The GOOD NEWS Thread

[Jet]

Good news stories worth noting:

• Joanne Milne of the UK hears for the first time in her life after cochlear implants. Very uplifting segment.

• Soup Ladies in Washington helping after the mudslide.

http://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news/...broadcast-n686

NBC does not post individual clips; these stories are featured in the link above.
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Pope Francis confesses openly and breaks protocol. http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/po...-public-n66531

[Genesis]

The story of Sir Nicholas Winton is one of the most profound tales of humanitarianism that you've probably never heard.

After saving 669 children, most of them Jewish, from likely death at Nazi concentration camps at the onset of World War II, it was announced Monday -- on Winton's 105th birthday -- that the heroic Englishman will be awarded the Order of the White Lion, the highest order in the Czech Republic, the Associated Press reported. In the official announcement, Czech President Milos Zeman noted Winton's example of humanity, selflessness, personal bravery and modesty as reasons for the prestigious honor. The award will be given to Winton this October.

In December 1938, Winton gave up a vacation as a London-based stockbroker to travel to politically turbulent Prague, according to the Guardian. He was curious to see firsthand what was happening to refugees in what was then Czechoslovakia. Nazis had recently invaded the country, and Winton sensed the grave danger refugees there were facing.

He wasn't an elected official, a high-ranking member of the British military or even someone with a significant background in charitable work. But starting during his three weeks in Prague, Winton made one of the most impactful, single-handed efforts to save children from mass genocide.

He created advertisements for foster homes. He manipulated paperwork to sidestep government red tape that would have gotten in his way, CBS News reported. He even persuaded Germans to go along with his plan. Continuing his efforts from his home in London for the next nine months, Winton coordinated eight train evacuations of 669 children from Czechoslovakia to Britain, saving them from almost certain death.

For decades, Winton's heroic efforts largely went unnoticed -- until 1988, when a BBC program surprised him by planning an emotional reunion with several of the survivors he saved, the Telegraph reported.

So with all things considered, turning 105 years old on May 19 might have been the least of Winton's achievements.

The hero celebrated his landmark birthday with about 100 guests in attendance, many of whom are offspring of the children who Winton rescued in 1939.

According to the Guardian, there are roughly 6,000 people around the world today that owe Winton their lives.

If you ask him, though, the formula to do good is a pretty simple one.

"I work on the motto that if something's not impossible, there must be a way of doing it," Winton told CBS News last month.

Original article HERE

[LeftWriteFemme]

Scientists discover ‘genderfluid’ lioness who looks, acts and roars like a male



http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2015/12/23...m_source=MOBFB

[*Anya*]

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- A 9-year-old started his own business in order to make a very special purchase. Tristin Jacobson opened up a lemonade stand to raise money to pay for his very own adoption, according to the Springfield News Leader.

Four years ago, Jacobson's biological mother dumped him on the doorstep of a Missouri shelter on a cold January day.

Donnie Davis got a call about Tristin, and she's been taking care of him ever since.

Jacobson has always wanted Davis to adopt him, but she couldn't afford the legal fees. So this past week he opened up a lemonade stand to raise money.

Tristin’s story went viral, and Springfield News Leader reports that as of this weekend, Jacobson has enough money to pay for his adoption.

Their goal was $5,000 and they raised a total of $14,000.

Tristan’s lemonade stand and a yard sale raised about $7,100, and a fundraiser they started on YouCaring.com called Tristan’s Adoption Fund raised more than $6,900.

Davis says the extra money will go toward Jacobson's college education.

http://wgntv.com/2016/04/25/9-year-o...-own-adoption/

[~ocean]

Originally Posted by LeftWriteFemme

Scientists discover ‘genderfluid’ lioness who looks, acts and roars like a male



http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2015/12/23...m_source=MOBFB

COOL A BUTCH LION ~ lol

[Gemme]

Originally Posted by *Anya*

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- A 9-year-old started his own business in order to make a very special purchase. Tristin Jacobson opened up a lemonade stand to raise money to pay for his very own adoption, according to the Springfield News Leader.

