Good News Stories

All I have done is copy and paste these seven good news stories. Maybe once a week all us bloggers can post one new good news story and help change all the bad news we hear. Hope you enjoy.

Be sure to listen to the music at the end also.

1)Janiyah Lewis, 6 years old, was leaving a store and saw a man crying. Her mother was so inspired by what her daughter did next, she shared the story

“After leaving out of the store today my daughter did something that really made me stop and think. There was this guy sitting there crying and she asks me ‘did you see that man crying? What’s wrong with him?’ I said yes but I’m not sure maybe he’s just sad… She said, ‘maybe he’s hot and thirsty’ she walked over to him and goes ‘hi sir be happy it’s a nice day it’s not raining. Are you hot ? Why don’t you go home the ground is dirty?’ He says I have no home but I will be ok. She looked at him with the saddest face and goes “so that means you’re homeless. So you have no food because you have no refrigerator.” She gave him a few dollars out of her purse and her drink and said, ‘Please go eat. It would make me happy. I like McDonald’s you should go there.’ I could tell she made his day. On top of that, 2 more people came up and gave money as well. We had a small conversation and he explained his trailer burnt down and he lost everything including his wife. I felt for him. It just warms my heart. A 6 year old lead by example this morning. AWESOME! Kids see no color and that’s exactly how it should be. It’s not just a statement saying that the children are our future, it’s a FACT. That gives me a little more hope for the world.”

Many people are homeless, not because they’re lazy and don’t want to work, but because they have had horrible things happen to them. We can all learn compassion from this little girl and her huge heart.

little girl homeless blind man

Photo credit Kenyatta Lewis/ Facebook

2)  Donations are pouring in for James Karagiannis, Buffalo’s “Ice Creamcyle Dude.”  Karagiannis, 36, owns a fleet of five cycles that visit the city’s disadvantaged neighborhoods, selling ice cream for just $1, or for free in exchange for a correct answer to a history or math question.

With his reflector sunglasses and sneakers the color of a blueberry Popsicle, Karagiannis is a familiar sight in many parts of the city.

But after almost a decade in business, Karagiannis still feels the sting when saying no to a kid who doesn’t have a dollar for ice cream. So he and his drivers keep a stash of freebies to give to children who cannot afford a frozen treat.

Still, nothing is free. The youngster must answer a math or history question.

News spread fast on social media about Karagiannis’ business model, so he started a “Pay It Forward” campaign to allow people to buy ice cream for deserving children.

In return for your donation, Karagiannis has the child who receives a free ice cream write a thank you card which he then mails to you.

“I truly did not think we’d raise more than $500,” Karagiannis wrote on Facebook. “I’m afraid to look at the current total but it’s got to be over $6k and who knows where it’ll be when I wake up tomorrow morning.”

good news Buffalo

Photo credit: Robert Kirkham / Buffalo News

3) More than $167,000 dollars has been raised for a 19-year-old who was found sleeping in a tent outside the gates of his college last weekend.

Fred Barley, who is homeless, was discovered by two police officers responding to a trespassing call near a parking lot at Gordon State College in Barnesville, Georgia. He told the officers he had ridden his little brother’s bicycle six hours to register for classes for his second semester of college.

In addition to the bike, Barley had two duffel bags containing all his wordly possessions and two gallons of water. All he had to eat was a box of cereal.

The officers brought Barley to a nearby motel and paid for two nights accommodation.

The story, however, doesn’t end there.

One of the officers, Dicky Carreker, posted Fred’s story on Facebook and it went viral. A GoFundMe page on Barley’s behalf has raised nearly $168,000 dollars as of Saturday evening.

“I was not expecting any of this support and am in awe of how this community has come together to help me,” Barley told the Herald-Gazette. “I was just trying to go to school, find a job and make it on my own. Now it seems as though I am part of a new community and have a new family.”

fred college student poor good news

4) A simple act of kindness from one Louisiana man is giving all of us a little slice of hope.

