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Bi-lingual Sweetheart to the Rescue at Gate A-4

Wandering around the airport terminal, after learning my flight had been detained four hours, I heard an announcement: "If anyone in the vicinity of Gate 4-A understands any Arabic, please come to the gate immediately." Gate 4-A was my own gate. I went there. An older woman in full traditional Palestinian embroidered dress, just like my grandma wore, was crumpled to the floor, wailing loudly. "Help," said the Flight Service Person. "We told her the flight was going to be late and she did this." In my halting Arabic, I was able to soothe her worried mind. Not only that, by the end of four hours, all the women at the gate were as one, bonded by the old woman sharing her cookies.

Standing Ovation: Wheelchair-bound University Student Walks Across Stage at Graduation

The University of Portland gave a standing ovation this month to one of their own, Sam Bridgman, a finance major who was forced into a wheelchair by a condition known as Friedreich's ataxia (FA), a rare, degenerative disorder that causes progressive loss of muscle strength. It was graduation day and Sam was determined to walk across the stage to get his diploma. When he did, the entire arena lifted him up with prolonged cheers.

By Jeanne Goddard

15 May 28 Views

Parking Meter 'Robin Hoods' Save Motorists From Tickets

James Cleaveland decided to devote himself to helping drivers in the city of Keene, New Hampshire, avoid the disgust of finding a parking ticket on their car. Cleaveland and a group of friends took to the streets with pocketfuls of change and began shadowing the city's three parking enforcement officers, stuffing coins in expired meters before they could issue $5 tickets -- so far, helping 2000 motorists.

By Jeanne Goddard

16 May 27 Views

Crime and Punishment: Juvenile Offenders Study Russian Literature

Something strange is happening at Beaumont Juvenile Correctional Center. Residents are so eager to get into a Russian literature class led by the University of Virginia that prison officials use it as a reward. The youths are clamoring to read thick books like War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy, a moral thinker and non-violent pacifist who was said to have had a profound impact on Mohandas Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr.

By Jeanne Goddard

15 May 23 Views

Sandy-damaged High School Wins Dream Prom From Online Shop

Glamorous gowns and high heels took the place of Hurricane Sandy's damage and destruction for teens at East Rockaway High School in New York who are getting the chance to have their dream prom after winning a contest held by internet company Rent The Runway.

By Jeanne Goddard

19 May 43 Views

Woman Answers Wrong Number Saves Life of Elderly Man 1000 Miles Away

Saving a life sometimes could take something as simple as a call back. Just ask Thomas Buck, an 84-year-old from Pennsylvania whose life was saved by a complete stranger more than 1,000 miles away – who called him back.

By Jeanne Goddard

10 May 31 Views

Plea to Save Home of 91-Year-old Vet Raises $138,000 on the Internet

As 91-year-old John Jack Potter faced eviction from the house he built and lived in for 56 years, his granddaughter decided to act. She set up a donation campaign on the website, Go Fund Me, and her story about the WWII combat vet losing his home attracted more than 5000 people who gave $138,000.

By Jeanne Goddard

21 May 27 Views

Veterans to the Rescue in Oklahoma, Doing the Heavy Lifting in Tornado Ravaged Towns

They volunteered for Iraq and Afghanistan. Now they are volunteering to help people in Oklahoma to dig out from utter devastation. These veterans have answered the call for duty because their drive toward service and helping their country has not ended just because they hung up their uniform.

By Jeanne Goddard

21 May 37 Views

The Power of Spontaneous Community Caring

The Eastern Market neighborhood near Capitol Hill was the scene of a remarkable community rescue during a sudden eviction of one of their most colorful residents. On a recent day when Michael's possessions began filling the sidewalk under the orders of federal marshals, a few of his neighbors wondered if there was something they could do to help. In the end, the neighborhood characters each played a role in protecting the dignity of one of their own.