Four years ago, Jacobson's biological mother dumped him on the doorstep of a Missouri shelter on a cold January day.

Donnie Davis got a call about Tristin, and she's been taking care of him ever since.

Jacobson has always wanted Davis to adopt him, but she couldn't afford the legal fees. So this past week he opened up a lemonade stand to raise money.

Tristin’s story went viral, and Springfield News Leader reports that as of this weekend, Jacobson has enough money to pay for his adoption.

Their goal was $5,000 and they raised a total of $14,000.

Tristan’s lemonade stand and a yard sale raised about $7,100, and a fundraiser they started on YouCaring.com called Tristan’s Adoption Fund raised more than $6,900.

Davis says the extra money will go toward Jacobson's college education.

http://wgntv.com/2016/04/25/9-year-o...-own-adoption/

Such a great story! As a side note, it's clear they didn't do a thorough proof reading as his name changes halfway through the story.

That kid is going to do big things with the right motivation. Good on him.

[*Anya*]

Dog makes 911 cell phone call to save owner's life!

ORLANDO, Fla. — A 17-pound beagle named Belle is more than man’s best friend. She’s a lifesaver.

Belle was in Washington, D.C., on Monday to receive an award for biting onto owner Kevin Weaver’s cell phone to call 911 after the diabetic man had a seizure and collapsed.

“There is no doubt in my mind that I’d be dead if I didn’t have Belle,” said Weaver, 34, whose blood sugar had dropped dangerously low. Belle had been trained to summon help in just those circumstances. She had been taught to bite down on the number 9 on his cell phone contacting 911.

Belle was the first canine recipient to win the VITA Wireless Samaritan Award, given to someone who used a cell phone to save a life, prevent a crime or help in an emergency.

Using their keen sense of smell, animals like Belle can detect abnormalities in a person’s blood-sugar levels. The dog periodically licks Weaver’s nose to take her own reading of his blood-sugar level. If something seems off to her, she will paw and whine at him.

“Every time she paws at me like that I grab my meter and test myself,” Weaver said. “She’s never been wrong.”



http://www.nbcnews.com/id/13439261/#.WbBuK9FlCf1

[*Anya*]

Donated organs of 13-year-old girl help record eight people to live

Parents of Jemima Layzell, who died unexpectedly of a brain aneurysm, want other families to consider organ donation

Jemima Layzell had spoken about organ donation with her family a few weeks before she died.

Sarah Boseley Health editor
Friday 8 September 2017 01.00 EDT

A 13-year-old girl who died unexpectedly of a brain aneurysm has had her organs transplanted to eight people - the largest number in the history of the organ donation service.

Jemima Layzell was “lovely – clever, funny, compassionate and creative”, said her mother, Sophy Layzell, 43, a drama teacher from Horton in Somerset. Just a couple of weeks before her sudden collapse in March 2012, the family had a conversation about organ donation because a family friend had died in a car crash.

“They were on the register but their organs couldn’t be donated because of the circumstances of their death,” said Sophy. “Jemima had never heard of organ donation before and found it a little bit unsettling, but totally understood the importance of it.”

Her parents found the decision hard, but are glad they made it. Jemima’s heart, small bowel, and pancreas were transplanted into three people. Two people received her kidneys. Her liver was split and transplanted into another two people, while her lungs were transplanted into one patient.

The eight recipients included five children, who came from all over England.

Jemima collapsed during the preparations for her mother’s 38th birthday party and died in hospital four days later. A brain aneurysm, rare in a child, is a swelling in an artery wall and there are no symptoms unless it ruptures. When it bursts, it causes a haemorrhage in the brain which can kill or cause lasting damage.

Her parents set up the Jemima Layzell Trust in her memory to help survivors. “If Jemima had survived, the ruptured aneurysm would have severely affected her communication and the right side of her body,” they say on the trust website.

Her parents went through clothes and possessions, looking for clues as to why she had died so young. They didn’t find them, but they did discover about 20 diaries and notebooks she had been keeping since she was four years old. These they have turned into a book, called The Draft, sales of which will raise funds for the charity.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/...people-to-live