55 years ago today, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty went into effect after ratification by 43 nations agreeing to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons. The goal was also to promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, and to advance disarmament in general. It took three years for the treaty to be negotiated by a United Nations-sponsored committee made up of 18 countries: Canada, France, Great Britain, Italy, the U.S., Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Romania, the Soviet Union, Brazil, Burma, Ethiopia, India, Mexico, Nigeria, Sweden, the United Arab Republic. READ the current status of the NPT… (1970)
New Yorkers Will Love This New 7.5 Mile Trail Along the Hudson River Highlands Inspired by Landscape Painters
The Hudson River Valley and nearby upland is dotted with popular hiking spots, but poor access and limited infrastructure have meant that nearby towns are overwhelmed by visitors during the hiking seasons.
A new comprehensive park and trail will connect these peaks and troughs like never before, and will help spread visiting hikers more evenly along the riverside and keep them off the main road of State Route 9D.
Called the Hudson Highlands Fjord Trail, the design borrows from the landscape palette of the Hudson River School of 19th century painting, by linking marshland, forests, highlands, and riverlands with a 7.5 mile linear trail stretching from Beacon to the town of Cold Spring.
Environmental stewardship has long been valued among the hills of the Hudson River, and the Fjord Trail plans to help regenerate degraded landscapes and protect those which remain.
Powered by a public-private partnership with the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, the trail will span two counties, engage four local communities, and ensure that as many people as possible can enjoy the area’s scenic bounty while also reducing the impact of overvisitation on man and nature alike.
“The team bringing this to life is second to none,” Lori Moss, a spokeswoman for the project, told GNN.
“Kate Orff, a TIME 100 honoree and founder of the renowned landscape architecture firm, SCAPE, is designing the project, while Peter Mullan, who led the design and construction of the famous High Line urban trail in New York City, is shepherding the project forward as President & CEO.”
The Fjord Trail will have biking, rail, and wheelchair access for 7.5 miles along the Hudson River, connecting multiple trailheads up into the highlands like Breakneck Ridge, and Sugarloaf, Taurus, and South Beacon mountains.
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Balancing visitation with ecological sensitivity, the Fjord Trail will connect communities while weaving in and out of four distinct landscape zones including the river’s edge, highlands, forest, and marsh. The trail’s design and materials will shift to reflect each zone.
Multiple areas along the Breakneck Connector are set for landscape restoration with 436 native trees and 2,000 native shrubs to ensure it regains and retains the natural, native beauty that has captivated so many over the area’s long history of habitation and visitation.
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With 10x the Canopy of a Sequoia This World-Record Tree Can Be Mistaken for an Entire Forest
North America is graced with the presence of the oldest single tree, the oldest tree colony, the tallest tree, and the largest tree by wood volume.
But it’s India where one must go to stand beneath the world’s largest tree canopy.
At two and a half times the size of the Jefferson Memorial in DC, and four times the size of a football field, looking up at the spreading branches of Thimmamma Marrimanu, or “Thimmamma’s Banyan Tree,” isn’t possible, because they spread farther than the eye can see at any single point.
Looking at this 550-year-old member of the Ficus genus from a distance, one is likely to believe they’re looking at a grove of trees. Walking between the trunks that twist and grab like tentacles, one may actually believe they’re in a grove.
But they’d be wrong. With 4.7 acres of canopy coverage (19,000 square meters) supported by 1,000 individual trunks, Thimmamma Marrimanu is certainly one of the living wonders of the world, and deserves to be counted among the most extraordinary trees on Earth.
Just to be certain the reader has understood the scope of the tree, the sequoia tree General Sherman, the largest tree on Earth by volume, boasts a canopy coverage of just 1,487 square meters—not even one-tenth the banyan’s size.
Located in the Andhra Pradesh state in India’s southeast, its name comes from the Telugu language. Folklore tells of it sprouting from one of the poles that held up a man’s funeral pyre, onto which his wife, a 15th century woman named Thimmamma, threw herself in the act of sati.
Rather than normal trees that grow vertically from one trunk, the banyan tree spreads its limbs horizontally and drops down aerial roots to anchor these branches with new woody columns. Thimmamma Marrimanu has over 1,000 of these secondary trunks.
MORE MAJESTIC NATURE: Grove of 100 Giant Trees Discovered in 2019 Are Tallest in the Amazon–and Now Protected by State Park
Banyans are a type of strangler fig tree, which grow parasitically by sprouting from cracks and crevices in other trees, eventually consuming them and leaving a hollowed interior, which is how one can tell which of the many trunks was the original one. It likely makes a good case of being the largest parasitical organism on Earth as well.
