Daily Dose

Better Off

noreply@blogger.com (DailyDose) — Sat, 16 May 2009 13:00:00 +0000

Hazel and Nazih Zebian read the story of an Egyptian farmer who was forced by the government to give up his herd of pigs, which was his main source of income. That got them to thinking that perhaps they were still quite blessed, even though their own family's furniture business was struggling in the current economy. They decided that they would donate the money to the farmer to help replace what he had lost. Abu Sayed, the farmer, plans to buy a flock of sheep as a new source of income for his family.

MSNBC blog

Bright Future

noreply@blogger.com (DailyDose) — Fri, 15 May 2009 13:00:00 +0000

The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program recently announced its 2009 winners. These are middle- and high-school-students who have made a difference in their communities and around the world. For example, Brittany Berquist, a senior, organized a foundation that collects old cell phone, sells them to a recycling company, and uses the money to buy phone cards for troops around the world. You can read the stories of all the kids at...

The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards

A Real Boyscout

noreply@blogger.com (DailyDose) — Thu, 14 May 2009 13:00:00 +0000

In North Carolina, Brant Taylor earned his Eagle Scout award. How did he do it? He brokered a $200,000 deal between his city and the local minor league baseball team, the Grasshoppers, to renovate a softball field so that it could be more easily used by people with disabilities. He had been inspired by his older brother, Austin, who has cerebral palsy and developmental delays. Austin had been an avid member of a baseball league for people with disabilities, and Brant saw how much it had meant to his brother and other league members. And so when it came time to come up with a service project for his Eagle Scout award, this is idea that he tenaciously pursued.

Greensboro News Record article

Changing the Odds

noreply@blogger.com (DailyDose) — Wed, 13 May 2009 13:00:00 +0000

In Harlem, Geoffrey Canada and his organization, Harlem Children's Zone, have changed the odds for impoverished children in a struggling neighborhood. Through a comprehensive set of services--which includes charter schools, parenting education programs, after-school activities, and programs to help manage health conditions such as asthma and obesity, and other social services--they have achieved successful children who have a better vision of their future.

New York Times op-ed
ABC News video
Harlem Children's Zone

In it for the Long Haul

noreply@blogger.com (DailyDose) — Fri, 08 May 2009 13:00:00 +0000

British soldier Phil Packer was injured in Iraq and was told he would likely never be able to walk again. But for the last 2 weeks, he has been walking--on crutches, for 2 miles a day. He is on a quest to complete the London Marathon and anticipates finishing this weekend. It is part of his effort to raise the equivalent of $1.5 million for a British charity that helps wounded vetarans, ,and he has raised more than half of that amount already.

Phil Packer's website
CNN story

Door to Door

noreply@blogger.com (DailyDose) — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 13:00:00 +0000

When Andrea Ivory was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2004, she says she "just knew that it was for a higher purpose." For her, that purpose was realized when she founded the Florida Breast Health Initiative to help low-income women. She and her crew of volunteers spend the first 3 Saturdays of spring and fall months knocking on doors, raising awareness, and signing women up for mammograms. On the last Saturday of the month, a mobile mammography van comes to the neighborhood and provides screenings. In this way, Ivory continues her battle with the cancer, and she is winning.

CNN story
Florida Breast Health Initiative

(thank you, Jen)

One for the Books

noreply@blogger.com (DailyDose) — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 13:00:00 +0000

A generous donor (or potentially a group of donors) has contributed a total of over $45 million dollars to 9 universities. The lucky recipients are the University of North Carolina at Asheville, the University of Iowa, the University of Southern Mississippi, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, the University of Maryland University College, the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, and Penn State-Harrisburg. The only stipulation was that the schools could not try to figure out who the giver is.

AP story

Mystery Samaritan

noreply@blogger.com (DailyDose) — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 13:00:00 +0000

Apparently, Philadelphia is not the only Pennsylvania city that can boast of brotherly love. So can Pittsburgh, the home of an anonymous samaritan who drove to Chicago one recent weekend, with the express purpose of performing acts of kindness for strangers he found on Craigslist. He posted a video diary of his adventure on YouTube, but he remains anonymous.

The Windy Citizen story

Sunshine State

noreply@blogger.com (DailyDose) — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 13:00:00 +0000

Just in time for Earth Day...

A Florida developer announced that it is working on a new planned community in Florida that would operate on solar power. The company is headed by a former NFL player, Syd Kitson, whose vision is a 19,500-home city northeast of Fort Myers. The ambitious plans also include having charging stations for electric cars and wifi throughout the city. If construction of the solar plant is approved, groundbreaking would occur later year, and work on the city itself would begin in 2010.

