Typically, post office lines breed anger and frustration. But at the head of this queue on the campus of Penn State University in State College, Pa., you'll find nothing but joy. My mission is to make them have a little bit of levity on the way out and say, 'Hey, it's not so bad after all,' says Mike Herr. To that end, Mike lives by a simple motto: if you can't say something nice about someone, you're just not looking hard enough.
Albert Lexie, the longtime shoe shiner, has been giving back to others for years. He is Pittsburgh's hero in disguise. This man is a guardian angel who changes lives one dollar at a time. A shoe shine costs $5, but Lexie's customers have been generous with their tips and every cent goes to the hospital's children in need.
Former surgeon general C. Everett Koop died Monday in New Hampshire at age 96. Koop is justly renowned for spearheading the war on tobacco in the 1990s. But Koop was also pivotal, and saved just as many lives, because he forced the Republican Party to address the rampaging AIDS epidemic in the 1980s.
Tony Tolbert, a Harvard-educated lawyer in Los Angeles, decided to move into his mother's home so he could offer his own fully-furnished house to a homeless family of five, and give it to them rent-free for a year.
Do you remember the story two years ago about the homeless man with the golden voice who was discovered pan-handling for change on a cold Ohio street? It turns out, he didn't fall back into old habits and end up on the street again as some had worried. Williams now helps the homeless and addicted whenever he can. He maintains an apartment and continues recording voice-overs for Kraft Mac and Cheese commercials.
A couple who wished to remain anonymous purchased a minivan from Dick Hannah Toyota in Washington last week to donate to Portland Police Officer Paul Meyer and family after seeing news reports about Meyer's paralysis from an accident. A man contacted our dealership last week and told us he and his wife would like to purchase a Toyota Sienna minivan, wrote Brian Sanders, the car dealership's General Manager. They are paying cash for it, but they'll never sit behind the wheel. He and his wife are not wealthy, continued Sanders on the company's Facebook Page. They were both in the military and recently received a modest inheritance.
Going beyond his normal duties, a Kansas police officer responded to an elderly woman's house and ended up going grocery shopping for her and bringing back $50 worth of supplies, as well as a Christmas ham and poinsettia.
Former President George H.W. Bush and his wife, Barbara, congratulated President Barack Obama on Inauguration day in a statement saying in part, Our best wishes and prayers on this historic day.
An apparent attempt to rob a Papa John's pizza restaurant in Montana's capital went awry when the would-be robber started to cry. A man entered the restaurant and gave the cashier a note demanding money. He later broke down and confessed he was doing the deed for his wife and child. The cashier showed great compassion and cooked him dinner.
The Dearborn, Mo., couple who won a share of the largest jackpot in Powerball history plan to use their money to help a nearby community. Mark and Cindy Hill said they are helping Camden Point with new ball fields, firehouse and treatment plant.
A pair called the Serial Pranksters on YouTube decided to turn their mischief-making into doing something good. It was so much fun making a prank that also feeds people in need! they said, after delivering a pizza to a couple on the sidewalk.
Named an everyday Hero, Don Hanlon achieves that with a simple, but generous gesture. He walks in the doors and says, What do you need? Once each month for ten years Don has been talking trips to Sam's Club with people who are dealing with domestic violence and homelessness.