Barber who gives free haircuts gets own barber shop - for free!

About a year ago, 29-year-old Brennon Jones started giving free haircuts to Philadelphia's homeless people. 'Haircuts 4 the Homeless' is a mission from Jones' heart. Now over one thousand haircuts in, people have taken notice.

One of them, a fellow barber named Sean Johnson, was in the process of relocating his own shop. He was touched by Jones' kindness and decided to extend his own kindness in return. He invited Jones to come and see his old fully equipped barber shop, and then asked him, "How do you like it?" Jones answered that he liked it just fine, so Johnson tossed him the keys. "It's yours," Johnson told him. 

So now Brennon Jones has his own barber shop, given to him lock, stock, and barrel through the kindness of a stranger. Set to open in November, the new shop will have days set aside to serve the homeless. Jones is amazed at the timing of the gift, as he didn't know how he'd continue to give curb side haircuts through the winter. 

"I just continue to rely on my faith," Jones said. "God brought me this far I know he's not gonna leave me now." 

Soldier deployed, students finish painting his house

William Cookson of Salina, Kansas was partway through painting his house when he got the call. His Army National Guard unit was being deployed to Kuwait. 

A branch of the Salina Chamber of Commerce, the Military Affairs Council, got wind of this. They contacted an instructor at Salina Area Technical College with an idea. The instructor liked the idea and put out a question to his student body - anybody want to finish painting a deployed soldier's house? All 40 students in the Diesel Technology program said "Yes!"

So last week they got started. They power-washed, cleaned the gutters, scraped and primed. And they painted. 

Cookson's wife Skyped the event to William in Kuwait. The couple is overwhelmed by the generous gift of time and effort given to them by strangers. 

Homeless teen joins volunteer relief group, finds a purpose

Chris Davis and José Aguilar are military veterans from Arizona. After Hurricanes Harvey and Irma hit the US mainland, they helped out with local relief efforts. When Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, they were determined to help there too. They hopped the first flight they could and a month later, are still hard at work. They head up a group of volunteers nicknamed the "Añasco Expendables" in Añasco, Puerto Rico. 

A local teen, Christopher Rodriguez, has joined their group, and the two men have learned his remarkable story. Rodriguez is estranged from his family, and has been living on the streets for almost 3 years. As a homeless person, he felt misunderstood by his community. He rode out the hurricane alone in a taxi terminal. 

Now as a volunteer within the community, he is able to connect with people who find themselves just as homeless as he is. He loves to see people's positive reactions when he delivers supplies or helps with a manual task. In giving to others, Rodriguez feels he has found renewed energy and purpose. He hopes someone will in turn extend kindness to him so he can fulfill his dream of studying aviation mechanics.

Davis and Aguilar have assured him 'good things come to people who do good things.'  In the meanwhile, the Expendables took Rodriguez out to dinner to celebrate his 19th birthday. 

Bride forgoes registry, gets donations for her homeless students instead

When high school teacher Rickee Stewart set up her bridal registry last spring, she hit on a unique idea. Instead of showering herself and her fiance Kasey with gifts, she wanted to spread the love, specifically to the over 100 students in her West Jordan, Utah school who are currently homeless. Kasey was on board.

The couple set up a DonorChoose.org account for donations of tents, shoes, and food for the homeless teens and their families. At first, donations came from folks on their wedding guest list. But word spread. Within weeks, gifts flowed in from all around the state, then around the country, some even from Canada.

Rickee and her school administration have set up distribution so it remains anonymous, preserving the dignity of those in need. The students and families receiving these items are beyond grateful.

The couple also accepts donations of winter coats to help students through the upcoming winter. With over 2100 student in Rickee's Copper Hills school district homeless, the need in their community is huge.

Luckily, so are the hearts of this teacher and her new husband.

Kindergartner empties piggy bank to buy milk for classmates

Five-year-old Sunshine Oelfke of Michigan was emptying her piggy bank onto the floor when her grandmother, Jackie walked in. Jackie knew Sunshine was saving up her money (for a snowmobile!) so she asked why she was taking money out now. Sunshine said, “I’m going to take it for milk money for my friend Layla. She doesn’t get milk — her mom doesn’t have milk money and I do."

