Uplifting Stories Thread

[88Comrade2000]

California twins born 15 minutes apart: One in 2021, the other in 2022

[Dan T.]

Love the story in this Twitter thread:

 

 

Edited January 4, 2022 by Dan T.

[China]

A Dealer Surprised That Kid Who Got His Car Repoed After Paying Cash For It

 

Not all dealerships are bad. Yea, I know dealer reputations tend to lean that way when I write about their behavior and markups. But most of that deals with just plain old greed. On the other hand there are times when their behavior is completely out of pocket and sincere. In this case, one dealership has made things right with a teen who was out both thousands of dollars and a vehicle.

 

If you missed the story before, here’s a small recap: Jonathan Fredricks, a 16-year-old Dallas-area teen saved up $10,000 over the course of a year working at Chick-Fil-A. His grandfather offered to take him car shopping when he turned 16, and their shopping journey landed them at a local dealership called I Drive-DFW. They didn’t find a car they liked on the lot, and instead were offered to buy the personal vehicle of the salesperson that was helping them out, the ironically named James Steelman. Fredricks paid Steelman about $9,800 a 2016 Mazda CX-5, which they later find out didn’t actually belong to Steelman. It was owned by the dealer, who Steelman bought the car from and stopped making payments on. The dealer repoed the car from Fredricks five months after he paid Steelman cash for it, leaving the teen without a car and his money.

 

Everything was looking bleak for the kid, until another dealership stepped up to help him out.

 

Frank Kent Motor Company, a GM dealer group of Cadillac, Chevy, Buick, and GMC, reached out to me after seeing the story. The dealer’s marketing director Aaron Hoernke said that they wanted to make things right after seeing what happened to the kid.

 

After seeing the story initially on CBS Dallas – we at Frank Kent knew we had to do something to take care of this kid and show him that not all dealers are sleazy like the one he had previous dealings with! So we reached out to the news station to get us in touch with him and, after getting in contact, let him know that we would like to donate a vehicle to him at no cost.

 

 

Click on the link for the full article

[Dan T.]

I needed this today...

 

 

“There was no way I could get up there and see her, say cheerio, or go to the funeral," he told the BBC. "So I felt hopeless, helpless - I didn't really know what to do. But because I was doing a bit of feeding already, I just decided to do a massive heart in the ground.” 

 

 

Edited January 16, 2022 by Dan T.

[China]

Brave teen with just months to live gives life savings to boy, six, with cancer

 

Rhys Langford,19, who has bone cancer, started raising money for six-year-old Jacob Jones after being told his own condition was terminal.

 

Jacob was diagnosed with neuroblastoma and celebrated a year of being cancer-free before suspicious tumours were spotted by his family earlier this month.

 

Despite never having met the youngster, Rhys was so moved by his situation that he donated £1,000 from his life savings to a fund set up to help pay for treatment in America.

 

 

And now he had gone further by setting up an online crowdfunder which has raised more than £8,000 for Jacob.

 

Rhys’s mum Catherine said: ‘Rhys found the story of little Jacob. He called me upstairs and he was crying in bed reading the story.

 

‘He said, “Mum, I want to donate some money to him. He’s six years of age and he’s been ill since he was two. I’d be over the moon if someone would save him.”

 

‘I couldn’t believe he was thinking about someone else when he’s on death’s door himself.’

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

This just makes me wonder, what happened to the adults?  Why did they completely abdicate their responsibility:

 

These Sackets Harbor teens became frontline emergency responders during the pandemic

 

The United States is currently facing a shortage of healthcare workers, including emergency service personnel, like EMTS. Communities in the north of the country feel this tension, especially because many emergency services here are run entirely by volunteers.

 

When the pandemic struck, the continued struggle to find and keep recruits escalated. Many older volunteers have pulled out due to health concerns related to COVID-19. But in Sackets Harbor, a town of 1,400 people on the shores of Lake Ontario, teens stepped in to fill the void.

 

Like many surrounding communities, Sackets Harbor has a volunteer fire department. During the pandemic, the department’s EMS team, or ambulance service, made an average of about one call per day.

 

Grayden Brunet is 20 years old and he is the captain of the SMU. He manages the budget and organizes the EMS team. He became a captain during the pandemic.

