When Barack Obama was still a Senator running for president, a black elevator operator, Earl Smith, shared a moment with him at the Hyatt Regency hotel in Austin. His time with the future President was short, but Smith gave Obama something that he would carry with him for the rest of the campaign. The story of the elderly worker tells a lot about where this country has been and how far it has come.
A photo of a notebook page taped to a bathroom wall at her university has gone viral because of its encouraging and positive message meant for women who have written on the stalls about some of their saddest life experiences.
New Jersey Mayor Cory Booker has saved a woman from a house fire, shoveled the driveway of a local resident and invited families to stay at his house after Hurricane Sandy when the power was out. Now, the Newark politician has saved a dog who was left out in the frigid temperatures for hours.
The U.S. Navy Blue Angels squadron transformed its C-130 aircraft into a modern-day Santa's sleigh in support of the U.S Marine Corps' Toys for Tots Program, hauling several pallets of toys to children affected by Superstorm Sandy. The Blue Angel crew arrived from Florida in Wrightstown, N.J., where many residents have needed to forestall celebrating the holidays because the hurricane forced upon them more pressing concerns.
Hundreds of South Mississippians stood in line at the Biloxi Town Green where more than 1,500 lunches were served and more than 500 pounds of donations dropped off to benefit New York City firemen. So many people over the years have helped us. We just want to say thank you.
Dozens of homeless Milwaukeeans are improving their self-esteem with professional portraits from Help-Portrait Milwaukee, a local branch of the global initiative that arranges for photography sessions to benefit those in need. Worldwide, more than 200,000 portraits have been taken by more than 16,000 volunteer photographers in 60 countries, according to the international organization.
A nice story was posted on Reddit about a friendship between a young shop girl and a homeless veteran who hangs out near where she works (photo, right). She received a gift from him the other day and shared the story with photos on December 5.
After living through Hurricane Katrina six years ago, New Orleans firefighters recalled the help provided by New York City Firefighters, who arrived on the seen within days of the Louisiana levees breaking. Now they are repaying the favor, clearing out tons of debris in homes of firefighters whose Breezy Point homes were flooded.
Fighting back tears, the father of a 6-year-old killed in Friday's school shooting shared with reporters some surprising words of sympathy for the gunman's family.
More than 1,700 children and spouses of American soldiers killed in action were treated to an all-expense-paid visit to the Dallas/Fort Worth area for the seventh annual Snowball Express – a five day event to honor their sacrifice and bring joy and new memories to the families during the holidays. Their partners, American Airlines, donated nine chartered aircraft to bring families from 54 cities.
A surprise gift during an Eastman School of Music concert drew a standing ovation and prompted the conductor to say it was the best moment he'd ever witnessed. Tara Fayazi, a tuba player, works really hard to afford classes at the conservatory but she's never been able to own her own instrument. 11 months ago, her friends began organizing fundraisers to help pay for one.
Al Capri pays just 50 cents for his therapy sessions and thousands of children have benefitted. Al's therapy comes from sitting in front of the claw machine, meticulously grabbing stuffed toys with the claw using concentration of a surgeon. He always wins the toys, which he donates by the boxful to needy kids.
This week, a Walmart store in Hastings, Mich., received a $10,000 check from an anonymous donor to pay off 43 customers' layaway accounts in their entirety, no strings attached. Anonymous donors such as this one are showing up across the country at some of the nation's biggest retailers.
The text from Sister Diane at St. Ignatius Martyr church was as odd as it was urgent: A man is going to call. You must answer the phone. Kerry Ann Troy had just finished her daily cry time – that half-hour between dropping the kids off at school and driving back to her gutted house on New York's Long Island or to the hurricane relief center.
It started as a way for one Montana family to talk about the tragic school shooting of 26 children and adults. Now it's blossoming into an international movement to build a chain of handmade paper hearts to stretch for miles. Organizers will send a first shipment of 10,000 hearts – each linked to another and with its own personal message – this week.
In a show of seasonal goodwill, coffee drinkers in line at a Winnipeg drive-through paid it forward for 228 customers in a row on Friday, according to the staff at Tim Hortons. A customer at the Manitoba coffee shop started the chain by paying for his own order and the order for the car behind him. Inspired by the generosity, drivers paid it backward for the next three hours.
At least four Facebook pages were created to reunite people with photographs, kayaks, wedding invitations and other cherished mementos they thought were lost during Superstorm Sandy. The sites have reunited a woman with her wedding dress, an urn containing cremated ashes with a loved one, a mother with a baby album and the congregation of St. Elisabeth's Chapel-by-the Sea in Ortley Beach, which was destroyed by the storm, with a plaque bearing names.
Jean Kabre is the concierge and event planner at 101 Constitution — a place full of people focused on power, influence, and Congressional lobbying. But when word got out that Kabre was helping support dozens of family members in his home village in Burkina Faso, the people whom Kabre had come to know as his friends, pitched in at astounding levels.
A program run by the Veterans Administration has successfully placed elderly U.S. vets with families who receive stipends for providing room and board. 1500 veterans are now living with families who want to thank the men for their service and keep them in loving homes instead of hospitals or nursing homes.
Even those hit hard financially by the devastation of Hurricane Sandy themselves, were reaching out to help families in Queens, N.Y., who are still in need 17 days later. One businessman who lost $160,000 in inventory still thought to use his Thanksgiving as a time to serve those worse off.
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