A mother-of-three in Maryland had a simple idea: She used her parenting blog Scary Mommy to ask followers to make donations to help a family afford a Thanksgiving feast. Over 600 respondents pitched it and she raised over $18,000 in supermarket gift cards for those who couldn't afford food – providing dinner for 378 families.
Psychologists are discovering why gratitude is so good for you, learning in many experiments that it is one of humanity's most powerful emotions. It makes you happier and can change your attitude about life, like an emotional reset button. Especially in hard times, like these.
To combat the devastation caused by illegal assault rifles in Africa's war zones, founder of Ethos water, Peter Thum, announced this week the launch of Fonderie 47. Based in New York City, Fonderie 47 removes AK47s from war zones and transforms them into rare watches and $32,000 cufflinks.
Aided by a grant from Chevrolet, a professional photographer is helping homeless children visualize their dreams through the lens of a camera. Pictures of Hope will travel to ten homeless shelters in ten cities this year.
Austrian millionaire Karl Rabeder is giving away every penny of his $4.6 million fortune after realizing his riches were making him unhappy. His entire proceeds are going to charities he set up for and Latin America.
Entrepreneurial success stories are the stuff of which American dreams are made. Much like Oprah Winfrey and Steve Jobs, the six self-made millionaires profiled here have one thing in common: Thanks to hard work, determination and sound advice from mentors, friends and family, they've been able to build thriving businesses from the ground up. All have advice for young entrepreneurs.
The overwhelming support shown to block club leader Cheryl Walker Williams, whose home was firebombed by drug dealers deserves the praise of the entire community. Walker Williams is a true hero in the city for helping to organize an East Side block club and standing up to ongoing drug dealer intimidation.
Midlife women are flourishing compared with men. Despite the daily gloom of economic predictions, women in midlife are more optimistic about their lives and futures than men are, finds a Gallup-Healthways daily poll of Americans' well-being. It may be key that the most optimistic women spend about six hours a day in social interaction.
Even the police stepped up to the challenge issued by London, Ontario to perform 1000 acts of kindness as a community this October. With just 2 days left, the third annual kindness challenge, issued by the London Urban Services Organization, has likely broken all city records for good deeds.
In New Zealand, a knitting circle formed for prisoners is churning out hats, slippers and scarves for donation to those in need in their community. The knitting does great things for the men's self worth as well.
Kienan Hebert was returned to his family home at about 3 a.m. last night, nearly five days after the young boy was reported missing. The B.C. boy's safe return comes a day after his father made an emotional plea to whoever had his child.
American Volunteers increased the number of hours they contributed to their communities last year, whether tutoring and mentoring students, fundraising, job training or assisting during natural disasters -- 8.1 billion hours in 2010.
On Sunday, 343 firefighters from across Texas donning their heavy coats and gear gathered in downtown Dallas to honor the lives of New York firefighters who died on 9/11. They climbed 100 flights of stairs at Dallas's Renaissance Tower to commemorate the lives of 343 from the New York Fire Department who died saving others on that day.
Disappointment turned into celebration and happiness after a group of manufacturing plant employees in Ottawa won $7 million in the lottery a day after their company announced massive layoffs.
It seems whenever we turn on the TV these days we witness disastrous scenes of flooding, fires, and typhoons forcing people from their homes and leaving businesses devastated. Yet, studying the trauma left in the wake of these disasters has provided researchers a way to discover how positive responses can also bloom in the aftermath of trauma.
After flooding ripped apart roads near Killington, Vermont, townspeople and school children have marshaled their resources, taking a quiet half-mile trail over a mountain and in two weeks' time turning it into the I-95 of wooded paths.
A new iPhone app launched this week, called LocalHero, lets friends help each other by identifying the people in a person's social network who are nearby and have the right skills or interests to assist with any task or need.
While everyone watches Hurricane Irene's next move along the eastern seaboard, hundreds of people from around the US are helping organize relief efforts. The help is arriving not only from geographically diverse regions, but also from diverse religious communities, as a Muslim relief agency stands ready to deploy in the emergency response.
A simple plan is making sure that D.C. children who live in the troubled communities east of the Anacostia River see welcoming black male faces on their way to school in the mornings. Four times a week, at the crack of dawn, he and a small group of men walk the streets greeting students in a process they call "Safe Passage".
A young woman on a big horse guiding a group of clients on a ride through Glacier National Park likely saved a boy's life while proving that skill, quick-thinking and guts sometimes are the best weapons against a head-on charging bear.
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Happiness is a mindset, a conscious choice we make every day