Category: Uncategorized

Restaurant Workers Surprise Blind Customer with Birthday Message in Braille
Natalie Te Paa was dining at Luciano by Gina D’Acampo in London for her birthday. Te Paa and her friend, Claire Sara, stopped by the restaurant without notice after seeing a show nearby. Sara informed the restaurant that it was her friend’s birthday. The restaurant staff presented Te Paa, a singer-songwriter originally from Auckland, New Zealand who now lives in the U.K, with a plate that had “happy birthday” written in Braille using chocolate. As she felt the raised dots, Te Paa exclaimed, “No freaking way! They did not! Oh my gosh! Are you kidding me? That is insane. Thank you so much.” The restaurant’s general manager, Giovanni Gallucio, told TODAY that they usually use melted chocolate to write birthday messages, but this was the first Braille message they wrote for a guest. Te Paa said she had celebrated her birthday in restaurants before where the staff would sing for her, but this was the first time a restaurant has accommodated her disability in such a way. She was especially touched by the effort from the staff, from looking up how to write the message in Braille to ensuring the chocolate was cold enough so it would not melt when she touched it. Te Paa’s friend captured the touching moment which was later shared to TikTok, where the video has been viewed more than 16 million times and received 4.3 million likes. "The fact that people have responded so much and so well to it just shows how much the world needs kindness right now, how much the world needs a message of hope, needs to see people doing things and going above and beyond for each other," she said. She hopes the video will lead to a larger conversation about inclusivity. "Blindness is not easy. There are a lot of times that you do face discrimination, you do face things that are challenging and tough and difficult," she said. "So the fact that they did that for us really opened up a conversation of awareness. We've had comments from restaurant owners and chefs being like, 'I've never thought of this idea.' "We need to make it more inclusive for people of all disabilities … Being able to learn how to get on the level of the person you're seeing in front of you. If just one restaurant is inspired to make their service more inclusive, that's all I could ask for." Image source: Yahoo News

Mom Struggling Financially Sews Her Son’s Birthday Gift, Strangers See Post Online and Flood Boy with Gifts
Tiffany Holloway’s son, Jonas, is obsessed with anything related to the ocean, and asked for a stuffed Manta Ray for his fifth birthday. However, Holloway quickly realized she could not afford one. “I saw that I had only $2,” she told The Washington Post. “There was no way I could afford even the cheapest Manta Ray that I saw for $20.” Holloway had to get creative with only two weeks to go until her son’s birthday on Aug. 16. She sewed a stuffed manta ray from her son’s old baby blanket using a pattern she had drawn on a cardboard box. “I sat on the couch until 1 in the morning, poking myself with that needle until I’d finally finished sewing it together,” said Holloway. “I took two buttons off one of my blouses and used those for eyes.” The 33-year-old mother was so proud of her creation that she posted it to a poverty/finance Reddit thread, which she follows for finance tips. The post became number one on the platform with over 66,000 likes. “This is so much better and more special than a store-bought manta ray could ever be,” one user commented. “I figured I’d be lucky to hear from a couple of people. I thought I might get teased because the button eyes aren’t on straight,” said Holloway. Dozens of people asked if they could send Jonas some additional birthday gifts, and Holloway accepted. Within days, packages filled with plush ocean creatures began showing up on their doorstep. “I’ve never seen him so happy — I can’t thank people enough for making him feel special,” Holloway said. “I’ve been having a tough time financially and was feeling like a failure as a parent until this happened.” Reddit users have also sent Holloway money that she used to pay for her classes and put into savings. “One man paid for us to go to the aquarium in Oklahoma City about 20 minutes away, and another person bought us tickets to the zoo,” she said. “In both places, Jonas was able to see manta rays for the first time and pet them. “It’s not about the presents and money. It’s about love and humanity.” Image source: The Washington Post

Heroic Cat Led Rescue Team to 83-Year-Old Woman Who Had Fallen 70 Feet Into Ravine
An 83-year-old woman went missing in Cornwall, England, and the search crew had nearly given up when someone heard meowing. The cat was on the edge of the ravine that the woman had fallen into. Piran, the woman’s black cat, helped lead a neighbor right to the woman. "Without the cat waiting at the gate to that field, it could have been hours later that I or anyone else would have checked there," the neighbor, Tamar Longmuir, told Sky News. Typically, black cats are considered signs of bad luck. Piran, however, is being hailed a hero by the search team. Police say the woman survived a 70-foot fall into a steep ravine near her home. Thanks to the cat’s persistent calls, the rescue crews were able to locate the woman and get her to a hospital in stable condition. “Whilst the lady concerned is still currently receiving care, she is in good spirits and is being well looked after,” wrote the Bodmin Police in a Facebook post. “Piran the cat saved the day!” An eyewitness to the rescue efforts said that finding the woman was all thanks to Piran. "It's a massive 'well done' to all the emergency services who worked together and to Piran," the witness said. "The outcome could have been a lot worse." Image source: CBS News

