Making a Positive Difference

High school wrestler’s touching gesture moves crowd to tears
- Making a Positive Difference
- March 14, 2014
High school wrestler Malik Stewart may not have won a title at the Minnesota state championship, but he certainly won the hearts of the audience when he did something unexpected after his match. Stewart could have just walked away disappointed after losing to opponent Mitchell McKee. Instead he showed what being a “good sport” really means.
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Boy Author Raises $750K For Sick Friend
- Making a Positive Difference
- March 5, 2014
What would make a 6-year-old not only think that he could raise a lot of money to help a friend battling a life-threatening disease, but then actually go ahead and do what most adults could not? Well, you’d have to ask that 6-year-old, Dylan Siegel.
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The Shooting at Chardon High: A coach’s courage helps a high school recover
- Making a Positive Difference
- February 28, 2014
You may not have heard about a school shooting that happened two years ago at Chardon High School in Ohio. Lives were saved when assistant football coach Frank Hall sprang into action. In an interview with 60 Minutes, Hall said he wished that he was seen as a “regular guy” instead of a hero for what he did that day.
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Long-Lost Love Letter Restores Glow in 1959 Chevy
- Making a Positive Difference
- February 23, 2014
Dean Sparks purchased a beat-up 1959 Chevy in a Nebraska auction intending to fix it up, but while working on the car he found something unexpected inside. It was a love letter from 1963 written by a young woman named Beverly Barber to her love, Ronnie Waterbury. With the help of social media, Sparks was able to find out that the couple had a son, Wade, and contacted him.
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Right Before Dying From A Rare Lifelong Disease, Sam Revealed His Three Secrets To Happiness
- Making a Positive Difference
- February 4, 2014
Sam Berns was diagnosed with the rare aging disease progeria at just two years old, but what he accomplished and shared with the world until his untimely passing at age 17 will stick with us forever. Sam’s life was profiled in an HBO documentary, Life According to Sam, and when you watch Sam, you can’t help but learn from his positive spirit. When asked what the most important thing was that people should know about him, Sam said, “That I have a very happy life.”
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It All Started With a 12-Year-Old Cousin
- Making a Positive Difference
- February 3, 2014
Back in 2008, Salman Kahn learned that his 12-year-old cousin, Nadia, was struggling with math and that she had switched to a slower class. All that Kahn, an MIT graduate and hedge-fund analyst, wanted to do was was to help Nadia develop her math skills. As Kahn tells The New York Times, before he knew it, many other family members were requesting his tutoring.
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Lisa Bianconi: Life changer, music teacher, Grammy nominee
- Making a Positive Difference
- January 27, 2014
Lisa Bianconi has been a teacher for the past 30 years at Kurn Hattin School, which is dedicated to helping children who struggle both at home and school. This year, Bianconi was recognized as a nominee for a new Grammy award called The Music Educator Award.
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In-flight Act of Kindness to Autistic Child Goes Viral
- Making a Positive Difference
- January 17, 2014
Shanell Mouland is used to difficult flights, as her 3-year-old autistic daughter, Kate, has a hard time sitting still, but she was pleasantly surprised on a recent return flight from a family vacation to Walt Disney World. On that flight, the family sat next to a businessman who made the day special for them. The man happily put all of his work aside to spend the whole time playing with Kate and showing her pictures to keep her calm.
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America’s oldest teacher may also be most beloved
- Making a Positive Difference
- January 15, 2014
At age 100, Agnes Zhelesnik is the oldest living teacher in the United States, but she is known to her students at Sundance grade school simply as “Granny.” Agnes was a stay-at-home mom until she was 81 years old; she then became a home economics teacher to share her gift and keep herself feeling young.
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Kids in Sandy-ravaged town discover the joy of paying it forward
- Making a Positive Difference
- January 4, 2014
“It’s funner to give a gift… and if you do it a lot, you can get a good feeling,” says third-grader Rachel Ward. Rachel’s school was struck by Superstorm Sandy and received help from a nonprofit called Family-to-Family. The students were so grateful that they wanted to give back, too.
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Calif. woman who tries to rent family via Craigslist gets so much more
- Making a Positive Difference
- December 28, 2013
Jackie Turner, a junior at William Jessup University, had a troubled childhood and didn’t have a family with whom to celebrate the Christmas season. So she decided to put an ad on Craigslist to rent a family for the holidays, and the response she got blew her away.
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Real-life Santa brings special surprise across America
- Making a Positive Difference
- December 23, 2013
Many are familiar with Secret Santa, or anonymously exchanging gifts for the holidays, but one man from Kansas City is taking the concept to a whole new level! The wealthy businessman wears the traditional red coat and goes to different cities around the country spreading Christmas cheer in the form of $100 bills.
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Buddy bench at Roundtown Elementary to help foster friendships
- Making a Positive Difference
- December 7, 2013
Many kids know what it feels like to sit on the sidelines during recess, hoping someone will ask them to play. Second-grader Christian Bucks saw this happening at his school, so he decided to create a “buddy bench” to help his peers find new friends.
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Unlikely bond saves boy and dog
- Making a Positive Difference
- November 28, 2013
Johnny Hickey, an 8-year-old from Georgia who has autism, has made great progress thanks to his rescue dog, Xena. Now Xena has been honored as the “Dog of the Year” at the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals’ annual ceremony.
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Our hero! Batkid saves the day in San Francisco
- Making a Positive Difference
- November 22, 2013
Miles Scott, a 5-year-old who has had leukemia since he was 18 months old, saved the day as a mini-Batman in San Francisco, thanks to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. The Foundation created a day-long event for Miles, transforming San Francisco into a real-life comic book version of Gotham City in honor of the boy’s wish to be a Batkid.
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