It grows between two mountains in an agricultural field where it enjoys government protection and protection from locals who revere it.
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Banyan trees anchor local Hindu communities just as sure as they anchor natural ecosystems. The aerial roots prevent soil erosion, and the spreading canopy keeps the understory moist during the dry season. All manner of animals live in and around these trees, which Hindus consider sacred.
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Vibrations Can Stimulate Bone Growth: Study Paves the Way for Developing New Therapies
A vibrational therapy could be used to replicate a strengthening activity like weightlifting in patients whose bones are broken or brittle, suggests a new study.
It addresses an interesting paradox: bones become denser when subjected to mechanical force and load—which is true even for broken bones—which can’t be subjected to mechanical force or load.
The study looked to see if, by examining genetic expression during a vibrational therapy on bones, it could be possible to replicate these laborious, healing forces in patients who can’t perform activities like weightlifting.
There’s an old saying in medicine which goes “break your hip, die of pneumonia.” While these two diseases might seem to have nothing in common, they’re a duo responsible for a large number of deaths among the elderly in society.
Bone density dramatically declines as we age, and is accelerated among those who don’t perform resistance exercise, strength training, or weightlifting.
“Ideally, we need new therapeutic approaches to delaying the breakdown of bone in old age,” said Neashan Mathavan, a researcher at the Department of Health Sciences at the Technical University of Switzerland (ETH).
Mathavan is a lead author on a new study that looked to see if bones fractured by old age could be thickened with a unique “vibration therapy” by exploiting the genetics of bone growth and repair.
Bone does not just grow in any which way—rather, the bone cells respond to external forces. If bones are subjected to targeted mechanical loading as they heal following a fracture, they can potentially become larger, denser and more stable than they were before the fracture occurred.
While this was demonstrated in mice, the mechanism that drives this effect isn’t understood.
“Only if we understand these mechanisms can we use them as the basis for developing new therapies,” Mathavan told the university press.
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Working alongside Ralph Müller, whose trials with the mice set the board for this new research, Mathavan sought to precisely map out gene activity in mice receiving this vibrational therapy for a broken leg.
“For each point in the bone, we now know what mechanical conditions exist there, where bone is being formed and where bone is being broken down,” explains ETH professor Müller.
Among the findings were locations where genes that drive bone mineralization and collagenous bone matrix formation became active, but also, and perhaps more critically, where in the bone were genes that inhibit the growth of bone activated.
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This genetic polarity will be key to designing new therapeutic approaches that allow fractures to heal better and bones to remain strong even in old age.
“We will see which direction it takes,” says Müller. “It’s likely that vibration therapy will involve fewer side effects than treatment using drugs.”
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Pothole Prank: Man Erects Fake Legs in the Road and the Neglected Hole Was Promptly Filled Within 4 Days
After 8 months of swerving to avoid an axle-breaker pothole in the road through an English village, a local decided enough was enough.
But rather than get mad, James Coxall decided to highlight the danger and frustration the hole presented with humor.
Instead of leaving a furiously indignant message on the Castle Camp town council’s answering machine, Coxall enlisted the help of his wife and kids to build a pair of wooden legs and feet, clad in jeans and shoes, and fix it down in the hole as if someone had fallen in headfirst.
“We just thought that would be the most amusing way to sort of highlight the pothole,” Coxall told As It Happens host Nil Köksal. “You’ve got to have a laugh and a joke, haven’t you?”
Located on Haverhill Road in the county of Cambridgeshire, Coxall said he measured it himself, and it spanned a yawning 3 feet in length, nearly the same in width, and plunged 3 inches down into the earth.
“The kids helped. We drilled in some wood for the legs. We found an old pair of jeans that were going to the charity shop. We put them on. We stuffed it with some rags. And then we screwed a pair of their old shoes on top,” he said.
Receiving attention from their neighbors, not least at school where the Coxall kids became prankster-celebrities, the hole also attracted the attention of the requisite maintenance crews.
Within four days of the legs’ appearance on Haverhill Road, the hole was finally filled after 8 months of neglect.
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Interestingly, the council, who didn’t mention the legs in any of their notices about the repairs, chose to leave the legs where they found them.
“They didn’t bury the art,” he said. “My wife was driving past and she jumped out of the car and she saved the art off the side of the road.”
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Unfortunately for the council, Coxall enjoyed the whole experience, and says with a variety of holes to highlight, he wonders which sculpture to erect next—maybe the Titanic sinking, he pondered.