Three Women Go on Road Trip Together After Finding Out They Were Dating Same Man
Seven months ago, Ari Roberts, Bekah King and Morgan Tabor found out they were all dating the same man. Turns out, it was not just the three of them, either — the man was dating six different women at the same time. Tabor said she dated him in 2018 for about a year. King met him that year and started dating him in the summer of 2020, and Roberts met him during Halloween in 2020. Their surprising friendship started last December, when Tabor said she had a suspicious feeling about her boyfriend. They had been dating on and off for years, but had just decided to date exclusively. After some digging on social media, Tabor connected with Abby and eventually all the other women dating the man. Instead of seeking revenge, the trio decided to join forces and convert a 30-year-old school bus to travel the country together. "We started in Boise, Idaho, where the whole build-out took place, and then we traveled east through Idaho," Roberts told "Good Morning America." "We went to some really cool hot springs through Ketchum, which is a beautiful area there. And then we went through the Grand Tetons, which was so much fun. And then we went through Jackson, through Yellowstone. We were just in Bozeman, Montana, and now we're back near Yellowstone." "We're winging it a little bit," added Tabor. "Like we have a rough draft route, but we're open to not following it. Kind of just opportunities and people we meet, we'll go from there." They're documenting the journey on their Instagram and TikTok page, @the.bam.bus and forming a bond stronger than any man can break. "Something we love to share with everyone, and especially girls who are maybe in a similar situation or going through something, is just to keep your head up. Keep going, you got this!" said Tabor. Roberts added, "Surround yourself with people that lift you up and don't tear you down, because I think that's what happened with all of us like in our different relationships with the same guy. I think there is a lot of tearing down and it sucks." Image source: Daily Mail

‘I am smart!’: Atlanta Teachers Have Students Say Positive Affirmations Before Entering Classroom
In a video that recently went viral, fourth graders at Gideons Elementary School in Atlanta, Georgia lined up to shout positive affirmations to themselves in a mirror while their teachers cheered them on. “I am smart!” “I am a good person!” "The idea came from a practice that I do with myself and my 5-year-old daughter," Neffiteria Acker, the teacher seen in the video holding the mirror, told TODAY. "When we're on our way to school, I have her repeat affirmations to me, starting with, 'I am.' Usually I just ask her to tell me something good about herself. She'll say, 'I'm a fast eater,' or, 'I'm a fast runner.' Then I'll add to it: 'You're also really brave. So why don't you say, "I'm brave."' “It boosts my confidence. It boosts my confidence as a woman and a mother. So I figured, why not add that into the classroom?” she added. Cierra Levay Broadway, the teacher who filmed and uploaded the video, said she was moved while watching the students shout their affirmations. "It was a really great moment," she told TODAY. "I really got chills when I saw the kids and heard what they were saying for their affirmations. For a lot of them, it was their first time ever doing that." The teachers understand the importance of building self-confidence at a young age, especially for their students that may not have the opportunity at home. "We get seeds planted in our minds and in our spirits every day and we don't realize how we're watering those seeds, and a lot of it is negative," Acker said. "So planting a seed of self-love is the best seed to plant, and all me and Cierra have to do is water it." "We teach in a pretty rough neighborhood in Atlanta, and a lot of those kids don't hear that at all," Broadway said. "They hear a lot of negativity about themselves. ... It's good to plant those seeds here." Image source: Times Now

Internet Meme Star Raises $6 Million in One Day to Help Evacuate Those at Risk in Afghanistan
Internet meme artist Tommy Marcus — aka Quentin Quarantino — created a GoFundMe campaign to help fly at-risk Afghans out of the control following the Taliban’s takeover. The campaign raised $550,000 in two hours, and over $6 million in just one day. The campaign hopes to help evacuate human rights lawyers, activists, translators, journalists and artists that are at “imminent risk” of being killed. Those seeking asylum will be transported in groups and the funds raised already should be able to help thousands of people evacuate the country. According to the GoFundMe page, “Every $1,500 raised represents a seat on a plane and a life saved.” Tommy Marcus created his Instagram alter ego, Quentin Quarantino, at the beginning of the pandemic and a comical way to deal with the anxieties of being stuck inside. Marcus began posting funny memes, which led to more serious social commentary and over 767,000 followers. “The Internet can be a force for good,” he wrote on his Instagram page. “Raising five million dollars in less than 24 hours for this rescue mission has given us and many around the world hope for humanity. Most importantly, it is a direct line to attempt safe passage for Afghans in distress.” “The amount of impact this will have and the lives it will save is so fascinating that no word I can put in this tweet will do it justice,” he posted. Image source: Access Wire

