This third-grader used his Make-A-Wish for a school pizza party

When the Make-A-Wish folks in South Dakota asked Javier Amos what he wanted, they might have expected the usual: a trip to Disney World, a meeting with a favorite celebrity. Instead, the 9-year-old gave a response they'd never gotten before. He wanted a gigantic pizza party for his school.

Javier is now in remission in his battle against leukemia, and he wanted to celebrate with all his friends. And did they ever celebrate!

Javier and his family arrived at the party in a police car, sirens wailing. With the entire student body chanting his name, Javier walked through a tunnel of friends and supporters who cheered and waved signs with congratulatory wishes. After the pizza, the kids partied for two hours with a bounce house, laser tag, an inflatable slide,
zoo animals, and games. 

Javier was definitely the teacher that day.

Man who started walking 20 miles to work given a car by his boss

College student Walter Carr was stuck. His car broke down the day before he was to start a new job with a moving company called Bellhops. The home scheduled to be moved was 20 miles from where Carr lived in Birmingham, Alabama. 

In search of a ride in the morning, he reached out to friends. No one could help. Carr did the only thing he could think of - he started walking at midnight, determined to be on time for his first day on the job. 

A few hours into his trek, he sat down in a parking lot to rest. A police officer drove up and asked what he was doing sitting in an empty lot in the middle of the night. When Carr explained his plan, the officer, Mark Knighten, offered breakfast and a ride toward his destination. Carr accepted both. 

After breakfast, Knighten drove Carr closer to his work site, but had to drop him off because of a shift change. He promised to tell the next shift officer of Carr's situation in the hopes that he'd be able to offer transport too. Carr waited for a time, but concerned that he'd be late, started walking again. 

Officer Scott Duffey caught up with Carr a while later and drove him the last four miles to the job site. When they arrived, Officer Duffey approached Jenny Lamey, the homeowner who was readying for the move. He told her he had a 'great kid in the car' who had been walking all night to get to her house. Lamey started to cry. She offered Carr some food and a place to take a nap, but Carr declined. His Bellhops co-workers had arrived and he said, "I'd rather get started." After the job was completed, one of the co-workers gave Carr a ride home.

The next day, Lamey called Carr's supervisor to praise the committed young man. She also started a GoFundMe campaign with a goal of $2000 for Carr's auto repairs. As of this writing, over $91K has been pledged. 

Even more amazing, word of Carr's dedication reached Bellhops CEO Luke Marklin in Tennessee. Marklin called Carr and offered to drive down to Birmingham to meet him for coffee. That's when Marklin presented Carr with his own 2014 Ford Escape. Bellhops “...set a really high bar for heart and grit and … you just blew it away,” Marklin told him.

Man asks for volunteers to shovel out Chicago seniors, over 100 people respond

On a 9-day stretch in early February, Chicago picked up 18 inches of snow. Jahmal Cole knew that would leave some elderly folks in his South Chicago neighborhood housebound.

Cole is the organizer of the non-profit community group My Block, My Hood, My City which "provides youth with new experiences, exposing them to possibilities beyond their own communities." To his Twitter followers, Cole sent a request for 10 volunteers to help him shovel out some snow-bound seniors. He offered hoodies, hats, and even lunch for anyone willing to help.

Over 100 people showed up, many with shovels in hand. And they weren't just from Cole's neighborhood. Folks came from all around the city, ready and able to help. Some folks who couldn't attend sent food or monetary donations to buy lunch for those working. Together, these "snow angels" shoveled out more than 50 homes.

She invited 60 strangers to a Christmas meal

First, an apology to my subscribers. Between the holiday chaos and a stomach bug, I've been off my Tuesday/Friday blogging schedule for a bit. Now I'm back on track. Fingers crossed I stay that way.

This story comes to us from Scotland. Back in November, Taylor Barnes overheard a woman say she dreaded the holiday season. She would be alone, and the media build-up of togetherness and family around Christmas did nothing but increase her sense of loneliness. Barnes was haunted by the truth behind the woman's words and wanted to do something. The idea of a community Christmas meal popped into her head, and she decided to make that happen. But as a nursing student and the single mother of a one-year-old, she was short on both time and money. 

She posted her idea on Facebook, and was amazed to see the response. Owners of a local steak house offered to cook and serve a luncheon right at their restaurant. Local businesses donated food and a hair salon offered services. Many businesses and individuals donated money to help make the Christmas meal a reality.