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“Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.” – Anne Lamott
Quote of the Day: “Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.” – Anne Lamott
Photo by: Inspa Makers
With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quote of the Day page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?
Good News in History, March 4
Happy 74th Birthday to Sir Kenny Dalglish, the greatest Scottish footballer of all time, and an iconic figure in the past and present culture of Liverpool FC. Known affectionately as “King Kenny,” Dalglish spent half his career at Celtic, and the other at Liverpool where he scored 172 goals in over 500 appearances, lifted 6 English First Division titles and 3 European cups, and took over the reins as manager on two occasions, winning trophies during both tenures. READ more about the King… (1951)
Scientists Harness Phantom Limb to Allow an Amputee to Feel Hot and Cold in New Prosthetic
Phantom limb is one of those enduring medical mysteries: that someone could feel sensations in a hand which had long ago been lost to amputation.
A little like harnessing the placebo effect, scientists have been able to stimulate nerve endings on the skin of an amputated arm which trigger thermal phantom limb sensations, including hot and cold.
Adapting one patient’s existing prosthetic arm and socket with sensors and ‘thermodes’ or small devices which can change temperature, placed at these key nerve endings allowed the man to distinguish a hot water bottle from a cold or room temperature one—not because his prosthetic was detecting it, but because his phantom limb was.
“In a previous study, we have shown the existence of these spots in the majority of amputee patients that we have treated,” says Solaiman Shokur at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne.
Study participant Fabrizio Fidati was able to tell the temperature of a bottle grasped by his modified prosthetic 100% correctly, falling to just one-third without it.
“Warmth is the most beautiful sensation there is,” Fidati told Shokur. “It’s an interesting technology that would serve to improve prosthetics a lot. The integration of these sensations—hot and cold—in my opinion, we need to shake hands (and improve social interactions) with other people… heat is fundamental.”
Shokur said he imagined when testing patients that after the nerve ending stimulation, each subject would point to a certain area on their stump that Shokur’s team was interacting with; exactly the same as if you put a hot cup of tea against the skin on your forearm.
Instead, patients would point to a place on their prosthetic hand and remark that it was here that they felt the sensation, either hot or cold.
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“Of particular importance is that phantom thermal sensations are perceived by the patient as similar to the thermal sensations experienced by their intact hand,” explains Shokur, EPFL senior scientist neuroengineer who co-led the study.
Another patient, Francesca Rossi, described the feeling as “beautiful,” adding that her phantom limb “does not feel phantom anymore.”
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“When I touch the stump with my hand, I feel tingling in my missing hand, my phantom hand. But feeling the temperature variation is a different thing, something important… something beautiful,” she said.
“Temperature feedback is a nice sensation because you feel the limb, the phantom limb, entirely. It does not feel phantom anymore because your limb is back.”
WATCH the story below from New Scientist…
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Degraded Lands Transformed into Productive Farms: With Science, We Can Create Wonders
In a degraded and semi-arid farming area in India, simple science-driven changes to the landscape have colored the horizon, and a village’s fortunes, with green.
In the Latur district in the central western state of Maharashtra, 40 years of erratic rainfall, groundwater depletion, soil erosion, and crop failures have impoverished the local people.
In the village of Matephal, the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) launched a project in 2023 that aimed at addressing these challenges through integrated landscape management and climate-smart farming practices.
Multiple forms of data collection allowed ICRISAT to target precise strategies for each challenge facing the 2,000 or so people in Matephal.
Key interventions focused on three critical areas: water conservation, land enhancement with crop diversification, and soil health improvement. Rainwater harvesting structures recharged groundwater around 1,200 acres, raising water tables by 12 feet and securing reliable irrigation. Farm ponds provided supplemental irrigation, while embanking across 320 acres reduced soil erosion.
Farmers diversified their crops, converting 120 or so acres of previously fallow land into productive farmland with legumes, millets, and vegetables. Horticulture-linked markets for fruits and flowers improved income stability.
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Weather monitoring equipment was also installed that actively informed sustainable irrigation practices.
“It is a prime example of how data-driven approaches can address complex agricultural challenges, ensuring interventions are precise and impactful. Matephal village is a model for other semi-arid regions in India and beyond,” said Dr. Stanford Blade, Director General-Interim at ICRISAT.
Farmers actively participated in planning and decision-making, fostering long-term commitment.
