For the last 25 years, the man known as Joe the Barber has been offering homeless people in Hartford, Connecticut free haircuts in the park. They walk away sporting a new look, but also with new pride. For payment? He'll take a hug.
Conor Grennan reunited Anish's parents with their missing son, whom they had mourned every day for four years. 350 such families would be surprised at how Conor got into the business of saving kids with Next Generation Nepal.
Three long-time chums who made a pact to split the pot if one of them ever won the lottery got their payday last week, Georgia Lottery officials announced on Thursday. "I was just as tickled for them as I was for myself," Kenneth Wilson told NBC News. "We just had a verbal agreement and I felt like that had to be honored."
Since leaving his job as Microsoft's China business development director in 1999 and dedicating his life to improving global literacy, New York-based John Wood has put books in the hands of more than 7.8 million children in 10 countries in Asia and Africa.
Since the November election, 240 California prisoners facing potential life sentences have been set free. That's because voters changed California's tough three strikes sentencing law, which sent thousands of people to prison for terms of 25 years to life for minor, nonviolent crimes. The campaign's success is due in no small part to Sue Reams. Her son was one of those released, after 17 years in prison.
Twenty years ago, Harris Rosen had amassed a fortune with his seven Orlando hotels and decided it was time to give back. He targeted the local crime-infested neighborhood of Tangelo Park where the high school graduation rate was 25 percent. He gave every parent a daycare and pre-K program, but didn't stop there.
A mother who is recovering in the hospital after losing both legs below the knee while watching the Boston Marathon went from being devastated to feeling better. The woman and her daughter -- who is also recovering in the hospital -- were visited by U.S. Marines, men who understand what it's like to lose limbs.
Six-year-old Brantley Rogers severely injured his eye last week and was nervous about returning to class with an eye patch. But his Jacksonville, Florida kindergarten teacher made a world of difference for him when she crafted eye patches for all the students in the class.
A retired teacher, who has poured her $900,000 retirement nest egg into a technology classroom on wheels for underprivileged children, has gained an outpouring of national support, after her story aired last week on NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams.
A National Guardsman lost both legs in Iraq, but found a new mission helping others. It was a life-altering injury, but from the beginning, Dale Beatty had a positive attitude about it. Beatty created an organization Purple Heart Homes after a Builders Association -- of which he was a member -- helped him build a wheelchair-accessible home with wide doorways and roll-in bathrooms.
Richard A. Herman lived in the Watergate for more than 40 years and was a longtime patron of the arts, but the shy railroad heir was virtually unknown in Washington social circles for much of his long life. Family Matters of Greater Washington today announced that Herman, who died in November at 100, left the nonprofit organization 60 percent of his vast estate — $28 million, which the group says is one of the largest gifts ever to a local social service organization.
Typically, post office lines breed anger and frustration. But at the head of this queue on the campus of Penn State University in State College, Pa., you'll find nothing but joy. My mission is to make them have a little bit of levity on the way out and say, 'Hey, it's not so bad after all,' says Mike Herr. To that end, Mike lives by a simple motto: if you can't say something nice about someone, you're just not looking hard enough.
Former surgeon general C. Everett Koop died Monday in New Hampshire at age 96. Koop is justly renowned for spearheading the war on tobacco in the 1990s. But Koop was also pivotal, and saved just as many lives, because he forced the Republican Party to address the rampaging AIDS epidemic in the 1980s.
Tony Tolbert, a Harvard-educated lawyer in Los Angeles, decided to move into his mother's home so he could offer his own fully-furnished house to a homeless family of five, and give it to them rent-free for a year.
Do you remember the story two years ago about the homeless man with the golden voice who was discovered pan-handling for change on a cold Ohio street? It turns out, he didn't fall back into old habits and end up on the street again as some had worried. Williams now helps the homeless and addicted whenever he can. He maintains an apartment and continues recording voice-overs for Kraft Mac and Cheese commercials.
A couple who wished to remain anonymous purchased a minivan from Dick Hannah Toyota in Washington last week to donate to Portland Police Officer Paul Meyer and family after seeing news reports about Meyer's paralysis from an accident. A man contacted our dealership last week and told us he and his wife would like to purchase a Toyota Sienna minivan, wrote Brian Sanders, the car dealership's General Manager. They are paying cash for it, but they'll never sit behind the wheel. He and his wife are not wealthy, continued Sanders on the company's Facebook Page. They were both in the military and recently received a modest inheritance.
Going beyond his normal duties, a Kansas police officer responded to an elderly woman's house and ended up going grocery shopping for her and bringing back $50 worth of supplies, as well as a Christmas ham and poinsettia.
Former President George H.W. Bush and his wife, Barbara, congratulated President Barack Obama on Inauguration day in a statement saying in part, Our best wishes and prayers on this historic day.
An apparent attempt to rob a Papa John's pizza restaurant in Montana's capital went awry when the would-be robber started to cry. A man entered the restaurant and gave the cashier a note demanding money. He later broke down and confessed he was doing the deed for his wife and child. The cashier showed great compassion and cooked him dinner.
The Dearborn, Mo., couple who won a share of the largest jackpot in Powerball history plan to use their money to help a nearby community. Mark and Cindy Hill said they are helping Camden Point with new ball fields, firehouse and treatment plant.
Recent Stories
A Heartfelt Reminder to Appreciate the Ones We Love
Cherish the Woman Who Stands by You
Breaking Generational Cycles of Pain
Living by Your Own Values, Not Others' Approval
When Life Brings Rain, It’s Okay to Rest
Before You Judge Someone's Life, Take a Moment to Walk in Their Shoes.
A Friend Who Spreads Gossip is Not a True Friend at All
The Value of Human Connection Over Digital Convenience
The Quiet Kind of Love
One Day, Your Mom Won’t Call You Anymore
I’ve reached a point in my life...
Happiness is a mindset, a conscious choice we make every day