Jackie was touched by Sunshine's kindness and decided to investigate. She learned that Layla is one of about 10 students in Sunshine's Kindergarten class who cannot afford the $0.45 carton of milk cartons at snack time. And the school cannot provide them for free - if each child is that one class were to get just one carton of milk per day, the total cost would be about $180 per month.

Jackie set up a GoFundMe account, hoping to raise the money needed to pay for milk for the whole school year. To date, over $6000 has been raised, exceeding their goal. 

All because of a child's kind heart.

Stranded airport passenger dances 'All Night Long'

One woman's decision to stay positive has brought pleasure to millions.  

When Mahshid Mazooji learned she had missed her connecting flight and would be stuck at the Charlotte NC airport all night, she decided to make the best of it. She wouldn't pout and grumble and curse her bad luck. She'd have a dance party. 

The fact that she didn't know anyone in the airport was irrelevant. She asked perfect strangers, fellow passengers and airport staff alike, to join her in a bit of spontaneous dance to Lionel Richie's song 'All Night Long.' With the participants' permission, she videoed the dances and shared the result on You Tube. 

Now viewed over 2.5 million times, the video has spread smiles around the world. Airport administration gave her kudos for making the best of a bad situation. Even Lionel Richie himself shared the video on his Facebook page, saying, "HAHA! Seems like a really fun use of downtime at the airport... That moonwalk though, wow!" 

He makes kids' prosthetic arms for free - in his shed

Born without a left hand, Stephen Davies never found arm prosthetics especially helpful. In fact, he disliked both the functional design and the aesthetic of the arms he'd tried, calling one such device 'medieval torture.'




Enter Enabling the Future, a "global network of passionate volunteers using 3D printing to give the world a helping hand." Through that organization, volunteer Drew Murray created a hand for Steve using a 3D printer. Steve was delighted with the outcome.

So delighted in fact that he and Drew teamed up as Team UnLimbited. They do their own research and development, and then publicly share their discoveries and limb designs so people anywhere can reap the benefit. They have received thank yous and photos from amputees around the world, beaming about their newfound function with these inexpensive prosthetics.
The stories of children with missing limbs are especially close to Steve's heart. He remembers what it was like and does what he can to make a difference.

So now Steve has a backyard shed which houses his creation lab. In it, he uses a 3D printer to custom-make an arm for a specific child, using the child's choice of templates and colors. He has made Spider Man, Iron Man, Harry Potter, Lego, and a number of other designs, each created for a nominal cost of about 25 pounds (British.)

Even at that low price, the family is not charged for the arm. Team UnLimbited receives donations to offset the cost of materials; Steve donates his time and effort in exchange for the smiles.

Ten things that are going right!

If you're anything like me, you're heartsick over recent news headlines. That's why this headline is as delightful as fresh air in a smoke-filled room! I share the entire column with permission:

Here's Your Antidote to Current Events: Positive News About 10 Death Rates That Keep Going Down

While the media today might cause you to believe that we're surrounded by death and destruction, these positive trends will convince you many things are improving. With advancements in medicine, along with better safety practices, fewer and fewer people are dying of common diseases, accidents, and problematic lifestyles. Don't believe us? Here is the list of…

Teen finds wallet containing $1500, returns it

Eighteen-year-old Tyler Opdyke was on foot, delivering flyers to advertise his uncle's pest control business near his California home. He spotted a wallet on the sidewalk outside a home and approached the home to return it. 

Inside the home, Melissa Vang heard the doorbell, but didn't recognize the young man. Afraid to answer the door to a stranger, she chose to ignore the bell. 

Not getting an answer, Opdyke lifted the wallet to the porch surveillance camera and then tucked it beneath the front doormat.
   
Still concerned about the wallet, Opdyke returned to the home later. That time, Vang and her two children opened the door to him. “It’s sad that I didn’t trust him to open my door when he was just doing a good deed,” she later told reporters. “We all need to be reminded that there are still good people out there.” 

Vang gave the teen a $150 reward, and her overwhelming gratitude. Opdyke took the reward of course, but shrugs off the idea that he did something special. "I just felt - this isn't mine. I need to give it back," he said.