Making a Positive Difference

Valedictorian posts anonymously to Instagram to make 657 classmates feel special
- Making a Positive Difference, News Room
- July 14, 2015
It’s one thing to offer encouraging words to the high school classmates that you know. But imagine going out of your way to write something nice to all 657 students at your school. Konner Sauve, an 18-year-old senior and valedictorian at East Valley High School in Yakima, Washington, says he came up with the idea during
READ MORE
10-year-old bottles sweet summer treat for a cause
- Making a Positive Difference
- June 14, 2015
How does a 10-year–old become the founder and CEO of a business? Mikaila Ulmer has quite a story to tell. It all began when she was just 4 years old and was stung twice in one week by bees: “After that I would freak out about bees—like overreact—and then my parents wanted me to do some research so I would be less afraid. And doing research I found out how incredibly important pollinators they are, and that they were dying. And I decided to create a product that helped save the bees.”
READ MORE
Proving the butterfly effect with a single act of kindness
- Making a Positive Difference
- March 19, 2015
What if somebody you didn’t know handed you a $50 bill and asked that you use it to spread kindness in the world. What would you do with the money?
READ MORE
All it took was one dollar and a post-it note to inspire others
- Making a Positive Difference
- February 27, 2015
Sometimes it doesn’t take a lot of money to make a difference in the lives of those going through challenging times. Just ask the owner of a pizza place in Philly.
READ MORE
When No One Showed Up to Autistic Boy’s Birthday Party, Strangers Saved the Day
- Making a Positive Difference
- February 27, 2015
Glenn Buratti invited all 16 of his kindergarten classmates to his birthday party. But imagine how the 6-year-old, who is autistic, felt when nobody responded to the invitation or showed up. His mother, Ashlee, later told ABC News: “He was so devastated when he realized no one was coming to his birthday party that he
READ MORE
Girl asks late dad for a sign and gets one: Kind strangers answer ‘letter to heaven’
- Making a Positive Difference
- January 21, 2015
There isn’t a day that goes by that 16-year-old Ashlynn Marracino doesn’t think about her father, who died in 2008, and wish she could talk to him. So each year on his birthday, she releases a balloon with a note to her dad on it.
READ MORE
Grand Prairie Homecoming Queen Shares Her Crown
- Making a Positive Difference
- September 24, 2014
What started as a heartless prank by bullies turned into a heartwarming story demonstrating the healing difference friendship and kindness can make. After learning that 17-year-old Lillian Skinner was falsely told she'd been nominated for homecoming queen at Grand Prairie High School in North Texas, two of her good friends made a pact. Anahi Alvarez
READ MORE
Minnesota preschooler, 89-year-old WWII veteran neighbor become fast friends over unlikely bonds
- Making a Positive Difference
- August 12, 2014
It may seem like an unlikely friendship. But there’s no telling that to a 3-year-old boy and his 89-year-old next door neighbor; Maybe that’s what makes it all the more special. It started with the tomatoes that Erling Kindem, a WWII veteran, was growing in his backyard. Apparently little Emmett Rychner also has a fondness for
READ MORE
24-Year-Old Cancer Victim Inspires After Death
- Making a Positive Difference
- August 4, 2014
Maire Kent’s journey did not end with her death from a rare form of cancer at the tender age of 24. The aspiring nurse had a final dream, and in the more than coincidence of life she met a filmmaker during a hospital visit who offered to do what he could to support her wish,
READ MORE
She Wanted To Be a Flower Girl, But She Needed a Wedding
- Making a Positive Difference
- July 24, 2014
Annabelle Earl is only 4 years old, and she has already turned a dream into reality. Ever since her babysitter’s daughter told her how much fun it is to be a flower girl at a wedding, she had her heart set on being one too. She confided her wish to her mom. But the only
READ MORE
Ellen: Amanda Eaton Big Teacher Surprise & Giving Back to Her Students
- Making a Positive Difference
- June 2, 2014
This is the story of one woman whose made an exceptional difference in the life of every person shes touched. Not only did first grade teacher Amanda Eaton recently donate a kidney to save her dad’s life, she’s been nominated for the Teacher of the Year award. And her current and former students think the world of their prized teacher, whose always gone out of her way to be of help to them.
READ MORE
Ohio boy turns found fortune into act of kindness
- Making a Positive Difference
- May 1, 2014
An 8 year old boy finds a 20 dollar bill in a parking lot, and what he does with it can’t help but touch your heart. Myles Eckert was with his mother when he found the money outside of a Cracker Barrel restaurant. Like many kids his age, his first thought was to use it to buy a new video game. But when he saw a man in uniform walk into the restaurant with his own family at about the same time, Myles says he had a better idea: “Because he was a soldier and soldiers remind me of my dad.”
READ MORE
Seed money sprouts change for tiny non-profits
- Making a Positive Difference
- May 1, 2014
Ari Nessel knows that many start-ups need a financial boost to get going, which is why he created the Pollination Project. Every day he gives away $1,000 to some deserving individual who wants to make a positive difference in the world.
READ MORE
Purr-Fect Companions: Program Pairs Cats With Kids Learning to Read
- Making a Positive Difference
- May 1, 2014
How did 7-year-old Colby Procvk learn to love reading? You have to give credit to a program called Book Buddies by the Animal Rescue League of Berks County in Pennsylvania. Around 30 kids are matched up each week with cats waiting to be adopted.
READ MORE
Grandma Betty is the toast of Instagram thanks to great-grandson’s tribute
- Making a Positive Difference
- March 21, 2014
What is the best gift a teenager can give his great-grandmother these days? Zach Beldon decided to create an Instagram account to honor his Grandma Betty, who was diagnosed with terminal cancer. The soon-to-be college student saw it as a way to help lift his grandma’s spirits and give her courage. It seems to be working. She already has more than 85,000 followers and counting! Zach’s mom, Hope Beldon, explains, “It gives her something to look forward to every day. She still asks every morning, ‘How many more friends do I have today?'”
READ MORE