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“This ICRISAT project improved yields, diversified crops, and boosted incomes. It also spared women from walking over a kilometer for drinking water, now available in the village for people and animals,” said Mr. Govind Hinge of Matephal village.
Looking ahead, ICRISAT writes it wants to use Matephal as a case study to scale these methods across India’s vast and drier average. As Matephal’s fields flourish, the village is a testament to the power of collaboration and science in transforming lives and landscapes.
WATCH the story from ICRISAT below and see the land transform…
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This Year Is the 250th Anniversary of the First Battle of the American Revolution, But it Ended in a Standoff
Without any shots to hear around the world, a little-known and heated standoff marked the opening of America’s Revolutionary War.
On February 26th, 1775, two-hundred and fifty years ago last week, British Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Leslie led a raid into the town of Salem, Massachusetts, to seize what they expected to be cannon stored at a makeshift armory.
Rather than finding artillery, after arriving at the north bridge into town they found an inflamed citizenry, largely unarmed, but indignant in the face of British demands. The colonists flooded Salem’s streets and barred Leslie’s passage until the officer was forced to negotiate and withdraw.
Charles Moses Endicott, a man who fancied himself Salem’s official historian, recorded the event from eyewitness accounts offered by elderly Salemites, and is, as Robert Pushkar writing for the Smithsonian Magazine points out, the only reason we know of it.
“Here … we claim the first blow was struck in the war of independence, by open resistance to both the civil and military power of the mother country; comparatively bloodless, it is true, but not the less firm and decided,” Endicott wrote in his account published by “W. Ives & G. W. Pease, printers.”
According to Pushkar’s references, the British Army commander relied on a network of spies and Loyalist sympathizers to uncover that the colonial militia were converting ship cannon into land-operable pieces, a domineering aspect of war at the time which could be used to control vast acreage of approach terrain.
Launching a raid to confiscate the cannon on a Sunday, Commander-in-Chief Thomas Gage thought, would be convenient since the inhabitants of Salem would be in church or at home resting. This, Pushkar writes, was the wrong deduction. The fact that the Salem townspeople sat in congregation allowed word of the approaching British regiment to spread instantly.
Approaching Salem by ship, the 64th British Regiment of Foot disembarked with muskets, bayonettes, and equipment for searching crates and homes for contraband. They approached, and Major John Pedrick of the local militia raced to town on his horse to alert his commanding officer, Minuiteman Colonel David Mason, who went into church to spread word.
The people raised one portion of the drawbridge that marked the north entrance into the town. Faced with their passage blocked, an angry throng of catcalling, whistling, and fist-waving colonists, and the prospect of fire coming from the local militia on the northern bank of the river, who warned the British that they would be “dead men” if they opened up on the crowd, Leslie, an experienced military officer, was in a bind.
Gage had told him not to open fire unless fired upon, but his goal was an imperative one and it lay on the opposite end of the bridge. Without knowing where the cannon were or who had hidden them in which house, it would require egregious violations of Colonial law, British Common Law, and the general conduct of war to enact a violent raid in which innocents would be killed and private property destroyed.
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After an hour and a half consultation though, Leslie insisted that he could not withdraw, telling the colonists he was ready to stay there “until next autumn.”
Pushkar notes that had a British or Colonial soldier gone rogue, the Revolutionary War would have all but certainly started that day. Yet the combination of a young Loyalist minister’s appeals and the understanding that Lieutenant Colonel Leslie needed to save face led to an agreement: the drawbridge would be lowered and the regiment permitted to “march in a peaceable manner” no more than 275 yards into the town, “and then return, without molesting any person or property,” Endicott wrote.
This they did, and jeers followed their retreat, including one from a local nurse who supposedly asked them “Do you think we were born in the woods to be frightened by owls?”
ALSO READ: Unused Train Stations Across US Are Being Revitalized into Hotels, Restaurants and Even Museums
Gage, an officer and a gentleman, issued the same orders during the approach of the British to Concord, where more cannon were believed to be stationed. However, he selected John Pitcairn as commanding officer over Leslie, perhaps changing the course of destiny, as the former was a more resolute type, and bade the redcoats open fire when a shot rang out that is recognized as the start of the war.
History, it is often said, is written by the victors, and the Salemites certainly would have been the greatest of victors America had ever seen if violence had been avoided. As such, they themselves have been responsible for saving the memory of that fateful day, called the Salem Gunpowder Raid, and thank goodness they did.
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Galápagos Rail Rediscovered After 190 Years Following Island Restoration
Despite being arguably the most famous island chain in the world in terms of biodiversity, the Galápagos Islands are still surprising scientists today.