Barnes ran with it. She arranged transportation for her 60 guests, many of them disabled and/or lacking transportation, all of them strangers to Barnes. She used the remaining funds to buy gifts for everyone, including a toy or two for each child in attendance. According to the guests, the meal was delicious and the singer was quite entertaining, but having companionship on Christmas was best of all. 

Barnes was delighted with the outcome of her idea, but shrugged off any accolades. "It was a community effort," she said. "There's a lot of really good people out there."

Man pays for the person behind him at drive-through, prevents suicide

Ontario's Pickering News has the same policy as many newspapers - they do not publish letters anonymously. Despite that policy, they ran this editorial in early November about an anonymous letter they received: 

The letter writer wrote about being in a bad place in July of this year, so bad in fact that they (I don’t know whether the author was a woman or man) intended to take their life. July 18 was going to be their last day.“I had planned to end it all at home in my own little ritual and explain my thoughts in a note for anyone who cares,” they wrote.
Prior to this final act, however, a trip to Tim Hortons was in order for a coffee and a muffin. While in the drive-thru at Kingston and Glendale in Pickering the lady at the window told them, “The nice man already paid for it and he said to have a great day.” She was referring to the man in the SUV in front of them.
“I wondered why someone would buy coffee for a stranger for no reason. Why me? Why today? If I was a religious sort I would take this as a sign. This random act of kindness was directed at me on this day for a purpose.”
Back at home, they began to sob uncontrollably.
“I decided at that moment to change my plans for the day and do something nice for someone. I ended up helping a neighbour take groceries out of her car and into the house.”
They explained every day since she has looked for ways to make someone’s life a little better, and, as a result, it has “enriched my life in more ways than I could’ve imagined.”A coffee and muffin saved a life that day, and although I don’t know who the person was who sent me that letter, I feel better for telling the story.
Random acts of kindness do so much more than you think.
“To the nice man in the SUV … thank you from the bottom of my heart, and know your kind gesture has truly saved a life,” they said. “On July 18, 2017, I not only had a great day, I had the greatest day!”

When that column appeared in the paper, Glen Oliver's wife pointed it out to him. She knew of his long-standing habit of paying for the person behind him at the drive-through, usually at that very same Tim Horton's. He later told reporters, “I was blown away, blown away — couldn’t believe it...You know for such a small thing, just a series of events that were set off from that point on … 
"It's exponential now, you know? Like such a small, insignificant thing to most people just turned out to be … the planets aligned for somebody."

Anonymous donor tracked down decades later - and a scholarship is founded in her name

Hilde Back knows the power of spreading kindness. As youngsters, she and her brothers had fled Nazi Germany for Sweden. Their parents perished in the camps. Hilde has never forgotten the warm welcome the children received as strangers in Sweden and the opportunities they were given to create a new life there.

She was teaching preschool several decades later when she heard about a program her school's administrator was starting. It would fund primary and secondary education for gifted children in Nairobi. Hilde jumped at the chance to give this opportunity to a stranger in a land she'd never visited. All she learned about the child was this: His name was Chris. He was 5 or 6 years old. His older sister wrote a few letters to Hilde, then those petered out. She kept up her contributions anyway.

Fast forward to 2002. The Swedish Ambassador in Nairobi contacted 80-year-old Hilde. The child she sponsored all those years ago wanted to meet his patron to say thank you. Chris Mburu had earned degrees from the University of Nairobi and Harvard Law School and worked for the United Nations as a Human Rights Advisor. The two met, and not surprisingly, they got along well.

Hilde and Chris have met a number of times since. A documentary about Hilde and Chris' story called A Small Act aired on HBO in 2010, and won awards at various film festivals.

In tribute to Hilde's kindness and to continue its spread, Mburu started a scholarship in her name. Hilde has flown to Kenya to visit Chris and to personally see the effect this fund has on the students it supports. To date, 673 scholarships have been awarded to sponsor education for children in Kenya. All because Hilde decided to pass it on.

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.

Survivalist donates his stash of 'doomsday' food to Puerto Rico

Joe Badame was feeling pretty low. The 72-year-old recently lost his wife, and his house was in foreclosure. An estate auction was underway as part of the foreclosure, and Badame watched his worldly possessions slip away.