 

“All of my time as an officer here has been COVID. It has certainly been a learning experience. A lot of issues have arisen because of the pandemic. Supply and funding shortages and suppliers catching the virus… it’s is sort of the worst case after another. “

 

We are sitting in the living room of the fire station. There is a large brown leather sofa, pictures of former firefighters on the walls. Brunet says the EMS team spends a lot of time here. They train here, wait for calls here, sometimes even sleep here.

 

Brunet included, the EMS crew is made up of eight people, all under the age of 21.

 

Click on the link for the full article

Edited January 23, 2022 by China

[China]

 

[The 12th Commandment]

https://www.lcsun-news.com/story/news/2022/01/23/jingo-returns-home-after-101-days-las-cruces-desert-jindo-terrier-dog-los-angeles-rescued-oregon-nm/6601283001/

 

LAS CRUCES – After 101 days spent roaming the desert west of Las Cruces, Jingo, the Jindo-terrier mix, is finally home with her family in Los Angeles.

 

Jingo was just under 1 year old when she escaped from a pet transport van traveling through southern New Mexico in October 2021.

 

- more at link

[Dan T.]

^ ^ ^ So many nurses are the best of humanity. 

 

I married a nurse like that. She gets Christmas and birthday cards from patients she cared for years and years ago.  Caring. Beautiful.

[China]

7-year-old battling leukemia surprised with backyard ice skating rink

 

A Wyoming boy had his wish granted Friday afternoon after being surprised with a celebration — and a backyard ice skating rink.

 

7-year-old Keegan was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in November 2018. He is expected to complete his treatment with Helen DeVos Children's Hospital in April of this year.

Keegan's mother, Raeann Elliott, said his symptoms began like a normal illness.

 

"It was a fever and an ear infection. But antibiotics weren't helping," she said. 

 

Keegan was taken to the pediatrician after three days of not feeling well, and was then taken to the Emergency Room to be evaluated.

 

"Essentially the ER doc that walked in knew something was wrong," Elliott said. "And we knew within three hours, four hours that it was leukemia."

 

Despite all the changes coming at Keegan, his love of skating has always been a constant. Elliott said he began skating at 3 years old, a few months before his diagnosis. 

 

While his treatment meant he couldn't skate regularly, Elliott says it's still his favorite activity.

 

"It's every day he gets off the bus and he wants to go skate," she said. "He wants to work on a stick handling, you know, and some days I have to tell him no because we have to go to hockey or we have another activity that we're going to, but he will be out here until it's dark and we have to pull him in."

 

So when it came time to pick a wish for Make a Wish Michigan to fulfill, Elliott knew exactly what Keegan wanted: An ice skating rink in his own backyard.

 

When Keegan got off the school bus Friday afternoon, he was surprised by the Grand Rapids Griffins mascot, Griff. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held to open the backyard skating rink, and Keegan enjoyed an afternoon of skating.

 

For Elliott, getting to surprise Keegan with his wish was worth it to see his reaction.

 

"Thank you, thank you, thank you. The smile on this guy's face that we get to see...It doesn't make the journey any easier, but it's a reward for what he's been through," she said. "So just thank you."

 

Click on the link for the full article and video

[China]

 

 

Click for more

[China]

'Hope For Mankind': Little Boy Gifts His Toy Cars To Homeless Child In Touching Moment, Watch

 

In today's highly competitive world, there seems to be so much negativity in our everyday lives. It’s easy to get bogged down in social media warfare or to close yourself off to those around you. 

 

But the good still outguns the bad. We regularly come across acts, small or big, that restore our faith in humanity. Now, a video is going viral on social media showing a boy gifting his toy cars to a homeless kid that he spots on the streets.

 

 

Click on the link for the full article

[Califan007 The Constipated]

 

 

Hate the Eagles, love what this guy did...

 

 

 

[Renegade7]

[Califan007 The Constipated]

 

 

 

[China]

Press 3 for a pep talk from kindergartners. A new hotline gives you options for joy

 

Amid a crush of heavy news from around the world, who couldn't use some sage advice right now?

 

Call a new hotline, and you'll get just that — encouraging words from a resilient group of kindergartners.

