Home security camera captures 3 kids returning a wallet with $700 inside

When a news station gets hold of home security footage, it's often broadcast to identify a criminal. Aurora, Colorado area stations broadcast this footage to help identify three great kids. It worked.

A couple weeks ago, Haylie Wenke, 13, and her 6-year-old brother Reagan were riding bikes with a friend. They spotted a wallet in a driveway, brought it up to the door, and rang the bell. The smart doorbell system answered, and the surprised-looking kids explained their find. "We found your wallet outside of your car and we just thought we would give it back to you. I'm going to put it over here so no one takes the money," Haylie said. 

The wallet had $700 inside.

The homeowner, Jamie Carlton, was grateful for the kids' honesty. He wanted to thank them personally, but didn't know who they were. So he posted the security video on Facebook in hopes of finding the kids. The video was picked up local news outlets, which led Carlton to Haylie's mother. He was able to contact the kids to thank them for their honesty. He said the kids' action, 'refreshed your faith in humanity." 

Bus driver stops his route to help a blind passenger across a construction zone

Milwaukee, Wisconsin resident Gene Hubbard has been riding the transit bus to work for years. The 69-year-old is blind, and knows exactly how to navigate from the bus stop to his place of employment. 

As bus driver Thaddaus Turner approached Hubbard's usual spot, he saw it was blocked by construction. Despite knowing he is responsible to keep the bus on schedule, he stopped the bus and followed Hubbard down the stairs. He then took the man's arm and led him safely across the construction area.  

A driver in oncoming traffic snapped a couple photos and a video of this small kindness. Without knowing either Hubbard or Turner's identity, he shared the video with local news outlets, who in turn broadcast the good deed. 

Turner dismissed his act as something he and his fellow bus drivers do most every day. Hubbard praised Turner's kindness. “If I don’t have a regular locating point to start from, I may as well be in the middle of the ocean.” 

Cyclist rescues injured dog by carrying him on his back out of the woods

Jarrett Little was cycling with friends through a wooded area near Columbus, Georgia. When they stopped for a break, a dog limped out of the woods.

The dog had a broken leg and road rash. Plus, he was thin, so the cyclists surmised he'd been hit by a car some time earlier. They fed him and watered him from their own supplies, and talked about what to do from there. They couldn't get a car to this location - it was too remote. And they certainly couldn't leave the dog where they'd found him.

So Little put the dog on his back and cycled to the nearest town seven miles away. To stabilize the injured dog, he had to do some of the ride without using his hands.

They stopped at the town's bike shop to inquire about where to buy the dog some more food and water. Andrea Shaw, a Maine resident in Georgia for work, happened to be in the shop at the time. She had an instant connection to the dog and set about adopting him and caring for him. She found a vet, paid for the dog's care, and arranged for his transport to her farm in Maine. In honor of the place he was discovered, she named him Columbo and even started a Facebook page to document his adventures.

Columbo now has a forever home with Shaw, thanks to Little's willingness to piggyback him out of the woods. 

Publix employees comb through landfill to find 3-year-old's stuffed bunny

We all know that child whose 'lovey' provides comfort. For 3-year-old Madison, it is a stuffed flop-eared rabbit named Bunny she had since the day she was born.

Jenna Rachal, Madison's mom, knew the girl had taken Bunny into the Publix grocery store in Daphne, Alabama. But when unpacking at home, Bunny was gone. Rachal returned to the store and was told that no one turned in Bunny. 

The desperate mom sent out a plea on Facebook. After hundreds of shares and a couple of days, the post drew the attention of Mike Gayheart, the Publix store manager. He scanned surveillance footage and saw what happened to Bunny - it was left in the shopping cart and then, horror of horrors, thrown in the trash. That trash had then been taken to the dumpster which in turn went to the landfill. 

Without letting Rachal know of the attempt, Gayheart asked three Publix employees, Alex Chandonnett, Jordan De La Rosa, and Bobby Barnhart, to join him at the landfill in the search for Bunny. Unbelievably, the men agreed. Even more incredible, they found the stuffed animal. 

Gayheart took Bunny home and washed it repeatedly. Then he called Rachal to deliver the stunning news. The happy Madison was soon reunited with Bunny. Rachal again went to Facebook to share her delight. “This is above and beyond," she said, "a true example of the good people in the world!”