But he didn't want to lose all the food. He and his late wife Phyllis had constructed an underground 'doomsday' bunker beneath their home (8500 square feet!) large enough to shelter 100 people. Outfitted with kerosene refrigerators, coal furnaces, and lead walls, Badame spent decades stocking the bunker with barrels of dried and preserved food. 

The day of the estate sale, Tony and Tori's food truck was on hand to feed the crowd. Badame learned that the food truck's sales were going to help Tori's family in Puerto Rico. Tori's family was safe, but homeless and hungry in Arecibo following Hurricane Maria. Badame gave Tori $100, then showed her the bunker.

He then donated all the food barrels, about a hundred of them, containing rice, beans, flour, powdered eggs, and dry milk. Each barrel holds enough food for 84 people to live for four months on 2,000 calories a day. The barrels will ship to Puerto Rico starting Monday.

So the doomsday Badame expected never arrived. But his stored food will be eaten by people thousands of miles away surviving a different kind of doomsday. 

Barber supports dignity of teen with autism by finishing haircut in mom's mini-van

Cork, Ireland barber Donncha O'Connell has been cutting Evan O'Dwyer's hair since he was a little boy. Now 16, Evan has severe autism and sensory processing disorder, so unusual or unpredictable noises frighten and agitate him. He is non-verbal, so when stimulus overwhelms him, he cannot express himself. Even though O'Connell and his hair-cutting routine are familiar, some days the busy barber shop is too much stimulation.

Last Monday was just such a day. Right in the middle of a haircut, Evan became agitated. He fled to his safe place, his mom's mini-van parked outside. Rather than leave the teen with a half-done haircut, O'Connell followed. While Evan's brother kept him calm and his mom captured the barber's exceptional kindness on video, O'Connell finished with the clippers in the mini-van's back seat, climbing in and around the seated teen.

Small kindness matters.

Music creates a bridge for Afghani teen and his future in the US

Under Taliban rule, the study and performance of 'Western' music is banned in Afghanistan. That didn't stop 17-year-old Ahmed "Baset" Azizi from his love of playing trumpet, but he lived in fear. If a neighbor or passerby heard him practice, he and his family could be in danger.

He was studying trumpet at the Afghanistan National Institute of Music in Kabul when his instructor left and no replacement was named. Other instructors were nowhere to be found. The only way Baset could continue to challenge his skill was by watching You Tube videos of other trumpeters.

One of his favorites was David Bilger, principal trumpeter for The Philadelphia Orchestra. Baset reached out to Bilger online, and Bilger responded with an offer: they'd meet via Skype once a week for an hour of coaching. Baset was delighted.

Bilger didn't stop there. He teamed up with Robin Korevaar, a clarinetest and created a Go Fund Me page to bring Baset to the US to continue his study of music. It worked, and Baset attended the Interlochen school last fall. Now he's headed to the University of Kansas School of Music on a full scholarship, and another GoFundMe page has been set up to offset other living and travel expenses.

Baset hopes to touch the world and spread peace through his music. Bilger and Korevaar have done both by giving a hand up to a stranger on the other side of the world. 

To protect and serve: police officer to donate a kidney to young boy

A Facebook post from a desperate Wisconsin mom caught the attention of 30-year-old Lindsey Bittorf. The mother's post was a plea for help - her 8-year-old son Jackson needed a kidney transplant. A donor needed to be found, and quickly. 

Bittorf, herself a mom and an active member of the local police force, was touched by the plea. She was one of about 50 people who voluntarily got themselves tested to see if they were a match. To the surprise of doctors and all involved, Bittorf matched Jackson's blood type and three other antigens. Bittorf and Jackson are not related, and in fact never met until the match was confirmed. 

Their meeting was punctuated by hugs and tears. Bittorf is humble about her decision. She gave Jackson a plaque which says, "Jackson, I took an oath to serve and protect my community. My kidney will now be able to serve and protect you! I am your kidney donor."

Getting folks back on their feet, literally and figuratively

Two years ago, Eugene Yoon followed his heart. He quit his job at a California research company and began a hike from the California/Mexico border all the way to Canada. Why? To raise funds for a total stranger.