 

Kids' voices will prompt you with a menu of options:

 

If you're feeling mad, frustrated or nervous, press 1. If you need words of encouragement and life advice, press 2. If you need a pep talk from kindergartners, press 3. If you need to hear kids laughing with delight, press 4. For encouragement in Spanish, press 5.

 

Pressing 3 leads to a chorus of kids sounding off a series of uplifting mantras:

 

"Be grateful for yourself," offers one student.

 

"If you're feeling up high and unbalanced, think of groundhogs," another chimes in.

 

"Bro, you're looking great."

 

Peptoc, as the free hotline is called, is a project from the students of West Side Elementary, a small school in the town of Healdsburg, Calif.

 

Click on the link for the full article and to listen

[China]

Dallasite Sells TP NFTs as a Joke, Then Wipes Out $7 Million in Medical Debt

 

NFTs had a frenzy in 2021, with sales surging to $25 billion, prompting a Dallas software developer to use the cash grab to wipe away millions in debt for lower-income families.

 

The medical debt project took form last fall in the way a lot do in the crypto space — through a group chat, which Joshua Lapidus started with blockchain experts he knew. They landed on a unique theme for their non-fungible tokens — toilet paper — to poke fun at how people were buying anything if it was an NFT. About 70% of the funds would go to charity.

 

The project dubbed Rainbow Rolls launched in October with 10,000 toilet paper NFTs for sale. The limit was later dropped to 1,000 rolls; so far, about 855 rolls have been bought through word of mouth.

 

Rainbow Rolls donated 20% of its sales, or $91,000, to New York-based RIP Medical Debt, which then used it to wipe out over $7 million in medical debt by buying debt in bundled portfolios. 

 

Click on the link for the full article

[Califan007 The Constipated]

 

 

 

[Renegade7]

 

[China]

Minnesota World War II veteran honored by French government

 

A Minnesota World War II veteran received a high honor Wednesday.

 

Arnold Zahratka, 96-years-old, of Montgomery, Minnesota was given the Legion of Honor medal by the French government.

 

Zahratka fought the Germans while serving in France.

 

The award is the highest distinction France gives those who have achieved remarkable deeds for their country.

 

“Very amazing, never did I think I would get something like that,” Zahratka said.  “Really amazing how good people are all over. No matter what country. They are all good people.”

 

Zahratka was married for 73 years and says the secret to live a long life is to drink a lot of scotch.   

 

Click on the link for the full story

[88Comrade2000]

Chevy is giving the owner of the pickup, who survived being flipped in a tornado, a new pickup.

[China]

Man reunited with lost rent money after Saanich senior finds $1,600 in cash, hands it over to police

 

A man who lost his rent money this week can thank a very honest Saanich, B.C., man for getting it back.

 

Saanich police say 90-year-old Robert Davies found a bundle of cash while walking home from Tim Hortons on Monday morning.

 

When Davies returned home, he called police and said he'd found $1,600 on the street.

 

Two hours later police say a panicked man reported his rent money had fallen out of his jacket pocket.

 

A small amount of detective work confirmed it was the man’s cash and police returned it.

 

"Surprised is hardly the word – I guess I was really dumbfounded," said Davies about finding the cash.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

Liberia taxi driver: How returning $50,000 changed Emmanuel Tuloe's life

 

The 19-year-old, dressed in a school uniform of sky blue shirt and navy shorts, looks incongruous in a class full of pupils at least six years younger than him.

 

But the one-time primary school dropout is happy.

 

Last year, he was struggling to earn a living as a motorbike taxi driver when he found $50,000 (£40,000) in a mix of US and Liberian notes, wrapped in a plastic bag by the side of the road.

 

He could have easily pocketed this life-changing amount. But he gave it to his aunt to look after and when the rightful owner appealed on national radio for help in finding the cash, Emmanuel came forward.

 

Mocked by some for his honesty - people laughed at him saying he would die poor - his act earned him generous rewards including a place at Ricks Institute, one of Liberia's most prestigious schools.

 

President George Weah handed him $10,000 and a local media owner also gave him cash, some of which was raised from viewers and listeners. And the owner of the money that was found donated $1,500-worth of goods.

 

On top of those and perhaps most significantly, a college in the US reacted by offering him a full scholarship once he had completed his secondary education.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[Renegade7]

 

[Renegade7]