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!”

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.”

Because every kid needs to build a box fort!

Six-year-old Brandon Bailey was excited. The new refrigerator his family waited two weeks for was due to be delivered. Brandon had big ideas for the refrigerator box - he'd build an awesome fort. So when the Lowe's delivery man, Alejandro Porter, showed up with the refrigerator already out of the box, Brandon was crushed. 

Porter saw the boy's disappointment and made a decision. Saying, "Every little boy needs an awesome box fort!" he went back to Lowe's and got a refrigerator box for Brandon. To say Brandon was delighted with the turn of events is an understatement. 


Brandon's mom Wendy Bailey was so appreciative, she posted a photo of Porter delivering the empty box on her Facebook page. She said, "it was a moment to talk to my son about the fruits of the spirit and how a simple, small act of kindness can make someone else so very happy."

Immigrant children: a lesson in compassion from yesteryear

With our nation's current attention on caring for immigrant children, I'd like to highlight a shining example of compassion toward minors during a time far more horrific than our own.

In early November, 1938, the Nazis unleashed their fury on the minority Jewish population of Germany. Synagogues were burned, homes and businesses were looted and destroyed, men and rabbis were dragged from their beds and beaten in the streets. People died and thousands were arrested across the country, sent to prison or 'work camps.' If Jewish Germans had not realized the extent of the threat to their safety before that night, called Kristallnacht or 'Night of Broken Glass,' that night of terror was their wake up call. The following days saw huge lines at emigration offices.

Meanwhile in England, social welfare agencies, some Jewish, some not, scrambled to come up with a plan to help. The prevailing thought was this: in England and in most other nations, immigration laws mandated the emigrating adult to have a job and housing promised upon arrival. Children had no such mandate. So why not allow vulnerable children to leave Germany and live in host homes until their parents could join them?

By early December, the first Kindertransport had been funded through donations, organized and staffed by agency employees and volunteers, and was underway. The Kindertransport was not only legal, it was created by cooperative efforts of the Nazi Party, Parliament, and a number of social welfare agencies and churches. Between December 1938 and September 1939, almost 10,000 children, mostly Jewish, left Germany and occupied countries for resettlement, mostly in the UK and Scandinavia.


The children's parents typically filed to emigrate to the same country as their children, but not many made it before war broke out in September 1939. Then both the borders and the adults' fate were sealed.

History has provided us with this wonderful example of governments and nonprofits working together to protect children. I was honored to interview a former 'Kinder' as I researched The Path Divided, and I will never forget her story. My question is - what are we doing today to protect those who are equally vulnerable?

93-year-old Italian nonna travels to Kenya to volunteer at an orphanage

Italian grandmothers have a reputation for, shall we stay, sturdiness. Norma Irma is no exception. The 93-year-old has given financial support to an Italian-founded orphanage in Kenya for many years. Last week, she left her home in Noventa Vicentina, Italy with her daughter. The pair flew to Kenya for a three week volunteer stint at that orphanage. Norma's proud granddaughter, Elisa Coltro, shared the story and photos on social media and with the Italian press. 

Elisa wants others to know her grandmother chose to go, "...not to some tourist resort to be waited on hand and foot, but to go to a village of children, in an orphanage. I'm showing her to you because I believe that all of us should always keep a dash of recklessness in order to live and not just survive. Look at her... Who's stopping her? I love her."

She adds, "Perhaps my grandma will decide to stay. It's entirely possible, knowing her big heart and her energy."