Throughout her toughest years living with cancer, Brittany Booth's dazzling smile has never faded. And now, through the smallest gesture, the gutsy 15-year-old is casting hope and bringing smiles to thousands of Australia's sick children.
The Harding family in Montgomery, Ala., decided to make studying fun by cultivating their kids' natural curiosity and passions while they studied their lessons. They achieved amazing results: six children who started taking college classes before they were even teens.
A new project to record the stories of America's Greatest Generation was launched by a Boy Scout who lost his grandfather at an early age. Of the 16 million men and women galvanized during World War II, fewer than two million are still alive and many of them have never spoken about what they did during the war.
A whale came to these boaters asking for help. He was grateful enough to pose for pictures afterwards.
Nick Santillo's rare heart defect has kept him in and out of hospitals since he was an infant. The eight-year-old, who was born with only half the chambers in his heart, had his wish granted this morning when the TODAY show arranged for him to meet his hero, WWE champion wrestler John Cena.
Autism left 8-year-old Jonny Hickey closed off and isolated. Most of his social interactions resulted in painful awkwardness; unfamiliar situations can trigger terror or tantrums. Then, about two months ago, everything changed. Jonny forged a connection with a dog so unlikely that people familiar with it describe it as a miracle.
Are you sure money can't buy you happiness? New research suggests that the relationship between money and happiness and is far more complex. Two leading economists claim that the happiness levels of teens clearly determined the likelihood of whether they would go on to earn higher incomes later in life.
Ellen was excited to surprise two of her favorite teachers with a huge gift from Skype. They teach in a Title 1 school, which means more than 50% of students qualify for free lunches. The kids and their classrooms don't have enough money for supplies and other basic needs, so teachers often end up paying out of their own pocket.
Georgia teenager Zach Hodskins was told he'd never play college basketball, but now he's earned a spot on one of the nation's top teams, the University of Florida. The 17-year-old was born without the lower half of his left arm. He loves to flip stereotypes of his disability around.Read More
Out of the blue, in a country town along the Murry River in Victoria, Australia, Kaylene Bell's daughter received a mournful text Saturday morning that read, Love you bud - miss you more than words can say. The 15-year-old replied asking, Who is this? A text pinged back saying 'sorry', explaining that it was his son's old phone number and that he had passed away in 2009. He didn't think the number was being used. April Bell sent the perfect reply.
By the time Cesar Gutierrez was 16, he had already gone to jail twice, experimented with gang life, sold drugs and ran away from home. Today, the 22-year-old works at a popular Manhattan restaurant as a sous chef and has cooked with renown chef Daniel Boulud.
When Jihad Dib was appointed principal of Punchbowl Boys High School at age 33, it was a hotbed of violence and trouble. His modern and successful approach to reforming the school has transformed the student body and staff into a family, and recently earned him a Pride of Australia medal.
Over the past 12 years, the world has made stunning progress toward the goal of having more children attend primary school. In sub-Saharan Africa, enrollment in primary school is up 18 percent; and globally, the number of young children not attending school has been cut by 35 percent -- a huge achievement.
Parenting is a very complex task. If we're not careful, we will become too focused on one aspect and let the others fall by the wayside. Many times, I see parents who are intently focused on discipline, getting very caught up in it, and losing sight of the bigger picture.
Felix Finkbeiner is an environmental superstar and author of the book Tree by Tree who is at the helm of a global network of child activists whose aim is to mitigate climate change by reforesting the planet.
They are the green generation. Six young people who are doing incredible things to safeguard the environment were honored this week with the prestigious Brower Youth Award for 2010.
With the sluggish British economy, it's never been more difficult for young people to get a job. In fact for many graduates and teens, finding their way into employment can often feel like an impossible challenge rather than a right of passage. Despite research that suggests a 21% unemployment rate for this age group, there are still many ambitious young people who are creatively making their way in the world. Their persistence, initiative and success in times of such economic difficultly are doubly inspiring. Here are some of the top young entrepreneurs to look out for this year and the dynamic, forward thinking companies that have seen them make their fortune.
Lady Gaga, criticized recently for gaining weight, launched a new Body Revolution project on her LittleMonsters website, hoping to help build confidence in people with body-image issues. The pop star revealed she has suffered from bulimia and anorexia since she was 15.
A survey of 6,500 children aged between 11 and 15 showed the numbers taking drugs, smoking and drinking alcohol had all fallen over the past decade.
Kyle De Souza created the first Masaai night school in East Africa, where he spent seven months building solar and wind infrastructure that could power the lights for villagers who must work in the fields during daylight hours in one of the most impoverished communities in the world.
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