By Jeanne Goddard

25 May 36 Views

Wedding Services All Conjured Last-Minute for Bride With Sudden, Severe Cancer

Proof that human kindness and generosity has not gone out of style, a wedding planner worked for weeks with volunteers and vendors in April to create the Wedding of a Lifetime for cancer patient, Jennifer Batugo and her fiance Brian Gargano. They needed a last minute date change for their planned August wedding because the bride may not live that long.

By Jeanne Goddard

27 May 26 Views

Woman Who Found Dog in Rubble Receives Outpouring of Donations to Replace Home

The video of an elderly woman finding her dog beneath the rubble of her home in Moore, Oklahoma after it had been leveled by a tornado so moved people that they began emailing the CBS news team with offers of support. Erin DeRuggiero, of Minneapolis, Minn., went a step further when she learned that Barbara Garcia's home had not been insured. She set up a fundraising page on GoFundMe with a simple plea, Let's show her what love and community is all about.

By Jeanne Goddard

30 May 21 Views

Woman Reunites With Abandoned Baby She Found in 1951

A 62-year-old woman's desire to find her birth mother led her back to California and into the arms of the resident who found the abandoned infant, in the front seat of her car. I lifted the lid, and these two little eyes were staring at me. Now, she is looking into those eyes six decades later and is grateful for a new friendship.

31 May 28 Views

Gardeners Team Up to Grow 60,000 Pounds of Produce for New Mexico Food Pantries

In 2008 Leslie Davis suggested to her mother, a Master Gardener in New Mexico, that in addition to cultivating flowers for worthy causes, she might try growing fresh produce for the community, especially since the recent recession had left so many people unemployed who were visiting overburdened food pantries. That discussion five years ago grew like a seed into a thriving bounty of volunteers who harvest thousands of pounds of produce, sometimes in a singe weekend, for people in need.

By Jeanne Goddard

31 May 34 Views

An Unexpected Hero in Boston Relief Efforts: the Reddit Website

The power of social media was revealed on Reddit when regulars there rallied to provide aid to victims of the Boston Marathon bombings. Overnight, heroes were recognized and thousands of netizens donated to those people everything from pizzas to rooms with hot showers to free miles for airline flights. (CS Monitor)

By Jeanne Goddard

18 April 39 Views

Donations Pour in for Newlyweds Who Lost Limbs in Boston Attack

Donors have flooded crowdfunding campaigns set up for individual victims of Monday's bombings at the Boston Marathon, raising more than $1 million in a matter of days. The campaign for newlyweds who both lost limbs has raised $518,971.

By Jeanne Goddard

20 April 31 Views

Happiness Clubs Spread Positive Vibes on Campus

From passing out lollipops to distributing free iced tea and hugs outside the library at finals, Happiness clubs on college campuses around the country are aiming to uplift their peers throughout the academic year.

By Jeanne Goddard

21 April 24 Views

Chinese Billionaire Donates $2Bil to Education, Health and Environment

The founder of China's largest social network is donating $2bil to education, health, and the environment, a sign that wealthy Chinese are coming around to philanthropy

20 April 27 Views

Boston Cop is Internet Hero for Delivering Milk for Toddler During Lockdown (PHOTO)

A Reddit user posted this photo taken by his friend who lives in Watertown where families were ordered yesterday to stay indoors during a manhunt for the Marathon bomber suspect. The family asked if they could go get milk for their 16 month old son. A policeman, likely working long hours already, went to the store for them and delivered the milk to the house.

By Jeanne Goddard

21 April 30 Views

Stories of Kindness After the Bombing

From the smoke in Boston today heartening stories arose of kindness emerging from tragedy: people on Twitter urging others to note the people who run towards the explosions, not a way from them; stories of heroism from runners...

By Jeanne Goddard

15 April 33 Views

(UPDATED w/ Video) Harvard Students Take Time to Thank the Janitors

The Harvard Business School took some time last week to show their gratitude for all the work that goes into the MBA experience. The Give Thanks project involved faculty and students being kind to the staff who works so hard every day. The school's Harbus News reported some plans to deliver more than 900 personally written thank-you notes, as well as bringing coffee and bagels to the staff break room.

By Jeanne Goddard

15 April 31 Views