11-year-old Girl is the Bees-Knees: Her Mission to Save the Bees
Scarlett Harper, an 11-year-old girl from Illinois, recently learned that the bees in her neighborhood were being eradicated by mosquito pesticides. This prompted her to start a campaign to save the bees. “Go make some phone calls, get some state reps on board, let’s do this!” she wrote on Instagram in May. Harper’s plan was then set into action when she helped create the “Bee Bill,” or Illinois HB 3118, with State Representative Robyn Gabel. The bill aims to restrict mosquito control pesticides that can be deadly to bees. Harper cold-called lawmakers and was able to lock in 22 co-sponsor. The piece of legislation made it through Illinois’ Energy and Environment Committee with a unanimous vote of 29-0. “Bees are completely vital to humans,” said Harper. “They pollinate a third of our food supply, and without them, we really can’t survive.” Her parents say that her passion for the environment is something she formed all on her own, starting at an early age. At nine years old, Harper learned of a plan to cut down trees for a construction project in her town. She joined the Environmental Forestry Commission and spoke to officials to try and stop the project from happening. “As a kid trying to make an impact stopping the climate crisis, I have been lucky to be given a little extra leeway to be blunt and impatient with how slow progress is,” she said. “I realized that early on and started using my voice to state the elephant in the room. “Instead of thinking of my age as a disadvantage, I try to use it as a tool, because I’m a little bit younger. I can not get bogged down in what might go wrong.” The Bee Bill faced opposition from pesticide companies and landscapers, but this pushed Harper to fight even harder. “We’re going to win,” she said. Image source: CBS News

Family Accidentally Throws Away $25k, Trash Crew Races to Rescue and Return It
Unbeknownst to her family, this grandma had stashed $25,000 in cold, hard cash (literally) in her freezer. Her grandchildren were helping her clean her kitchen one day when they accidentally tossed out the envelope along with outdated frozen food. “They were cleaning out their house for their grandmother and they cleaned out the refrigerator, threw out all the garbage, grabbed all the freezer stuff and put it in a bag, and then the grandma was like, ‘Hey, there’s an envelope with $25,000 in there, don’t lose that,’” Gary Capan, operations supervisor for waste collection agency Republic Services, told News 5 Cleveland. It was too late — the envelope was already in the trash that had been picked up by a garbage truck and was en route to the landfill. Capan said he received a frantic call from a customer notifying him of the mistake. “One team was trying to track down the driver and find out exactly what his location was and if he made it to the landfill,” he explained. “If it got dropped there, there’s no finding it anymore.” Thankfully, the driver had not made it to the landfill just yet. Capan and his team had the driver reroute to a recycling center where a crew rummaged through the trash. Ten workers sifted through the garbage and found the bag with an envelope inside after just ten minutes of searching. “Makes us feel good here. Made myself feel good,” said Capan. “What a great story. And we’re just glad to help.” Image source: The Outsider

Former Gang Member Goes Viral for Singing to Hospital Patients
28-year-old Enrique Rodriquez is currently working as a phlebotomist at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital and has been in the healthcare field for the past nine years. Prior to that, Rodriquez belonged to the Bloods, a notorious gang group known for drug activity, theft and murder. Rodriquez said he left crime to help people in need, after receiving two life-changing wake-up calls — first, when his brother went to prison in 2009, and, then, when a rival gang made two attempts to take his mother’s life. “I found God at an extremely troubling period in my life and he showed himself to me when I needed him the most,” he told Daily Mail. “I know that God wanted me to care for people just as he cared for me, and the hospital was the perfect place to do that.” After leaving the gang, Rodriquez landed a job as a hospital housekeeper. One year later, he completed training to become an ICU patient attendant. While caring for others, Rodriquez discovered his musical talents and taught himself to play the piano and guitar. Now, Rodriquez is a viral TikTok sensation that gained attention for posting videos of himself playing the piano and singing for critically ill patients in the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit. “Jesus told me, ‘Use your voice to love others and bring joy and peace,’ ” he said. “So [as] long as there’s air in my lungs, I’ll do just that.” Image source: Daily Mail

More Than a Medal: Polish Olympian Auctions Silver Medal for Child’s Heart Surgery
Maria Andrejczyk announced in a Facebook post that she discovered a fundraiser for an eight-month-old boy Miloszek Malysa that had a serious heart defect and was in need of life-saving surgery, but the family needed financial assistance. The Polish javelin thrower promptly auctioned off the silver medal that she won in the Tokyo Olympics for $125,000 to the Polish supermarket chain, Zabka. The English translation of what Andrejczyk wrote on Facebook says: "He already has a head start from Kubus – a boy who didn't make it in time but whose amazing parents decided to pass on the funds they collected. ... And in this way, I also want to help. It's for him that I am auctioning my Olympic silver medal." Andrejczyk missed a medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics by two centimeters and suffered a shoulder injury that forced her to sit out the 2017 competitions. Then, Andrejczyk faced a life-threatening diagnosis of her own when she was diagnosed with bone cancer in 2018 — all before making her successful return to Tokyo in 2021. After winning the auction, Zabka returned the medal to Andrejczyk, instead making a donation for the surgery in her honor. The boy will fly to the United States soon to have surgery at Stanford University Medical Center. Image source: Sports Illustrated