Happy Headline of the Day Archives

In Newark, Delaware, Chen Wang donated 10,000 masks, 180 sleeping bags — along with medical gloves and winter coats — to the Christina School District.

Chen’s daughter attends a school in the district and said he “wanted to serve the community.”

The masks will help students continue attending school, even when they leave theirs at home. And, the gloves will go to the school nurses.

The sleeping bags and coats will be distributed to those in need, especially displaced families who are sometimes provided shelter by the district.

Chen hopes that this gesture inspires others to help out as well, suggesting that, “We should all help each other.” (Newark Post)

When the pandemic began, sixth grader Keena Schroeder of Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, rolled up her sleeves and learned how to bake cheesecakes.

With a little practice, Keena became an excellent baker — and started a company called “Bug’s Bakery,” with the name inspired by her nickname, Bug.

As she started selling cheesecakes, money rolled in. Keena and her dad brainstormed ways to use that money — and decided to donate some of it to charity.

So now, $5 from the sale of each cheesecake goes to a program in her school district that helps kids in need afford school lunches. Keena recently presented a check for $1000 to the school board to help out.

And, her work isn’t done. Keena says she’s going to continue to make and sell cheesecakes as long as people want to buy them. (WKOW-TV)

St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Jack Flaherty purchased thousands of books from a local bookstore — and donated those books to The Boys and Girls Club of Greater St. Louis.

This was just the latest generous act to help out The Boys and Girls Club. He previously donated masks to keep kids and staff there safe from coronavirus and he also donated $5,000 to support health and fitness programs there.

This time around, Jack chose to give the kids books because he was an avid reader growing up and wanted them to follow in his footsteps. He made sure to include some of his personal favorites and said he hopes the stories will inspire the next generation, regardless of the career paths they choose. (KTVI-TV)

8-year-old Lilly Bumpus of San Bernardino, California, has had a busy year as a Girl Scout. She broke the national record for most boxes sold in one season with 32,484 boxes.

The achievement was even more incredible because, last summer, Lilly celebrated seven years of being cancer free after being born with the disease.

Lilly’s mother Trish offered insight into Lilly’s motivation by saying that Lilly “does not like somebody telling her something is not possible.”

Lilly and her parents made it all possible by making cookie deliveries before and after school — and even setting up a booth outside their home.

The cookie sales record even included 5,000 donation boxes that will go to kids battling cancer in hospitals, to help feed the homeless, and to deployed troops.

For Lilly, it was a successful cookie-selling season indeed. (People)

Carl Wallace owns Diablo’s Southwest Grill in Augusta, Georgia — and recently had to deal with a burglary. Video of the thief carrying something out of the restaurant was captured on a security camera.

Carl posted the video on Facebook. But instead of asking people to track down the burglar in order to punish him, Carl did something very unexpected. He invited the guy to apply for a job.

On Facebook, Carl wrote, “To the would-be robber who is clearly struggling with life decisions or having money issues … please swing by for a job application,” going so far as to share his personal phone number for the man to get in touch with him. “No police. No questions. Let’s sit down and talk about how we could help you and fix the road you’re on.”

Many people applauded Carl for his compassion.

Carl responded by downplaying the decision, explaining, “I can’t fix the world, I can’t save the world, but I can make a difference in one person’s life.” (WIFR-TV)

In Springdale, Arkansas, a charity group called Samaritan’s Feet gave away more than 700 pairs of shoes to students at 18 elementary schools in the area.

Samaritan’s Feet worked with the schools to sign up the kids — and then planned the event at a local furniture store.

The hundreds of families that showed up received free shoes and socks — as well as a note of encouragement and a “hope tote,” which included a toiletry items as well as facemasks.

Organizers said they wanted to serve the kids and help them feel loved. They also hope the event inspires others to help because now, more than ever, it’s an important time to be taking care of your community. (KHBS-TV)

81-year-old Linda Summers of Dallas, Texas, was in need of some cheering up, so she looked out the window of her apartment building and saw a woman walking a little dog. She then had the urge to run out of her apartment and pet that dog.

She ended up not giving in to that urge — but later decided to put a message up on a neighborhood social media app in hopes of discovering who that woman was so she could ask for a quick visit.

People in her community responded to that message in a big way.

One after another, Linda’s neighbors stepped up and offered to bring their dogs over for a visit. It was overwhelming to the point that Linda couldn’t even keep up with all the offers for visits.

