Humans of New York Raises $100,000 for Brooklyn YMCA

New York street photographer Brandon Stanton found out a lot of his photos had been used in a DKNY store in Bangkok without his knowledge or approval.  When he found out, he requested they donate $100,000 to the YMCA in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn.  DKNY apologized for using his photos without his approval and agreed to donate $25,000.  Read his blog posting about it here.

Stanton decided he'd still like to raise the $100,000, so he asked his readers if they would help contribute money to the YMCA.  After a few days, they reached the goal.  Read the blog posting here.

The fundraiser also made the cover of the Metro New York newspaper.  Link

Proof There Are Still Good Kids Out There

Proof There Are Still Good Kids Out There - Watch More Funny Videos

Homeless Man’s Honest Deed Rewarded with $16K Donation, and Counting

A homeless man in Kansas City, Mo., made national headlines more than a week ago when he returned a valuable platinum and diamond engagement ring accidentally dropped into his cup of change by a woman offering some extra cash. Now, hundreds of donors have contributed more than $16,000 to a page on GiveForward.com to help Billy Ray Harris get his life back on track. The man's rewards don't stop with financial help -- the media story helped him connect with a brother in Lubbock, Texas, he hasn't seen in nearly 30 years.

KCTV first did a story on the unintended donation Feb. 9. Sarah Darling had put her engagement ring in her change purse because it was bothering her finger. A chance encounter with Harris on the street led Darling to give the man her loose change. It was only a day later that she realized her engagement ring was missing. When she came back to Harris on the same street, he still had the ring and gave it back to her.

The New York Daily News reveals when the woman and her husband returned, they gave the homeless man all the cash she had on her -- around $40 to $60. Then Bill Krejci, who is a web designer, was inspired by some media outlets' websites where people asked how they could help. Enter GiveForward.com.


Read more and see a video at Yahoo! News

--- This blog is still on hiatus indefinitely, but I came across this and decided to go ahead and post it.  The news feeds in the sidebar update automatically, so you can still stop by and check those for good news stories!

Pay-It-Forward Chain In Winnipeg Lasts For 3 Hours

Winnipeg's residents are at it again.

According to Yahoo News, customers at a Tim Hortons coffee shop in Winnipeg started a chain of goodwill that ended up extending to 228 lucky residents on Friday.

"One generous customer at the restaurant on Beaverhill Blvd. started a chain of customers paying for the person behind them that lasted about three hours," an employee told CBC News.

Read more at the Huffington Post

Anonymous family pays $211 grocery bill

An Iowa family received a gift they said they will never forget.

Ruby Modlin was grocery shopping at the Walmart with her family Friday night, picking up items to make cookies and other holiday food with her grandchildren when she noticed a man following her around the store.

"I kept noticing this man, and I'd smile at him," Modlin said.

Modlin thought maybe she graduated from high school with the man, but when she got to the checkout counter and her husband was about to pay, the man stepped in front of her to swipe his credit card.

"I said, ‘What?’ He said, ‘I’m paying for this.’ I said, ‘No, you’re not.’ He said, 'Yes, I am,’” Modlin said.

The man paid, and then handed her the receipt for $211, saying, “Merry Christmas!”

Read more and see video at KCCI

Girl of ten opens family cafe to serve dinner for 50 homeless

After ten-year-old Gracie McNulty’s father died in an accident, she wasn’t sure how to cope with her first Christmas without him.

So she decided to abandon the usual family festivities – and make her father’s last Christmas wish come true instead.

With the help of her mother and three siblings, Gracie served turkey with all the trimmings to 50 homeless people yesterday.

Read more at the Daily Mail

Muslims And Catholics Come Together For Christmas Donations In London, Ontario

Catholics and Muslims were able to put their religious differences aside for the sake of Canada's poor this week.

According to the London Free Press, members of the London, Ontario, Muslim mosque helped the Society of St. Vincent du Paul, a Catholic organization, gather enough food to feed more than 100 families during the Christmas season.