James Varnado brought a smile to many faces in Kenner, Louisiana, when he began helping Target shoppers to their cars in the middle of a heavy rainstorm with his trusty umbrella.

Inside the store, another shopper, Deepak Saini, witnessed Varnado’s good deed and captured the moment in a photo that later went viral on Facebook.

“In that moment, it didn’t matter that he was black and the woman in this picture was white. It was one human helping another,” Saini wrote. “Kindness is something we all need to give to each other right now and let this man be an example.”

In the photo, Varnado appears to be escorting one of many shoppers to their car despite the downpour, proving that not all heroes have capes — some have umbrellas.

photo credit Deepak Saini/Facebook

5) Instead of getting presents for her birthday, Samya McLaughlin, 9, wanted to send a message.

After watching news about the deadly shootings of Dallas police officers on July 7, Samya decided she wanted to use her birthday money to buy lunch for everyone at the 11th Precinct in her local neighborhood in Detroit.

“I wanted to show that all lives matter,” Samya told TODAY. “I felt really bad for the kids (in Dallas) who lost their fathers, so I wanted to take care of the police officers and support them.”

Joining her mother, Sierra McLaughlin, and her father, Sam Walker, along with several other family members, Samya surprised the local officers with a brown bag lunch on July 9, a day before her ninth birthday. She helped pass out about 30 bags with sandwiches, fruit, chips and a cookie.

Samya McLaughlin surprised police officers with lunch bought with her birthday money

photo credit Sierra McLaughlin

6) One woman had a “proud mommy moment” last Monday when her young son stopped and shared a compassionate moment with local policemen.

According to Kelly Garza’s Facebook post, she had just finished eating breakfast with her 6-year-old son at a Bob Evans in St. Petersburg, Florida. On the way out, her son spotted policemen eating and approached them.

“My sweet boy prayed over these officers, for safety and thanked them for their service,” Garza wrote in her post.

Many people commented on the post, praising Garza and her son, Joshua.

“Joshua is being brought up in a very loving church, where he has learned that it’s ok to share his faith and that it’s an act of love to pray for others,” she wrote.

photo credit Kelly Garza

7) A Connecticut police officer with a passion for helping children posted an adorable note two siblings wrote him while he was recovering from a knee injury. 8-year-old Malik and 9-year-old Tasha thank Officer Anthony Nolan for “being like a dad for us” and reading to them.

Nolan, who was injured when he fell at a traffic stop a couple of weeks ago, told TODAY.com he was surprised when he recently found the letter duct-taped to his front door.

“We walked up the stairs and I was like, what in the world is on the door? After seeing it, it was a little emotional,” Nolan said. “Guys, we like to have our egos, but it took my ego away.”

Nolan, an officer for the New London Police Department, said he first met the siblings while working on the beach a couple of years ago.

“I heard crying and when I approached them and asked the person who I assumed was their grandmother what happened, she explained that their book got wet and they didn’t get to read it,” he said. “I tried to calm them down because it seemed like the book was important to them.”

That sparked a conversation about books and reading, and ever since then, Nolan has been visiting the children at least once a week to read or take them to the park or for walks on the beach. He said he volunteers with many children in the New London area, especially ones who don’t have a father figure, or who live with a single parent or another relative who could use some help.

photo credit Anthony L Nolan

Brother To Brother by Union Of Sinners and Saints – 

Dear Hate by Maren Morris – 

Comin’ Undone by Sarah Jarosz – 

Change For The World by Charles Bradley – 

Colourblind by Hands Like Houses – 

Where We Go From Here by Jason Gray – 

 

 

 

15 thoughts on “Good News Stories

  1. Pingback: Good News Stories Time – My God, My Music, My Life

  2. Pingback: Good News Stories | Never A Dull Bling

  3. Pingback: New, Forgotten, Unknown 7/29/16 New Music Friday – My God, My Music, My Life

Leave a comment