Before long, Linda received more than 300 responses.

Instead of being sad — as she was before — the parade of neighbors and dogs caused Linda to tear up … in a good way.

As she explained, “All these nice people being so sweet to me. It makes me tear up. They just melt my heart.” (WFAA-TV)

Three rescue dogs from Texas — a dad and his two pup sons — all got back together in New York City … by total random chance.

The dogs, Murray, his dad Marvin and his brother Leo lived together in Texas before being adopted by different people in New York City.

Marvin was out for a walk when he stopped to check out another dog — which turned out to be Leo. The owners of the dogs were surprised that the encounter was so friendly. After the strangers asked each other a few quick questions, they realized that both Marvin and Leo were from Texas. And, from the looks of things, they were related. Sure enough, it was father and son, together in the big city.

Things got even more bizarre when it was discovered that a friend of Leo’s owner had adopted the other brother — Marvin.

Phone numbers were exchanged and the owners were able to get all three dogs together for a very unlikely family reunion. (New York Post)

Rita Krenz is a flight paramedic. She responds to emergencies and transports patients between hospitals by flying a helicopter.

When Rita realized how many people were dealing with debt because of medical situations, she decided to do something about it — and started raising money for a charity to help out.

The charity she chose — RIP Medical Debt — collects donations, and then distributes the money to those who are having a tough time paying their bills.

So far, Rita has raised $18,000 that has helped forgive the debt of more than 900 people.

Once RIP Medical Debt pays off a bill, it sends patients a yellow letter telling them things are resolved. This was important for Rita as it makes things personal. She explains that she can “picture a person going to the mailbox and getting that letter” — which motivates her to continue helping out as much as possible. (The Daily Universe)

When Brooklynn Grehig of Racine, Wisconsin, learned that her church was collecting personal care kits for those in need, she asked her grandmother if there was anything they could do to help.

Brooklynn’s grandmother, Jacki Kirt, supported the idea — and the two started collecting the items needed, including one towel, two bars of soap, one comb, one nail clipper, and one toothbrush.

At first, they put together two kits.

Then, Brooklynn started asking family members for donations — and that number grew.

Once things were rolling, Brooklynn set a goal of 40 kits. She ended up doubling that goal — creating 82 kits — with an extra $150 donation for even more supplies.

Jacki, of course, is very proud of her granddaughter for taking what she described as a “small thing” that the two of them could do together — and making it “huge.” (WTMJ-TV)

Andrea Lessing was working at a Goodwill store in Norman, Oklahoma, when she felt something unusual hidden in a pair of donated sweaters.

At first, she thought the sweaters were holding books. Then, she realized they weren’t books — but instead were stacks of envelopes filled with $100 bills inside them.

Somebody had accidentally dropped off $42,000 in cash.

Luckily, the envelopes also had paperwork that identified who owned the money — and the store was able to return it.

The owner of the envelopes ended up surprising Andrea with $1,000 from the money she found.

Andrea appreciated the gesture and plans to spend some of her reward on an “amazing birthday party” for her six-year-old daughter. (The Norman Transcript)

Earlier this month, a 6-year-old boy named Aiden from Hilliard, Ohio, completed his final chemotherapy treatment — a big step toward beating leukemia, a disease he’s been fighting since he was just two years old.

To celebrate, local police officers and firefighters showed up in his neighborhood with their squad cars for a loud parade.

The lights were on and sirens squealed as the vehicles rolled past Aiden’s house, while neighbors watched and applauded.

Normally, there’s a bell-ringing ceremony at the hospital after the final treatment. Things have changed, of course, because of coronavirus.

So instead of ringing a bell, Aiden was serenaded with sirens and flashing lights — a well-earned reward for all of his courage and hard work. (WBNS-TV)

In Boca Raton, Florida, 10-year-old Eden Gross has created a song that is raising money — and she’s donating that money to charity.

Eden’s song, which she wrote and performed herself, is called “Shadows on the Wall” and it’s about the stress that young children have been dealing with these days.

Eden explained that she and other children feel “stuck” and “don’t know what to do.” And, her song offers hope to anyone who feels this way.

People have been downloading the song — and Eden has been donating the proceeds to a community wellness charity.

