Happy Headline of the Day Archives

A little less than two years ago, Daniel Donaldson — a longtime youth sports coach in Haleyville, Alabama — was introduced to a 14-year-old athlete named Alecia.

When Daniel and his wife, Tiffany, learned that Alecia was in need of a stable family, they invited her to stay with them. After being given a four-month temporary custody period, Alecia eventually moved in permanently.

The arrangement was working great. Alecia fit right in with Daniel and Tiffany’s three kids. And, Daniel and Tiffany left it up to Alecia if she would like to become legally adopted.

Well, Alecia decided to make it official — and broke the news to Daniel during a “birthday surprise.”

The family tricked Daniel into attending a “birthday photoshoot” on a beach in Gulf Shores, Alabama.

While they were at the beach, they blindfolded Daniel while Alecia held up a bunch of signs on poster board, explaining the back story and why she would like Daniel to adopt her.

When Daniel finally took off his blindfold he learned what the trip to the beach was all about when Alecia, Tiffany and the children held up signs reading: “Let’s make it official. Will you adopt me?”

It was a big step for Alecia. As she explained, Daniel started out as her coach, but also filled the roles of protector and provider — and eventually became the man she calls “daddy.” (Yahoo Sports)

In Rochester, Minnesota, 16-year-old Riley Landon is hard at work on his Eagle Scout project — and that project involves bikes and bike parts all over his family’s backyard.

Riley has been working all summer, fixing old bikes and making sure they’re in perfect working order — all with the goal of donating them to those in need.

He has a goal of fixing 60 bikes in total, with about 30 going to the Boys and Girls Club of Rochester and another 30 going to homeless people or other people who might need them.

Riley’s passion for biking inspired the project — which has led to him connecting with the community in a big way, even at this young age. (KTTC-TV)

About two years ago, a family in Wisconsin was devastated when their dog “Payday” went missing. After a number of months, everyone in the family had given up. They thought Payday was gone forever.

Then, something amazing happened.

Payday’s owner, Dwight, left the TV on when he went to bed, something he says never happens. When Dwight woke up the next morning, the TV was still on — and showing a morning news program.

And, sure enough, there was Payday on his screen, being featured in an “Adopt-a-Pet” segment and described as a “little brown dog with an adorable under bite.”

Thanks to a reunion organized by the Wisconsin Humane Society, Payday was returned to his family. Everyone was thrilled to have Payday back — but it was extra special for Dwight’s 12-year-old daughter who once again is enjoying having her best friend by her side. (NBC News)

12-year-old Raphael Bencun has already lived quite an exciting life. He started playing piano as a young boy in France. And when his family moved to Santa Clarita, California, four years ago, he kept playing — and kept getting better and better.

Earlier this year, he was inspired to hold a virtual piano concert with the idea of both buying some stuff for himself and donating some money to charity. Originally, he was thinking of splitting the money 50/50.

As Raphael prepared for the concert — and publicized it — money started pouring in. He raised so much that he didn’t feel right keeping any of it, so he donated it all — more than $2,000 — to Children’s Hunger Fund.

Following the concert, the family went to Children’s Hunger Fund to spend some time volunteering. This was especially fun for Raphael, who explained that it felt “really good” to help the charity where he was sending his money.

Raphael’s piano teacher calls him “incredibly hard-working, diligent and self-motivated.” With those traits, many people in his life will be looking on to see what other great things he accomplishes in the months and years ahead. (The Signal)

Last month, a heat wave hit Billings, Montana, and temperatures reached over 100 degrees for a number of days.

This ended up being a challenge for the Help for Homeless animal shelter as the staff used fans and sprinklers and anything else they could find to keep the dogs and cats cool in the summer heat.

When Jason Linday — the owner of Patriot Heating and Cooling — learned of the struggle, he stepped up in a big way and donated air conditioning units to the shelter.

Jason says when he first visited the shelter, the temperatures at the shelter were in the 90s. Now that the air conditioning units are installed, everyone — both humans and animals — are comfortable with a cool 77 degrees.

Jason admits that he was inspired to make the donations after seeing the kittens and puppies and explaining, “It’s something I felt inside my heart that I had to take care of.” (KTVQ-TV)

Eight-year-old Jesse Starr and seven-year-old Claire Calvin of Franklin County, Missouri, are best friends. But, things got bumpy last year when Claire was diagnosed with a brain tumor.

Jesse, who raises hogs as a hobby and sells them at county fair auctions, wanted to help. So, he announced that he would donate all proceeds from this year’s auction to Claire and her family.

Upon hearing this news, the community responded in a big way. At the auction, people in the stands bid higher and higher, with a woman named Kathy Ruwwe finishing with the ridiculous bid of $16,000.