Read more at the Huffington Post

Good Samaritan breaks into house to save man from fire

Good Samaritans Lift Car Off 9-Year-Old In Brooklyn

A 9-year-old girl riding a scooter got caught in a three car accident in Brooklyn last night—but she is still alive today thanks to the efforts of several good Samaritans who worked together to lift a car off of her.

Read more at Gothamist

26 Moments That Restored Our Faith In Humanity This Year

No excerpt on this one...just go check out the article at Buzzfeed. :)

Gift of holiday cheer for homeless children

Christmas in the City, which is staffed entirely by volunteers, was founded by Kennedy and his wife, Sparky, in 1989, when they threw a party for 165 homeless children in city shelters in City Hall Plaza.

More than 20 years later, it has grown into an event nearly 25 times bigger, helping 4,000 children and 1,800 parents from various homeless shelters, according to a statement from the organization.

Read whole article at the Boston Globe

Landlord gets into the Christmas spirit by sending tenants letter dropping rent for the festive period

A small act of Christmas kindness on the part of a Los Angeles landlord has spread across the Internet - restoring some people's faith in humanity.

A picture posted by Reddit user Mikeoley shows a letter he and other tenant's received telling them that because it is the Holiday Season, he is lowering their rent.

Explaining that the generous gesture is a tradition, the landlord known as Joel offers to 'deduct $70 from your regular rent for the month of December and perhaps use those monies to purchase a gift for someone special in your life.'

Read more at the Daily Mail

For Salvation Army, there's gold in them thar kettles

Modern coins go "plink" when they drop into a Salvation Army kettle. But gold is a softer metal; it goes "plonk." And in a Christmas tradition that's 30 years old this year, the gold coins are once again starting to plonk into the iconic red kettles.

It happened Nov. 9 in Bettendorf, Iowa, when a 1/4-ounce gold coin worth about $500 was dropped in a volunteer's pot outside Schnuck's Market. It was nestled in a cardboard setting with cellophane wrapped around it, so it stood out when the kettle was opened, said Holly Nomura, development director for the Salvation Army's Quad Cities Corps.

Then on Tuesday, outside a Sam's Club in southwest Houston, someone — no one but the donor knows who — left a 1-ounce gold coin worth almost $2,000 in the pot, wrapped inside a $1 bill. Attached was this note: "A child is born, Jesus! Merry Christmas!"

Read More at NBC News

Lotto winner spreads wealth around Terrace, B.C.

A B.C. man who won a $25-million Lotto Max jackpot is sharing his newfound wealth, showing up unannounced at local charities and businesses, and making sizeable donations.

 Read more at CBC News

'You're not alone:' Mystery Santa hands out $100 bills to hard hit Sandy victims

Read article at the Daily Mail

Honest workers uncover mystery $300,000 gold stash hidden under floorboards... and hand it over to grateful homeowners

Link

Harris Teeter customers get free food after computer glitch

Harris Teeter officials gave free groceries on Sunday after a computer crash snarled lines at the Morrocroft Village location.

The store experienced a “minor glitch” in its system for about an hour and a half Sunday morning, Harris Teeter spokeswoman Danna Jones said. The glitch prevented store employees from processing transactions.

SouthPark resident David Coburn arrived around 11 a.m. at the grocery store for his weekly shopping. Nearly an hour later, Coburn headed to the checkout lane to discover a large line had built up.

For the next 40 minutes, he stood in line with other customers as Harris Teeter workers served them samples of turkey and ham subs, pimento cheese crackers and sushi rolls.

Read more at the Charlotte Observer

--- Nice how the store took a bad situation and made it into something good.

Single mom 'speechless' over grocery store workers' generosity

Link

5 Inspiring True Stories For Anyone Feeling Cynical Today

Spending too much time on the Internet is a surefire way to become hopelessly cynical, but we know there's a tiny glimmer of idealism burning away inside you. It's worth it to take some time every now and again to remind yourself that those cheesy inspirational stories your grandma forwards to you via email are sometimes actually true. Sometimes idealistic, naive people will go head-to-head with the cold, cruel world and make the cold, cruel world back down.

Read the rest at Cracked

---Amazing what some simple acts can accomplish!

Lending a Helping Hand to Pedestrians

Not really news, just a collection of videos of guys helping old people cross the street.