Two vets log 15,000 hours driving other vets to appointments

At 85 and 70 years old, Mel Ortega and Bernardo Jaramill might be content to stay home and relax. Not these two retired army vets. They volunteer their time with Disabled American Veterans, driving disabled vets to appointments near their home in northern New Mexico. Both men remember the camaraderie and mutual support they received from their fellow soldiers, and they see this as a way to continue to serve.  

Since starting to drive for DAV in 2002, Ortega has logged over 10,000 hours - an amazing 200,000 miles. Jaramillo joined the effort a year later, driving over 5,000 hours and bringing the pair's total volunteer driving miles to 300,000.   
“When I was wounded in Vietnam, my brothers in arms, they never left me or the other guys behind,” Jaramillo said. “I don’t intend to let ’em down. I don’t care from what war, we gotta serve them, because they served us.”

Animal shelter gets 12,000 pounds of food thanks to a third grader's birthday wish

Adisynn Kiker didn't want gifts for her 8th birthday. Instead, she asked for people to donate to the Humane Society of Cedar Creek Lake near her home in Tool, Texas. Her mom Jessica posted Adisynn's request on Facebook, and it went viral. 

Adisynn and her mom helped with collections, and donations poured in from individuals and businesses. In a few days, the shelter posted a list of everything received in Adisynn's name:

• 580 pounds of cat litter.
• 11,591 pounds of dog food.
• 152 pounds of cat food.
• 28 cans of cat food.
• 43 gallons of bleach.
• 7 containers of laundry soap.
• 7 containers of Simple Green.
• 60 rolls of paper towels.

The shelter posted, "Thank you again for everything!!!! Our fur babies greatly appreciate it." 

He bought as many AC units as he could afford, then gave them away

It's been a hot summer in the northeast. With temperatures over 90 degrees for several days last week, Chad Foster sure appreciated the air conditioning at his home and at his business, a tattoo shop in Schenectady NY. 

Foster has always had a soft spot for children, and his own comfort made him think about kids without AC at home. He called around and learned a local Home Depot had windows units available. He bought six, then posted this on Facebook: "So I just left Home depot with as many air conditioners as I could afford. If you know of a family with kids that can't afford one, let me know!!!!"  

Within hours, the post was shared hundreds of times, and families in need were identified. Foster delivered the AC units himself. One appreciative recipient said the gift "made my summer.” Of Foster, she said, “He's like Jesus but with a better beard.”

This couple turned grief into a monthly birthday party for hundreds of homeless kids

Mary Davis and her husband Ari Kadin grieved. They'd suffered two painful miscarriages and were uncertain if they'd ever be able to have children of their own. 

They decided to turn their yearning for children into a celebration of other children.  The couple founded Worthy of Love, a 501c3 non-profit which throws a monthly birthday party for homeless children who live in Los Angeles' Skid Row. Almost six years ago, their first party drew about fifteen people. Things sure have changed.

Held on a rooftop so kids feel 'they're on top of the world,' parties now average about 200 people. Each Skid Row child who has a birthday that month is invited, and their family joins in the fun. They're treated to games, cake, party favors, and Skiddy Cat, the mascot known to high five and dance the night away.  

Since starting Worthy of Love, Davis and Kadin have celebrated birthdays with over 6,000 kids and the help of volunteers and donations. Now they have a child of their own, a daughter, who they say will celebrate her birthday with the other kids on the rooftop. Davis said, "I want her to grow up knowing there are kids that don't get everything that you have. You have to bless others and bring happiness and joy to those that need it most."

Elderly man sets out to clean each of the 388 Holocaust memorial plaques in his city

Starting a decade ago, over a dozen European nations installed bronze 'stumbling blocks' on city streets. Each block holds a small plaque inscribed with the name, birth year, and other information of victims of the Nazis. In most cases, the blocks were installed in front of the individual's last known residence.

Dirt and grime have built up on the plaques of course. Salzburg, Austria resident Gerhard Geier thought the people memorialized on his city's streets deserved better. The 79-year-old Geier made it his year's goal to personally clean each plaque on Salzburg's 388 stumbling blocks. Why this year? To mark the darkness of the 80th anniversary of Germany's annexation of Austria with a note of humanity.

So Geier sets out armed with a footstool and cleaning supplies. He cleans each five-inch square plaque by hand, rinses it with saline, then polishes and seals the bronze to slow further damage. It may take him a half hour, but he says it feels as if he is "caressing the victims of the Nazis one last time."  He has noticed an increase in nationalism around the world, and feels it is important to remember what happened then to prevent its recurrence in the future.