A teenager, who endured years of bullying, brought his classmates to tears at a school assembly that was later broadcast by a documentary in Britain. Educating Yorkshire placed cameras around the school and revealed a powerful breakthrough moment with a student who stammered, and his subsequent speech in front of the whole school.
"Whenever we can help a sick kid, we're going to do everything we can," said one Orange City firefighter Tuesday as he and his colleagues shaved their heads to show support for patients at the children's hospital. Between 40 and 50 firefighters visited patients at the hospital in a fun hair-shaving ceremony of solidarity.
A heartbreaking story ran in the Tampa Bay Times on October 8 about a brave boy, 15, who stood up in front of a church during Sunday services to ask someone to love him. The orphan had been raised in foster care and lived in a group home for boys. He made the drastic and courageous step because he wanted a loving family so bad. After the story ran, thousands filed requests to ask him to join theirs.
A retiring Massachusetts principal was tricked into going on the school rooftop to receive a very memorable going-away present. Students, parents and staff stretched across the parking lot below surprising the 36-year veteran educator with a loving flash mob of thanks.
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.
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.
In recognition of this honest teen returning a wallet full of cash with nothing missing, the god of thunder has rewarded him.
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.
Dying of cancer, Katelyn Norman, 14, created a bucket list. She wanted to dance at her prom and learn to drive, so her Tennessee high school organized ‘Light the Night for Kate,' preparing an elegant evening with all her favorite things and lining the road with candles for her to drive home.
A four-month-long walk on the ancient Santiago de Compostela offers young offenders a different pathway -- a route to redemption. Since 1982 more than 350 teenagers have walked the 2,496 kilometers along one of Christianity's most important pilgrimages -- at the end of which lies their own freedom.
For the homeless, the struggle for food and shelter tends to eclipse any other concerns – that's where these young lawyers come in.
From a cursory glance, with the recession sending thousands of unemployed millennials back to mom and dad's house, it would seem that anyone born within the last 20-odd years is in bad shape. But according to the results of a new study (and contrary to the opinion of anyone claiming that "the good old days" have come and gone), each new generation is happier than ones that came before it. What the heck do they have to be so smiley about?
In what is a 'rags to riches' story, Chanda Zaveri fled from the pressures of getting married at 17 and returned home 30 years later as a millionaire. Born in a conservative Marwari family, her mother wanted to force her into a marriage that she did not want and a life that she did not choose.
20-something siblings Katie and Ryan Moi could really use $13,000 right now but they still decided to return the bag of cash they found on the street to its rightful owner. "Obviously, we couldn't keep it," Katie, 21, told the Register-Guard. "When I had my laptop stolen, that was the worst feeling. I would not do that to someone else." Good karma followed with unexpected rewards.
Mac Gallegos was only 5 when his father, Army Sgt. Justin Gallegos, was killed in Afghanistan in 2009. To celebrate what would have been his 31st birthday, Mac wrote a letter to his father and wanted it to be flown as close to heaven as possible. Thanks to an Air Force pilot, he got his wish.
In 12 cities across two countries, nearly 500 business executives, advocates and celebrities slept outside on the streets in freezing temperatures Thursday night to let homeless kids know they matter. The decades-old Covenant House was able to raise more than 11 million dollars in conjunction with events held across North America.
Ben Overstreet badly wanted to play football, but when he started his senior year at Gulf High School in 1949, he stood 5-feet-5 and weighed 105 pounds. He became the equipment manager and water boy. His heroic journey came later, after joining the Air Force and flying missions over Vietnam.
17 years ago, a retired couple in Utah started making handmade wooden toys for poor and sick children. The little cars and trucks were received so enthusiastically in the local hospital, a workshop was set up which has since delivered more than 1.1 million toys to kids around the world. News spread around Cedar City telling of a Happy Factory where retired couples could come to laugh and give their time in a collective effort to make kids happy around the globe.
A New York college student who started a blog on self-acceptance in order to help other young women deal with body image taunts has become a viral hero to many for her frank and powerful online discussion about her weight.
An expanding body of research suggests people's moral compasses are active far earlier than previously thought. Young children and even babies demonstrate attributes such as generosity, empathy and a sense of justice, indicating that far from being born as clean slates, humans seem to have innate altruistic tendencies and are able to make moral choices at a remarkably young age.
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Happiness is a mindset, a conscious choice we make every day