his last days. After Diane told friends that that their 21-month-old son, Ryan, was at the end of his life, everyone wanted to know what else they could do. No more cards or gifts of flowers for Diane. She urged them to create a special memory with their own kids by serving banana splits for dinner.

Upload Your Smiling Face to Yoko Ono's New Smile App

In the 1960s Yoko Ono conceived that her ultimate film would be one that included the smiling face of every person in the world. Now, her idea has come to life as an iPhone app. #Smilesfilm allows people around the world to upload snapshots of smiling faces. Users can view them all geographically on a map or in a moving slideshow chronologically.

By Jeanne Goddard

29 June 28 Views

Teresa Project Update: 375 Birthday Cards Deliver Well-wishes to Homebound Sister

We received an update on the Teresa Project birthday card campaign. As of today, Teresa, whose brother sought to flood her mailbox with birthday cards this year, has received 375 cards and letters, along with gifts from all across Florida and Tennessee and two dozen other states, as well as Canada, England, Ireland, Australia, Germany and The Netherlands.Read More

By Jeanne Goddard

17 July 25 Views

Ice Cream Company Delivers Joy Across Afghanistan

In a nation wrenched by decades of war, perhaps it is no surprise that one of Afghanistan's most successful brands manufactures what is sorely lacking in the country: joy. The Herat ice cream factory dips vanilla bars in chocolate, and creates orange sorbets and frozen cones that are sold in each of the country's 34 provinces, a rare success for a business benefitting from no foreign investment.

By Jeanne Goddard

31 July 30 Views

Are You Happy? Ben Bernanke Wants to Know

Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said Monday that gauging happiness can be as important for measuring economic progress as determining whether inflation is low or unemployment high. Economics is also about understanding and promoting the enhancement of well-being, which is the ultimate objective of our policy decisions

By Jeanne Goddard

10 August 26 Views

23-Year-old 'Hears Music' for the First Time: Mozart Blew Me Away

Austin Chapman was born profoundly deaf and says he has never understood why people were so moved by music. But that changed two weeks ago, when he tried a new modern hearing device for the first time.

By Jeanne Goddard

16 August 35 Views

Aging Better With Art: Low-Income Seniors Thrive in Artists Colony

Tim Carpenter is changing the way elderly Californians experience aging by turning low-cost senior housing communities into vibrant centers for learning and creativity. The 13-year-old Los Angeles-area program, EngAGE, provides arts, theater and wellness classes for some 5,000 people — the vast majority of them low-income — living in senior apartment communities.

By Jeanne Goddard

17 August 23 Views

Happiness Gene Discovered - But it Only Works for Women

Scientists have discovered a gene that makes people happy, but it is said to work only in women. The findings could help explain why women are often happier than men, the team of US researchers said. The study focused on a gene called MAOA that affects the levels of feel-good chemicals in the brain. Dr. Henian Chen said its effects could be cancelled out by testosterone.

By Jeanne Goddard

27 August 25 Views

Give A Fudge! Nominate an Inspirational Friend to Receive Free Gourmet Fudge for WS's 15th Anniversary

Do you know someone in the United States who is always looking on the bright side, cheering others when they need it most? In honor of the Good News Network's 15th anniversary, we will send a free gift box of gourmet fudge to five positive people nominated by WS fans to be honorary Good News Ambassadors, for their consistent efforts to inspire others.

By Jeanne Goddard

28 August 29 Views

Young Homeless Mom Fighting Cancer Surprised With New Home

Lunchtime conversations with strangers can sometimes lead to miraculous luck. Such was the outcome for an Alabama woman working at a sandwich shop whose friendship with a compassionate Methodist Pastor led to a fresh start.