Kathy knew the money was going to a good cause — and really didn’t care if she actually got the pig or not — so, she asked the auctioneer to “sell it again.”

Another round of bids brought in another $3,000 — bringing the total to $19,000, a lot more than the $1,600 that was expected.

Thanks to a clinical trial, Claire is beating the odds and it looks like her tumor is shrinking.

And, alongside Claire is Jesse, whose appreciation for his friend inspired extreme generosity that will not be forgotten anytime soon by their community. (WISH-TV)

90-year-old Dean Troutman of Illinois is passionate about helping children, as he continues to take big actions to raise money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

Back in 2015, he walked over 500 miles for St. Jude, raising $10,000 along the way.

Now, he’s back on the road, walking a staggering 3,600 miles from Illinois through 15 states and back to Illinois — and his wish is that people who hear his story are inspired to donate $36, one penny for every mile he walks.

While on this mission, Dean is pushing a converted pet carrier, which he calls his “buggy.” It carries everything he needs for the journey — food, clothing, maps, as well as a photo of his late wife, Peggy, looking back at him.

He’s using a Facebook page to allow people to keep up with where he’s at and what he’s up to.

And with the children of St. Jude in mind, Dean believes the journey is worth it, explaining that he’s “hoping each day that we can raise enough funds that we can help some of these kids.” (WLFI-TV)

Earlier this month, severe storms and flooding affected thousands of people in western Germany and Belgium.

A charity based in Louisville, Kentucky — called WaterStep — saw the news and were able to help the people there who are still struggling.

WaterStep helps communities around the world maintain safe water supplies.

In this case, the group was able to send eight water disinfecting devices to the area, which will end up providing clean drinking water that will also allow those overrun by the floods to cook, clean and bathe.

Certainly, the people of western Germany and Belgium have a lot of work to do to get back to normal, but thanks to WaterStep, many of them will have a safe supply of water until that work is done. (WDRB-TV)

In central Texas, a German Shepherd K-9 police dog named Bear was sent off into retirement in style with a retirement party.

Bear served six years as a police dog in the Taylor County Sheriff’s Office. He originally joined the force in 2015, thanks to a donation from a local business.

During his years on the force, Bear helped fellow officers track down and locate missing children and elderly people, sniffed out illegal drugs and assisted others in need.

And at his retirement party, Bear took photographs with his co-workers as they wished him a happy farewell. An officer also read a proclamation, describing the dog’s accomplishments during his career.

His handler — Deputy Brandon Abbott — is sad to see Bear leave the police force, but isn’t too heartbroken as Brandon is adopting Bear, allowing the partners to stay together and allowing Bear to enjoy his retirement in comfort. (Yahoo)

In Manchester Township, New Jersey, Detective Richard Jupinka of the Manchester Police Department was on his lunch break, enjoying a meal at the Cafe Napoli restaurant, when his help was needed.

A girl at the restaurant was choking and couldn’t breathe.

The girl’s uncle attempted the Heimlich maneuver, but it didn’t seem to be working.

That’s when Detective Jupinka stepped in and put his expertise to work. Using the Heimlich maneuver himself, he was able to dislodge the food that the girl was choking on, allowing her to breathe freely again.

Thanks to Detective Jupinka’s quick action, the girl ended up needing no further medical attention. He was in the right place at the right time — and also just happened to be the right person for the job. (New York Post)

Lillian Cedoz is 12 years old and has raised hundreds of dollars for charity with her lemonade stand.

A few years ago, she started the stand and donated the money to a sea turtle rescue in Florida. This year, all the proceeds are going to the Toledo Animal Shelter.

This project involves her entire family, with her parents helping her set up the shop, squeezing the lemons and baking lemon bars. But, the idea is all her own.

Her father, of course, is proud of her — and describes her efforts as “her attempt at a lemonade takeover.”

And there are already plans in place for Lillian to continue selling lemonade and other sweet treats next summer and beyond, all with the goal of raising money for animals in need. (WTOL-TV)

Amir Durrani and his wife were flying out of John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City for their honeymoon to Guam.

After passing through the airport’s TSA checkpoint, the couple decided to grab some coffee. But when they got to the coffee shop, something was wrong … The newlywed bride realized that the diamond was missing from her engagement ring.

The couple scrambled back to the checkpoint. The TSA staff did the best they could to find the diamond. No luck. It seemed that the diamond was lost forever.

Just five hours later, though, TSA Officer John Killian was standing at his supervisors’ podium and saw a sparkle. Sure enough. It was the diamond, on the floor, between the metal detector and the X-ray machine.