Miami Herald story
Reuters story

Giving It Away

noreply@blogger.com (DailyDose) — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 13:00:00 +0000

Jim Dancy was lucky enough to win $10,000 in a Michigan lottery. And then he was generous enough to give it away. He donated his winning ticket to his local United Way, saying "I know the needs in the community are great right now, so for me it was the right thing to do.'' So he is a winner in more ways than one.

Kalamazoo Gazette story

Right Up Your Alley

noreply@blogger.com (DailyDose) — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 13:00:00 +0000

The "green" movement is happening in a place you might not think of: city alleys. Often, you think of alleys as being dark, dirty, and yes, dangerous. But cities like Chicago, LA, and Seattle, are changing that. Alleys are being repaved with absorbant materials and landscaping and bioswales are being added--all of which reduces urban runoff, a source of pollution. The spaces can be reclaimed for public use: gathering places, gardens, cafes, retail spaces.

USA Today article

Generational Approach

noreply@blogger.com (DailyDose) — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 17:33:00 +0000

People born between the early 80's and the turn of the century have been called the "Millenial Generation" and "Generation Y." But in its recent article, USA Today dubbed them the "Civic Generation." These are young adults who came of age in the time of 9/11 and Katrina, social networking and community service programs in schools--and they have a civic-minded culture.

USA Today story

People Power

noreply@blogger.com (DailyDose) — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 13:00:00 +0000

In December, the Hawaiin island of Kauai received heavy rains. Flooding destroyed an access road to Polihale State Park, and that threatened many businesses that relied on tourism at the park. The state estimated that it would take 1 to 2 years to get the money needed to make repairs. Rather than waiting, the community got together to get the work done. There were about 20 businesses who pitched in and donated materials and equipment, and 40 volunteers did the work. The state provided volunteer staff to ensure that the work being done was up to code, including a crucial bridge. After 8 days, they finished the repairs--just in time for tourist season. One estimate put the savings to the state at $200,000 (though of note, CNN quoted a price of $4 million).

KGMB story
CNN story

(thank you, Jen)

Subway Superhero

noreply@blogger.com (DailyDose) — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 13:00:00 +0000

Chad Lindsey was waiting for a New York subway train when he noticed a man who teetered on the edge of the platform before falling down to the tracks below. Without thinking about it, he jumped down to help. The man would not wake up, so he grabbed him and hoisted him onto the platform; others helped pull the man up. He managed to jump up himself before the train came. Soon afterwards, Lindsey boarded his own train and left, his anonymity intact. It wasn't until a friend notified the New York Times that his identity became known.

New York Times story

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Full Circle

noreply@blogger.com (DailyDose) — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 13:00:00 +0000

It started with Kreg Graham. He managed to get a job but did not have money for the dress clothes he needed to go along with it. He made the decision to ask for help, and his Facebook friend, Stephanie Steiner, responded. She sent out emails to her friends and soon, Kreg received clothes and cash donations for dry cleaning and alterations. Moved by the response, he set up an email address, suitsforothers@gmail.com, to pair up other willing donors with those in need.

KING story

Bonus

noreply@blogger.com (DailyDose) — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 13:00:00 +0000

In these times, "Bonus" has become the new "B" word. But at Bollinger Insurance Solutions, they see it a little differently. Last year, CEO Jack Windolf received $500,000 in deferred compensation when part of the company was sold, and he reserved the right to redirect it. Last month, he used the money to give a $1,000 bonus to all 434 employees and encouraged them to spend it as a mini-stimulus package.

WPVI video
The Daily Journal story

About Face

noreply@blogger.com (DailyDose) — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 13:00:00 +0000

Jim Polette underwent surgery to treat a cancer on his nose. While this addressed his cancer, it left him with a large hole where his nose and left eye used to be. This had understandably devastating consequences on his ability to lead his life and go out in public. When he was profiled on television, Matt Singer contacted him. Singer used to work for the movie industry as a special effects artist, but he gave that up to study maxillofacial prosthetics. With the help of an ocularist, Stephen Haddad, Singer volunteered to construct a facial prosthesis for Polette.