By Jeanne Goddard

11 September 32 Views

DC Commuters Have Happy Mondays Thanks to Man Waving Uplifting Signs

Bleary-eyed drivers entering Washington, DC on Monday mornings, are jolted into happiness by people waving with signs with optimistic slogans from the side of the road. Held by 29-year-old Massoud Adibpour and 4 other volunteers, the signs were scrawled with uplifting messages: "Honk if you love someone!"; "Be happy"; "Don't be so hard on yourself"; and, "Smile!"

By Teresa Helton

03 September 26 Views

CONTEST: What Good News Means to Me, Prizes for 4 Best Entries

Fifteen years ago on Labor Day weekend I clicked the button for the first time that uploaded the Good News Network website, allowing anyone in the world to see it on the internet. To mark the anniversary, I am launching a contest called, What 'Good News' Means to Me. I've got some SUPER life-enhancing prizes to award for my four favorite entries.

By Jeanne Goddard

03 September 29 Views

Man and Goose Form Unlikely Friendship

They walk around the park together like they're in love, reports Steve Hartman. It all started when a gray goose named Maria started following Dominic every time he went to his local Los Angeles park.

By Jeanne Goddard

16 October 28 Views

15-Year-Old Dog Survives Two Months in the Wild

After 3 1/2 days searching for his dog across the mountain trails in Santa Fe, N.M., camper Mike Stotts decided he had to accept what park rangers and fellow campers had been telling him: That no 15-year-old house dog with diminished hearing could survive that long without food or water among the coyotes and mid-August heat.

By Jeanne Goddard

17 October 26 Views

4 Quick Tips to Find-and Keep-Happiness

Happiness, or the lack thereof, lies at the root of what makes life meaningful. But it is sometimes hard to figure out what exactly constitutes happiness, especially in a culture like the Unites States that tends to conflate money with meaning. Roko Belic, the director of Happy, the documentary, offers four tips to develop a happiness skill set.

By Jeanne Goddard

24 October 33 Views

Teenage Sweethearts Separated During the Holocaust Reunited

When he was 15, Thomas Beck escaped from a Nazi prison camp in Budapest - but he left behind his teenage sweetheart, Edith Greiman, 14. There seemed no chance of them ever seeing each other again, for Thomas eventually made his way to Australia and set up a new life. But fate stepped in.

By Jeanne Goddard

03 November 31 Views

US Consumer Confidence Highest In Nearly Five Years as Economy Adds 171K Jobs

In October, US consumer confidence hit the highest point since February 2008, and private sector businesses added more jobs than at any time in the last eight months. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the US economy added 171,000 jobs last month, 50,000 more than economists had expected.

By Jeanne Goddard

02 November 27 Views

Baboon Adopts Stray Kitten, Carries it Everywhere (Video)

At a petting zoo in Israel, a baboon has adopted a tiny kitten who recently strayed into its cage and then refused to leave. The baboon now cares for the kitten, checking it for fleas, and rarely lets the feline out of her sight.

By Jeanne Goddard

09 November 27 Views

Happy Employees, Culture of 'Weirdness' Equals Success for Green Products Company Method

Since Adam Lowry and Eric Ryan launched Method in 2000, to sell pretty bottles of eco-friendly soaps and cleaners in glowing pastel colors, the company has grown into a $100 million (£62.3m) company. Their company's culture of keeping it weird is a social mission that keeps employees happy. To stay focused on employee happiness and high-end innovative design is the business model.

By Jeanne Goddard

16 November 24 Views

Digital Gratitude Journal for the World Launched by UC Berkeley Center

Robert Emmons was shocked. The University of California psychologist found that after just ten weeks, people who kept a gratitude journal were 25 percent happier than people who didn't. People who were reminded to say thank you at least once a day were healthier and spent more time exercising. As he writes in an essay for the Greater Good Science Center, This is a massive difference. The gratitude group participants also experienced fewer symptoms of physical illness than those in either of the other two groups." This month the Center launched a web-based digital gratitude journal at Thnx4.org designed to track and promote the practice of gratitude worldwide while serving as an invaluable source of scientific data on gratitude.

By Jeanne Goddard

30 November 26 Views