More than a haircut

Mark Bustos works as a stylist at an upscale salon in Manhattan. His services are pricey, his clientele elite. He's fortunate, he knows that. And he likes to give back to his community.

So for the last few years, Mark has spent his day off every week giving free haircuts to the homeless. He does this right in the open, on sidewalks or in parks with his client sitting on a bench or an overturned milk crate. He likes the idea of being seen by passersby and hopes his action serves as inspiration to them. Just as he does at his paying job, Mark disposes of hair clippings and disinfects his tools between cuts.

When asked why he spends free time voluntarily giving away his services, Mark's answer is straightforward - we all know how good it feels to get a haircut. The transformation can give confidence to people who are at low points in their lives. Mark now has teamed up with a photographer, Devin Masga, to document before-and-after shots of his homeless clientele. These are uploaded to Mark's Instagram feed  and the hashtag #BeAwesomeToSomebody.

This Uber ride led to Brazil

In late July, Liz Willock took an hour-long Uber ride in Philadelphia in Ellis Hill's car. The two struck up a friendly conversation and Ellis mentioned how proud he is of his son Darrell, part of Team USA at the Rio Olympics. As the conversation continued, Liz learned that Ellis could not afford to fly to Rio to see his son compete.

So Liz decided to do something about it. She set up a GoFundMe page, asking for contributions toward the $7500 it would cost for Ellis to see his son participate in the Olympics. The goal was met in just two days through the generosity of over 150 people, mostly strangers. Now when Darrell Hill competes in the shotput on August 18th, his dad will be in the stands to cheer him on.

Kudos to Liz Willock for seeing a problem, allowing herself to feel empathy, and then developing a solution. And kudos to everyone who read about Ellis' situation and contributed to that solution. We need more news like this.

Read the story here and here.