When Amir and his wife landed, there was a text message and voicemail announcing the good news.

Amir explained that their trip “went from a chaotic moment to one at peace,” all thanks to helpful TSA agents and one eagle-eyed supervisor who, literally, found a diamond in the rough. (WPIX-TV)

Earlier this month, 31-year-old Dusty Campbell strapped on his rollerblades in Jackson, Wyoming, and started skating toward Salt Lake City, Utah — all with the aim of raising money for charity.

47 hours — and 285 miles later — he arrived in Salt Lake City, where he was greeted by supporters and his dog, Koa.

And along the way, he was able to raise more than $15,000 for the Wounded Warrior Project, a charity that helps veterans recover from mental and physical injuries.

Amazingly, Dusty rollerbladed through two nights, resting only for three 30-minute naps.

He admitted that the stunt was harder than he imagined, explaining that none of the prep work he did could have prepared him for the real deal. But, Dusty completed the feat because he believed in his cause, offering a message on social media that said, “You gotta have your ‘why.’” (East Idaho News)

About a year ago, just before her seventh birthday, eight-year-old Cate Brossia spent four days at a children’s hospital in Toledo, Ohio. She was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes and — thanks to the staff at the hospital — has been able to get the treatment she needs to stay as healthy as possible.

When Cate was in the hospital, the staff also threw her a birthday party with cake and toys.

She hasn’t forgotten that kind gesture and was recently able to give back by donating hundreds of toys, for kids of all ages, including parents, to that hospital.

Cate and her mother, Alicia, collected donations from the community and were able to unload a truck full of these toys at the hospital’s main entrance.

Cate’s doctor pointed out that many children come to the hospital in an emergency and aren’t able to bring things that comfort them.

Thanks to Cate’s generous donation, these kids now have something “fun and friendly” while they are treated. (Toledo Blade)

A little boy cooped up in isolation after cancer treatment found a way to make friends – with Post-It notes.

Five-year-old Meyer Mixdorf was recovering from a stem cell transplant in a hospital in Kansas City, and to cheer him up, his mom, Liz, made a smiley face on his window using sticky notes. The next morning, there was another smiley face in a window across the street.

The back-and-forth continued with more and more elaborate designs, like Mario characters and Angry Birds. It turns out that Meyer’s new friend was Johnna Schindlbeck, an employee at a different medical center. Eventually the Mixdorfs, Johnna and some of her co-workers began watching out for each other and waving when they were creating new Post-It artwork. And once Meyer was healthy enough to go outside, the Mixdorfs headed right across the street to meet his new friends.

Liz says when they got to Johnna’s floor, “everybody started crying.” But the best news — Meyer’s latest scan shows no sign of cancer, and he’s headed home soon. (Good Morning America)

Following in his father’s footsteps, 17-year-old Jacob Zimmerman of Martinsburg, West Virginia, stuck with Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts as a boy — and is working toward becoming an Eagle Scout.

Part of this scouting journey involves completing a project that benefits the community in some way.

Jacob decided to organize a food drive — and that food drive was a huge success.

With the cooperation of others in the community, Jacob was able to collect nearly 3000 pounds of food and donate it to a local food pantry that helps those who are dealing with food insecurity.

A manager at the food pantry was thrilled to receive the huge donation, which filled the shelves.

And as excited as Jacob is to complete the process and officially be an Eagle Scout, he was also excited about the support he received from neighbors and companies alike who generously helped him achieve his goal — as well as help those in need. (The Journal)

Over the Fourth of July weekend, two-time Olympic gymnast Aly Raisman lost her dog, Mylo. It seems Mylo was spooked by fireworks and took off.

Aly posted messages on social media and asked people in her neighborhood to be on the lookout for Mylo.

It worked.

After about a week of running around, two people found Mylo and were able to coax him to safety — and get him home.

Aly called the rescuers “heroes” and — of course — was thrilled to be reunited with her beloved dog, which Aly describes as her “everything.” (ESPN)

A Labrador retriever in England has adopted a litter of orphaned kittens.

The two-week-old kittens were found on the side of the road with no mother in sight. They were rushed to the Battersea shelter and given an exam. The kittens were found to be in good health but, of course, they were orphaned and needed special care.

That’s where the Labrador retriever — Bertie — stepped in.

Bertie’s mom and Battersea head nurse Rachel volunteered to take the kittens home and look after them until they were ready for adoption.

Bertie was there around the clock for the seven kittens, helping them become confident and sociable.

Thanks to his “incredibly patient and nurturing” care, the kittens grew up to be independent — and were able to move back to the Battersea shelter, where they were adopted by loving families.

And now, Bertie is enjoying some well-earned peace and quiet. (People)