Everyone is hopeful that we can get back to normal soon, and in the meantime, Eden hopes that her song — and her donations — will help things along. (Boca Raton Tribune)

When Dustin Vitale of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, learned that his mom, Gloria, had bladder cancer, he set out on a mission to take her on a big trip — the trip she always dreamed of — to see the pyramids in Egypt.

Dustin also wanted to bring along 14 family members.

This was going to be a bit of a challenge because he’s a middle school teacher — and couldn’t just write a check for such a big trip.

So, he started raising money by selling big cheesesteak sandwiches.

Word got around that these sandwiches were good — and they were for a good cause.

Friends, family members and neighbors started showing up outside his house, ordering food. Then, the news spread on social media and people were lined up down the block.

In just six weeks, Dustin raised all the money he needed to fund the trip.

Dustin is thankful to everyone who supported his goal of getting Gloria to Egypt, as the trip is now planned for later this year.

And, as he describes it, he’s also excited to see his mom “mentally as healthy as she has ever been in her whole life.” (Yahoo)

Samuel James has been a custodian at Citronelle High School in Alabama for 13 years. And, he was walking back and forth to work after his car broke down.

Two teachers at the school — Jeff Pippin and Deborah Pippin — learned that Samuel was walking … and were in a perfect position to help.

They had an extra vehicle — a Toyota Highlander SUV — that they were interested in giving away to someone in need. It was a perfect match.

Samuel was recently surprised with the gift of the Toyota Highlander outside of the school, and the kind gesture moved him to tears.

Samuel said he was blessed to have the car — and also blessed to have Jeff and Deborah as “real good friends.” (WALA-TV)

15-year-old Damien Lanning has been through some tough challenges in his life. He has dealt with kidney disease and was in foster care because social services couldn’t find a family willing and able to meet his medical needs.

A few years ago, things got so bad that Damien was forced to leave school and move into a hospital.

Along the way, though, he also had some good fortune. He met a middle school math teacher named Finn Lanning, and things started turning around for Damien.

Finn learned about Damien’s kidney disease when Damien explained that he had to leave school and move into that hospital.

Finn — a longtime bachelor — stepped up. He stood by Damien’s side as a foster parent as Damien got a much-needed kidney transplant.

And then, a few months ago, Finn went even further and adopted Damien.

The surgery was a success and Damien is now a healthy, thriving teenager, who calls the arrangement he has with his new dad, Finn, “a dream come true.” (CBS News)

Jenna Roman of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, is the mother of 10-year-old Jerico, who happens to be autistic and deals with unique eating challenges.

Well, things got rough for Jerico and he wasn’t eating or drinking for days. The only thing he could stomach were Maple Cinnamon Waffles from the company Nature’s Path.

More bad news here … Nature’s Path had discontinued these waffles.

So, Jenna went online and asked people to help her with his problem. She was asking others to look in their local stores to see if the waffles were there.

This is where things turned around. Nature’s Path found some cases in their warehouse and sent Jenna the last waffles ever made. Then, the company put their development team to work on a recipe that would allow Jenna and Jerico to make their own maple cinnamon waffles at home.

It was a hit. Jenna and Jerico now have the perfect recipe that tastes just like the waffles they used to get in grocery stores. (Surrey Now-Leader)

Nick Slatten of Sparta, Tennessee, has been through a bit of a roller coaster this month.

He bought a $1 million winning lottery ticket. And then lost it … only to find it again later in the day.

Nick bought the ticket at a grocery store and realized he was a big winner. He was so excited that he shared the news with his fiancée. But, he wasn’t excited enough to take the day off.

Instead, he ran some errands, that included taking his brother to an auto parts store.

Somewhere along the way, Nick lost the ticket. Fear set in.

But, Nick retraced his steps and found the winning ticket in the parking lot of that auto parts store. It was on the ground and, luckily for Nick, nobody thought to pick it up.

Nick says that he and his fiancée plan to continue working, but plan to buy a new house and a car — and invest the rest of the money.

While there were some stressful moments because that ticket was lost, Nick also says he hopes to live a life with “not a whole lot of worries” moving forward. (NBC News)

Whenever you’re in need of a little inspiration to make positive change in your life, think about Dave Gilbert.

Dave has Multiple Sclerosis, but he’s never let that get in the way of his goals. He’s an ultra-marathoner who runs close to 50 miles — sometimes more — every weekend. But these aren’t easy miles on flat roads. Dave seeks out rugged, hilly trails for training. And when he does race 30, 40 or 50 miles, he almost always finishes in the Top 5.