That stranger, Arthur Renowitzky, had been mugged and shot ten years earlier. His injury left him unable to walk, and though he vowed to walk again, it seemed less and less likely as time went on. For some inexplicable reason, Eugene felt he needed to help Arthur walk again. The two spoke and Eugene was determined to make it happen.

Eugene learned of an exoskeleton which would give Arthur the support he needed to walk. It cost $80,000, well out of reach financially. Where others would see an obstacle, Eugene saw an opportunity. The hike raised the needed funds, and Arthur got his exoskeleton. When he took his first steps, Eugene was there to witness it.

Now Eugene's heart has led him to another need. He met Alberto Velasquez, a skilled garment worker, in Skid Row, and learned that the man and 24 relatives lived under one roof. Alberto and other family members already worked long hours, but were unable to earn enough to free them from their poverty. With Eugene's help, a new clothing line called KIN LOV GRA was born. Proceeds from the sales will ensure a living wage for Alberto and his family.

This 10-year-old's kindness went viral

Last summer, 10-year-old Leah Nelson saw her dad crying. He was upset by police shootings in Dallas Texas, and took the news especially hard - Leah's mom is a Sacramento police officer.

Leah had just started to share her woven rubber band bracelets with others, calling her outreach Becuz I Care. She asked people to show a simple kindness to someone, then give that person a bracelet as a reminder to pass the kindness on. After the shooting, Leah told her parents she thought a message should be added to the bracelets. They agreed, and typed out the message, "In a world with so many issues, let's show people they are valued." The bracelets with their message were first distributed in Sacramento in July. The media got hold of the story, and it went viral. Becuz I Care became a movement.

Becuz I Care has been tagged in stories of kindness across the US. It has spread overseas to England, Brazil, the Congo, Belgium, South Africa, France and Indonesia.

All because a girl listened to her heart and chose kindness.

Because no student should sit alone at the lunch table

Four students at a Boca Raton high school noticed that sometimes, fellow students ate lunch alone. Having been in that awkward, uncomfortable position themselves, they decided to do something about it. They banded together to form a club called We Dine Together.

During the school's lunch break, club members roam the courtyard and seek out students sitting alone. They introduce themselves and strike up a conversation. Hopefully, the connections made will help new or socially isolated students feel part of their school community. The club hopes their program becomes a model for others across the country.

A few months ago, I highlighted a similar connectional program. That one, Sit With Us, is a free smartphone app created by a California student. She too had felt the pain of sitting alone at school lunch. The purpose is the same - to reach out and create a welcoming community to every student in the school.

The empathy shown by these sensitive students is a credit to them, their families, and their school communities. Instead of complaining about a problem, they found a way to be part of the solution.

Hairstylist works over 8 hours to help a depressed woman feel like herself again

Kate Langman is a stylist at an Ulta salon. A few weeks back, she noticed a woman very interested in all the Redken products in one particular line. Langman asked if she needed help and the woman spilled her story.

It seems that she was severely depressed and often didn't even get out of bed. She had done no self-care for months, not even brushing and washing her hair. The bun on the back of her head was matted into what Langman described as one big dreadlock. Langman felt bad for the woman and her situation, so instead of selling her products, Langman urged her to make an appointment for the following day. She planned to personally help the woman regain control of her hair.

The woman did not show up for the appointment, nor did she show up for one a couple weeks later. Then one day, she just walked in again, telling Langman that she finally got herself back out of bed. Langman was determined to take care of her right then and there.
It took 8-1/2 hours, with over 4 of those hours just combing out the matted knots, but the end result is beautiful. Even more than the new look, Langman is delighted with the woman's reaction. Her cheeks gained color and her eyes sparkled as she rain her fingers through her hair for the first time in months.

Langman knows the new hairstyle gave the woman a lift. No doubt, knowing someone cared lifted her spirits too.

Canadian teen on horseback delivers hot coffee to stranded trucker

Eileen Eagle Bears couldn't just sit and watch. The roadside camera from Highway 10 showed a truck stuck on the icy road, with its driver still inside. The highway was an otherwise deserted sheet of ice. Help would come, but it would take a while. In the meantime, Eileen knew that driver would be alone.

She filled a thermos with hot coffee and mounted her horse. Even though she had to walk the horse along some stretches because of the icy conditions, she and the horse trekked about 2.5 miles to deliver the coffee to the stranded driver, Peter Douglas. Eileen and her horse even came back a second time with some water, a thermos of stew, and some potatoes.