A bird seen and recorded by Charles Darwin on his visit to Floreana island in 1835 has been observed in the wild there for the first time in 190 years.
Darwin’s observations from the small, south-central island in the volcanic chain included the presence of a small, secretive bird called the Galápagos rail (Laterallus spilonota).
Just two years ago, several organizations began work on the large-scale Floreana Island Restoration Project. By removing invasive species that devastated native wildlife for generations, the local environment once again became a haven for species to recover and thrive.
The Galápagos rail, a land-bird endemic to the archipelago, has been severely impacted by these invasive species. It dwells on the ground, is extremely vulnerable to predators, and relies on dense, lush vegetation to hide in. But despite these dangers, the rail has proved to be a resilient and resourceful little bird.
The rails, locally known as Pachays, have been quick to return to restored islands. In 2018, six years after the conservation nonprofit Island Conservation successfully removed invasive species from nearby Pinzón Island, the Rails were among the first locally-extinct animals to reappear—along with other species such as the cactus finch.
It hasn’t been long since the Floreana Island Restoration Project began, but the rails have already repopulated it.
During their most recent annual landbird monitoring expedition on the island, teams from the Charles Darwin Foundation and Ecuador’s state agency for managing the archipelago recorded the bird’s presence at three distinct sites.
The birds were present and away from human habitation and agriculture, in a grassland shaded by guava trees. Confirmed findings include six acoustic records, two visual sightings, and one photograph. And it isn’t a coincidence that they’re back now—the site has been monitored for the Galápagos rail consistently since 2015, and this is the first year they’re back.
“The rediscovery of the Galápagos rail confirms what we’ve seen on islands worldwide—remove the invasive threats, and native species can recover in remarkable ways,” said Island Conservation’s Conservation Impact Program Manager Paula Castaño in a statement.
“This is an incredible win for Floreana, and fuels our excitement about what other native species might resurface as the island continues its journey toward ecological recovery.”
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Next, scientists must use genetic sampling to determine whether these newly recorded birds are from a self-reintroduced lineage or whether there was a tiny population of rails that survived, undetected, for 190 years.
Island Conservation details how that’s not unheard of: on nearby Rábida, the organization’s restoration efforts led to the rediscovery of a species of gecko that was only known to science through subfossil records dated more than 5000 years old. They’d been living on the island in very low numbers for hundreds of years, but it was only once holistic restoration had taken place that they were able to increase their numbers to detectable levels.
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With a local population already establishing itself, chances are good for a successful reintroduction. Soon, it’s hoped, Floreana’s grasslands will be home to a large, thriving colony of rails.
“It gives us hope that there might be even more ‘extinct’ Galápagos species to find,” the statement read.
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“Only as one is willing to give up his present limitations and identity can he become that which he desires to be.” – Neville Goddard
Quote of the Day: “Only as one is willing to give up his present limitations and identity can he become that which he desires to be.” – Neville Goddard
Photo by: Tor Lindstrand (CC License)
With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quote of the Day page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?
Good News in History, March 3
150 years ago, George Bizet’s Carmen premiered at the Opéra-Comique in Paris. The story of a love-entranced Spanish soldier losing his marbles over the feisty personality of a gypsy has become one of the most performed operas in history, and the principle arias, Habanera, and the Toreador Song, stand out among the tradition’s greatest and most instantly recognizable melodies. Among its most notable characteristics is the register of Carmen, the gypsy protagonist. Breaking from the tradition of female leads with the highest possible voices, Carmen is sung by a mezzo-soprano, the equivalent of a male baritone. WATCH the ballet interpretation of the famous Opera… (1875)
Verizon Erased $10 Million of Consumer Debt for 6,500 North Carolina Residents in Path of Hurricane Helene
Verizon teamed up with ForgiveCo to eliminate $10 million in consumer debt for 6,500 Western North Carolinians who are still recovering in the wake of Hurricane Helene’s sweeping devastation.
The North Carolina families learned that Verizon—the world’s second-largest telecommunications company—cleared their medical, financial, and other debts with the help of ForgiveCo, whose “random acts of kindness” model purchases consumer debt, with no applications required. In fact, no further action was required by the beneficiaries.
Recipients were then notified through surprise letters, emails, and text messages.
But, if a phone call learning that your debt has been cleared isn’t exciting enough, Basketball Hall of Fame coach and Asheville native, Roy Williams, signed on to be the one to share the news with the impacted families.