And as if that weren’t enough to wear him out, Dave teaches special-needs fifth graders in Howell, New Jersey. He says, “No matter how far or hard I run on the weekends, I make sure that I get up and go to my classroom on Monday. There are no sick days. My students need me!”

What’s Dave’s next challenge? A 100-mile race …

Over the past year, Lou Farrell of Hatfield, Pennsylvania, has donated more than 100,000 sandwiches to help homeless.

His secret? Well, his garage … and peanut butter and jelly.

He created a “bread drop” in that garage and did everything he could to let people deliver bread — and turn that bread into peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches.

Lou got so good at this, that bread only spent two days in his garage before being turned into something special that could be shared with those in need.

Things have gotten fast and furious. His garage has turned into a peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich factory.

Lou has been getting help from 17 groups and 70 volunteers.

And, it’s all working out. People in need have been getting help with sandwiches — hand delivered.

Moving forward, Lou has been able to start collecting coats and hats — and other things needed in the community.

Lou deserves a lot of credit, considering all this started with a good PB&J in his garage. (WPVI-TV)

Seven-year-old Mila Diaz saw an opportunity at her parents’ business on the island of Maui to sell bracelets — and she made the most of it by donating some of the proceeds to a local charity.

From an early age, Mila had an interest in jewelry, so she began making bracelets using twine and colorful charms. She sold them at her parents’ store — and also sold them online.

After making and selling over 100 bracelets, Mila decided to donate $100 of her proceeds to Maui Economic Opportunity’s Head Start program, a pre-kindergarten program for children from low-income families in the area.

Mila’s efforts ended up inspiring others in her community. For example, a donor who heard about her work gave her $50 for the cause, which grew her donation even more.

Mila was able to see the power of her idea to help others — and now plans to make donations to a special cause each month. (Hawaii News Now)

In Long Island, New York, an English bulldog named Sampson ran away from his owner and found himself in some serious trouble … on the tracks of a city train.

Sampson’s owner, Mike Francow, was — understandably — worried about Sampson. It was very unusual for the dog to just run off like that.

Luckily, the engineer of a Long Island Railroad train — Christian Beck — spotted Sampson on the tracks while slowly driving his train.

Christian had time to react and slow the train. Christian and his assistant conductor Vinny Fragale were then able to step off the train and call Sampson to safety.

It was clear that Sampson was one scared dog — but Christian and Vinny calmed him down and then brought him onboard the train, gave him some water, and made sure he was completely safe.

Using Facebook, Christian, Vinny, and other members of the crew put the word out that they found Sampson. Mike was thrilled to learn that his furry friend was safe — and was reunited quickly.

To top it all off with more good news, the train Christian and Vinny were driving ended up arriving on-time at their destination. (People)

Since 1984, Marcos Perez has been donating his platelets every two weeks.

That’s 37 years of donations that have added up to 120 gallons of life-saving platelets.

Marcos was recently honored at the South Texas Blood and Tissue Center for reaching the 120-gallon milestone. Experts calculated that Marcos has saved nearly 3,000 lives with his 962 donations.

His desire to help was inspired early in his life. Very early. You see, Marcos was born prematurely and a blood transfusion saved his life.

And, he’s been trying to pay it forward ever since.

Marcos started donating platelets right when he became old enough to do so — and explained that he’s been “hooked” ever since.

Marcos says it makes him feel great because he’s living proof that blood donations do save lives — and without that one donation when he was a baby, he wouldn’t be celebrating all the donations he’s made since then. (Fox News)

In Northern California, a 67-year-old man suffered a medical emergency while driving his SUV — and drove right into the Sacramento-San Joaquin River.

Luckily, Chris Arias was standing on the bank of the river when he saw the accident happen. Chris even heard the driver say that he couldn’t swim.

So, Chris made a split-second decision to jump into the river and swim to the SUV. He was able to get the driver out of the vehicle — and told the driver to hold onto his back, as he swam back to shore.

Chris admitted he was “pretty scared” because of the current and the cold temperature of the water.

But he got the job done and was relieved when he finally hit the ground with his feet.

Law enforcement officers on the scene said that the actions Chris took definitely saved the life of the driver, going so far as to describe Chris as “an everyday hero that goes under the radar.” (East Bay Times)

In Danville, Virginia, Jennifer Williams has earned the nickname “book lady,” thanks to her mission of giving away one-million books to people in her community.