Douglas' truck was eventually towed to safety and he resumed his trip. He'd been stuck for 28 hours. But the help and encouragement Eileen brought let him know he hadn't been stranded.

Substitute bus driver sees a mom struggle, builds her a ramp

Thomas Mitchell works as a bus mechanic for Tennessee's Clarksville-Montgomery County School System. Sometimes he's called upon to be a substitute bus driver, as happened one day last fall.

His route that day included pick-up of 10-year-old Lydia DeSpain, who uses a wheelchair. Mitchell watched Lydia's mom Verna struggle to get Lydia and her wheelchair out to the bus. The home's front steps had a portable ramp which was flimsy and too short - it forced Verna to back the wheelchair down a stair before connecting with the start of the ramp. Verna confessed to Mitchell that she worried about Lydia's safety, and that she herself had been injured more than once maneuvering the wheelchair on the awkward setup. Afterward, the conversation and image of the struggling mother haunted Mitchell. 

He decided to act. He spoke with district officials who supported his efforts. Contact was made with the local Lowe's, who donated materials for a proper ramp. Mitchell called Verna DeSpain with the news - he would build a new, customized ramp for Lydia free of charge.

So late last month, Mitchell and four fellow volunteers built a new ramp for the DeSpain's home. Now Verna and Lydia can both be safe as they enter and exit their home.

Couple takes in a dying woman's children, then gets a surprise of their own

Tisha and Todd Beauchmin of Las Vegas got a request from their neighbor Audrey. Could they watch her three kids for a couple days while she went in the hospital for tests? With five kids of their own, the Beauchmins didn't know where they'd put everyone, but they said yes. The kids were already friendly, so they'd muddle through for a few days.

Then Audrey got bad news. Her cancer had metastasized. Her condition worsened quickly and she needed to make decisions for her children's welfare. Within a few short months, she asked the Beauchmins to raise her children. They agreed and quickly applied to become official foster care parents. Tisha had herself been a child in the foster care system and she didn't want Audrey's kids to deal with that instability. She and Todd were determined to make it work. Their 17-year-old daughter set up a bed in a corner of the kitchen, and their 18-year-old son took to sleeping on the recliner.

Audrey died in November.

Now faced with the enormous emotional and financial responsibility of raising three more children in a home that was already cramped, Tisha started a GoFundMe page. The local Fox 5 TV news learned of the Beauchmin's generous hearts and their needs and sent their Fox 5 Surprise Squad to work.

The family of 10 was put up in a local hotel for a week so renovations could be done to the Beauchmin's home. They expected a wall to be constructed in one of the bedrooms to give the boys privacy - one of the regulations of the foster care system. While the family was out of the house, the Surprise Squad went to work.

The landscaping around the home was cleaned up, and the whole interior repainted and carpeted. All new furniture was delivered and set up. The wall was indeed built in the boys bedroom, and the kitchen was remodeled to create a private sleeping space for the 17-year-old. The 18-year-old, who had been saving for an apartment of his own, was given $1500 toward his own place. A local grocery store donated a year's worth of food for the family.

Then, to top it all, a local Nissan dealer donated the family of 10 a van. Watch the video to see the family's reaction to this radical generosity.

Garbage men bond with waving kids, donate to help one battling cancer

Like many kids, Angie Everson's daughters ages 2,3, and 5, love to watch the garbage men. Every week, Brandon Olsen and Taylor Fritz watch along their pick-up route for these three smiling, waving girls in the Minnesota family's window.

Olsen and Fritz left Halloween candy for the girls, and Angie sent them a note of thanks. Included in that note was an explanation: the girls might be absent from the window for a while. Three-year-old Rose had been diagnosed with stage 4 kidney cancer which had already metastasized. The family would be tied up with frequent treatments and doctor visits.

Olsen and Fritz knew they couldn't do much to help in the heart-breaking situation. So they did what they could. They donated their own 'free garbage pick-up' benefit to the family.

When their supervisor caught wind of it, he applauded the men's generosity. He went one better: he donated free pick-up to the family for the rest of the year.

The upshot is the kind men get to keep their benefit, plus the family gets a little relief from the unbelievable burden they now bear.  Angie was so touched by the hope created from this small act of kindness that she spread the word.