Fox News video

Fountain of Generosity

noreply@blogger.com (DailyDose) — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 13:00:00 +0000

Comerica Park is the home of the Detroit Tigers baseball team. There are large fountains behind center field that are set off as fanfare whenever the home team scores and as entertainment before and after the games. For years, General Motors paid for their logo to be in the middle of that fountain. This year, though, with the current economic picture...GM decided it could no longer do that. The Tigers' owner, Mike Ilitch received bids from other companies willing to pay between $1.5 to $2 million for advertising rights over the next 3 years. That is no small amount of pocket change, but Ilitch decided to turn those bids down. Instead, he is offering the space up for free to all 3 American automakers. The fountain is featuring logos from the General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler, with the words "The Detroit Tigers support our automakers."

Detroit Free Press story

(thank you, Joanna)

Lemonade from Lemons

noreply@blogger.com (DailyDose) — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 13:00:00 +0000

Sometimes, when things are bad, all you can really do is laugh them off and release some of that tension. That's what scores of unemployed New Yorkers did when they participated in the Unemployment Olympics this week. There was a "Pin the Blame on the Boss" event. Next, they tossed old phones at chalk circle targets (they had originally planned to hurl fax machines, but park officials game them a thumbs-down on that). Afterwards, there was the smashing of a sacrificial pinata. And finally, the events concluded with a "You're Fired" race to the makeshift cardboard "Unemployment Office." Prizes included Payday candy in the pinata and gift certificates.

Unemployment Olympics
New York Times story

Kindness of Strangers

noreply@blogger.com (DailyDose) — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 13:00:00 +0000

Lisa Brown had been faithful in her rental payments on her Long Island, New York, house. Unfortunately, the landlord was not. The house went into foreclosure, and Brown and her three children are being evicted. She had no legal recourse to be able to stay in the home, or even to get the upfront costs, such as the security deposit and broker's fee, back. When her story was featured on CNN, some stranger were touched by her situation and sent money. One even helped her set up a retirement savings account and provided the seed money.

CNN story

Thanksgiving

noreply@blogger.com (DailyDose) — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 13:00:00 +0000

In 1968, Bill Carroll was a firefighter in Boston and was part of the response team when there was a call about a fire in the Roxbury public housing development. He learned that children were trapped inside. Carroll found an infant girl, Evangeline Harper, in her crib and resuscitated her as he carried her out from the apartment. A reporter captured images of Carroll giving the child mouth-to-mouth, which were carried by newspapers around the world. Not only was it an act of heroism, but in the setting of significant racial tensions at the time, the images carried special poignance.

Evangeline Harper had been told about her rescue when she was a teenager. She tried to find Carroll once she turned 18, and then again after September 11, 2001, but she was unsuccessful. When she recently heard on the news about a different firefighter killed in the line of duty in January, she renewed her efforts because she did not want to miss another opportunity to thank Carroll before it was to late. This time around, she enlisted the help of a Boston Globe reporter and was able to find the man who had once saved her. They were both so happy to be able to reunite.

Boston Globe story

Right Place, Right Time

noreply@blogger.com (DailyDose) — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 13:00:00 +0000

Robert Lemiere happened to be standing outside, making a cell phone call, when he saw a toddler dangling from a window of a house across the street. He ran over (almost getting hit by a car in the process) and called out for help. Alex Day came, and together, the two were able to catch the young girl as she fell. She is apparently uninjured.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Building an Ark

noreply@blogger.com (DailyDose) — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 13:00:00 +0000

Cameron Stewart, an Irish teenager, launched a line of clothing called ARK, which stands for Acts of Random Kindness. Each item of clothing sports a little cardboard tag that gives you a suggestion of how you can spread a little kindness. You can, of course, do your own thing, but the idea behind the clothes is that they would serve as a little reminder for you to perform kind acts when you wear them. The profits from sales are given away to people in need. Cameron's goal is to make--and then donate--$1 million before his 20th birthday.

ARK clothing
Irish Times story

Spreading Joy

noreply@blogger.com (DailyDose) — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 13:00:00 +0000

A little something to brighten your Monday...

Spread Joy website

Lights Out!

noreply@blogger.com (DailyDose) — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 13:00:00 +0000

In 2007, the World Wildlife Fund began an event called Earth Hour, in which they call for participants to turn off non-essential lights for one hour on the last Saturday in March. Now in its third year, it has drawn participation from 2,800 cities in 83 countries. That includes about 250 cities in the United States. The Empire State Building, the Golden Gate Bridge, and St. Louis Arch will go dark for one hour. If you want to participate, turn off your lights from 8:30 - 9:30 PM local time today.

Earth Hour organization

(Can you tell this started out in Australia?)