Jennifer’s mission is inspired by her family. Her mother was a librarian and she would read to Jennifer … until Jennifer went off to college.

Jennifer wants students to love reading the way she did as a child, so she’s making that possible, one book at a time.

She started back in 2017 — and has already given away more than 63,000 books, mostly to students.

And the effort continues to this day. She collects donations and buys books with her own money. And, every year, she gives a book to each student at her local elementary school.

But that’s not all. She keeps 16 tiny, standalone libraries around town stocked with books — and also leaves books on picnic tables and in laundromats.

And even though she usually doesn’t leave a note, by now, a lot of people know the “book lady” was there. (Southern Living)

37-year-old Detroit native Jennifer Landry is a staff sergeant in the Marine Corps, stationed in Indiana.

She has always been on the lookout for ways to help others by donating blood and researching ways to even donate bone marrow.

Well, she never got around to donating the bone marrow because she stumbled upon a Facebook post, requesting a kidney donor.

They needed somebody with O-positive blood. That was a match for Jennifer, so she started the process. Sure enough. She was a perfect match — and agreed to donate the kidney.

Little did she know that this stranger was a Marine veteran, retired Gunnery Sgt. Charles Dane, who had been awarded a Purple Heart medal.

The surgery was a success — and gave Charles a new lease on life.

Jennifer explained that she “always had that mindset where I love helping people,” so when she was presented with a chance to help out, “There was no hesitation. I just went for it.” (Albany Times Union)

Kyler Murray is the quarterback of the Arizona Cardinals football team — but grew up near Dallas, Texas.

And, as we know, that area was impacted in a big way by the recent winter storms. The cold weather knocked out his power and hot water.

For Kyler, it was a wake-up call as he realized many others in his community were dealing with the same problems — so he stepped up and did something to help.

Kyler made a big donation that resulted in 60,000 meals being delivered to the North Texas Food Bank.

He described the gesture as a “no brainer” and pointed out that helping others in this time of need was his “bigger purpose.”

It certainly was big, as the North Texas Food Bank distributes food to more than 200 partner agencies in 13 counties. (ESPN)

Over the weekend, Joel Embiid [Joe-EL EM-beed] of the Philadelphia 76ers played in his fourth NBA All-Star game. He’s one of the best basketball players on the planet — and earned $100,000 because he was chosen for that All-Star game.

But instead of pocketing the money, Joel decided to give his winnings to homeless shelters in Philadelphia. His team stepped up and committed to donating an additional $100,000 to the same groups that Joel had chosen.

He explained that he “felt it was important to provide more support for individuals and families struggling with homelessness and food insecurity” and pledged to “continue to help in any way I can.” (ESPN)

In St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin, Emily Ford recently made history by completing a 1,200-mile hike.

Back in December, Emily and her dog, Diggins, started walking the Ice Age Trail, which goes all across and up-and-down the state of Wisconsin — and became just the second person to do it in winter.

Not only that, Emily was the first female ever to pull off the feat.

She braved harsh elements — including some seriously cold temperatures — during the 69 days she was out there walking.

Emily admits there were times she was “kind of wishing the journey was over” but crossing the finish line was a huge victory.

Now that she’s completed the journey, Emily has returned to her home in Duluth, Minnesota, where she has plans to do nothing but rest and eat for a while. (KBJR-TV)

Back in 2013, 31-year-old Julia Tinetti and 32-year-old Cassandra Madison started working together at the same restaurant in New Haven, Connecticut. The two women quickly became close friends and joked around, telling people they were “sisters” — and would sometimes wear matching clothes to work.

The similarities between Julia and Cassandra were uncanny. They were both adopted from the Dominican Republic as babies — and they both had tattoos of the flag of the Dominican Republic.

They even looked enough alike that customers and co-workers mixed them up all the time.

At one point, Julia and Cassandra looked through their adoption paperwork to see if they might really be sisters. No dice. The forms showed that they had different mothers who lived hours away from each other.

Well, the forms were wrong.

Julia and Cassandra recently did a DNA test and, sure enough, the test confirmed that they are actually biological sisters.

Thanks to the positive test, they now have a closer bond than ever. And, they’ve also reached out and connected with their biological family in the Dominican Republic — and hope to meet them in person someday. (People)