Christina Summitt was tending bar when she mentioned to a friendly couple that her puppy, a great Dane mix, was rushed into surgery the previous day, and the vet bill was enormous. She is still crying over the tip they left her.
Some marriage proposals are elaborately staged affairs, but for one Rhode Island couple, a simple and spontaneous engagement in the rain, on a New York City sidewalk, will always be remembered, thanks to the priceless photos by a stranger.
Philanthropy is often associated with millionaires. The Biscuit Fund is an anonymous army of around 50 volunteers who are mainly on low incomes – and have met through social media - who give money to desperate people they read about.
Fifty-three-year-old Jerry Kajfasz (of Lancaster New York) won a $10 million jackpot from a $20 scratch-off ticket he purchased after the clerk nearly handed him an extra ticket.
With his short gray hair, watchful eyes, authoritative voice and stern manner, high school math teacher and Vietnam veteran Jim O'Connor is used to commanding respect in the classroom. So his students were surprised to learn about his nickname at the hospital where he volunteers: the baby whisperer.
The historic B&B Café normally opens only for breakfast and lunch, but on Friday and Saturday night the Castle Rock, Colorado eatery opened its doors so the whole town could help an ailing toddler.
With every can or bottle he collects and returns, Tyler Laviolette takes one step closer to fulfilling the dream of his parents, who wanted him to live a normal, independent and productive life despite being born with cerebral palsy and diagnosed with autism.
Enter Masbia's front door and you will be greeted by a smiling host, who'll then show you to your table. Moments later, an equally friendly server will offer you a hot and nutritious kosher meal, a fresh salad, and a beverage. The only difference between Masbia and other New York restaurants comes at the end of each meal when there is no charge. That's because Masbia—which means "to satiate" in Hebrew–is a soup kitchen for the hungry.
On Sunday, March 9, the Hirshberg Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research posed as cheerleaders to don purple pom-poms and encourage thousands of runners in the LA Marathon. An official charity for the LA Marathon, the Foundation rallied lots of volunteers and provided a peppy cheering squad to uplift runners and walkers as they grew nearer to the finish line just a few miles away. These photos by Angela_Daves-Haley will make you feel like you were there cheering, too.
A trend has strengthened this year throughout Canada and the US, as generous patrons at coffee and sandwich shop drive-through windows spread anonymous kindness to fellow restaurant-goers by bankrolling their meals-- paying their orders before they even get to the window. Social scientists have conducted experiments demonstrating that the effect of a single act of kindness can in fact ripple through a social network, setting off chains of generosity.
At an outdoor bus shelter in Montreal strangers have been holding hands this winter so they can keep warm. Duracell installed battery operated heaters that rely on the human body's ability to transmit an electrical current. They shot a video capturing the reactions of cold pedestrians when the heat comes on after completing the battery connection through their hands.
If Konrad Lightner and his wife, Jennifer had not been stuck in an elevator for 30 minutes earlier in the day, they would not have been at exactly the right place to rescue a child who fell from a third-story window. It was moving day for the Burbank, California couple, when they were exiting the apartment carrying another load -- this time, the box spring mattress to their bed.