“These are challenging times, but I’ve seen the strength and resilience of this community. Verizon’s support is a powerful reminder that no one is alone, and together, we’ll rise stronger,” said Mr. Williams.
“It’s a privilege to share this message of hope with the incredible people of North Carolina.”
The hurricane destroyed Shelley Queen’s home in Jackson County but she was one of those touched by Verizon, having medical debt forgiven after she was diagnosed with diabetes, which turned her family’s life upside down.
“There were numerous hospital visits, including times I was in a coma and needed a pump to survive. These medical challenges have been difficult, both emotionally and financially. This forgiveness is truly a life-changing gift.”
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Craig Antico, Founder and CEO, ForgiveCo confirmed the debt relief, saying, “Through this effort, Verizon will bring transformative change to the lives of North Carolinians in crisis, leaving a lasting mark on future generations.”
Tim Luker, who also lives in Jackson County, has congestive heart disease and was hospitalized the day before the hurricane hit. Since then, he’s been working tirelessly to clean up lots of water damage, floor issues, and yard damage. “When I got out of the hospital, I couldn’t go home because of storm damage.”
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“It means everything to me,” said Tim. “I don’t have much… $11,000 is life-changing for someone like me.”
“This makes a huge difference.”
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Cat Goes on Parachute-Skiing Adventures – Sporting its Very Own Tiny Helmet (Video)
A daredevil cat soared through the skies on a parachute-skiing adventure, sporting his very own tiny helmet.
The bengal-mix named Thoth was securely strapped to owner Ivan Kuznetsov as they soared down the slopes of Gribanovka Ski Resort in Russia, last month.
After testing out downhill skiing together in December, the duo decided to take things up a notch leading to their high-flying stunt.
To keep Thoth secure, Ivan attached his harness to the speed glider’s own safety gear and the tiny adventurer also wore a warm down jacket to ward off the cold mountain air.
Ivan, an alpine ski instructor and skydiver from Arsenyev, Russia, said Thoth trusts him completely and feels safe.
“During the flight, he looked around with curiosity and was totally calm,” said the 37-year-old cat lover.
“The only thing that scared him was the noise of the cable car, so we started landing farther away from it.
Ivan first discovered Thoth’s love for adventure when the kitten crawled out of his backpack during a bike ride and perched on his shoulder for the entire trip.
Now the seven month-old kitty, accompanies Ivan on all his adventures.
“As soon as I put on his jacket and harness, he runs to the door purring.
“He enjoys walking in the park, cycling, skiing, snowboarding and even swimming.
“We started by getting him used to wearing a helmet. Then my friends made cheap replicas of the Cloud 9 skydive helmet, which happened to fit Thoth perfectly.
“I’m glad we both had this unique experience. It was meant to be.”
Ivan and Thoth are now preparing for their next challenges: rafting and tandem rock climbing. Next will come a parachute jump, with a specially designed fabric container for the fearless feline.
Watch the cool video of their ride, below… (NOTE: Be sure to Click Stop, or it will play other news videos afterward)
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Welcoming Mental Health Patients Back Into the World Is a Big Part of the Cure – Clubhouse Movement Gets a Boost
(Research and writing contributed by Robby Berman)
A huge donation from MacKenzie Scott is uplifting a unique organization in New York, so they can transform the lives of even more people who’ve struggling through mental health problems.
The former wife of Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos delivered a grant of $12 million to the Fountain House as part of her pledge to give away most of her wealth following a divorce in 2019 after 25 years.
The donation will allow Fountain House to expand its impact at a time when mental health is an urgent concern, building on its philosophy that a psychiatric diagnosis is not remotely the sum total of who a patient can be.
By not focusing solely on illness, they are able to profoundly improve a patient’s range of activities, social interactions, and quality of life.
The Fountain House story
In the late 1940s, psychiatric patients at Rockland State Hospital in Orangeburg, New York, established a self-help club to provide mutual support. Upon release from Rockland, they sought the same kind of support system, so club members decided to establish a new group on the outside.
They called their club ‘We Are Not Alone,’ or ‘WANA’. The steps of the New York Public Library in New York City served as WANA’s first meeting place, but in 1948, philanthropic women, together with the National Council for Jewish Women, donated funds for the purchase of a permanent home.
They chose a red brick building on West 47th Street in New York City, located in what’s known today as “Hell’s Kitchen.” The building was christened “Fountain House,” owing to the fountain in its courtyard.
While Fountain House provided a welcome meeting place for many ex-patients, it began eventually to lose focus, until 1955, when it hired its first mental health professionals, along with John Beard as executive director, leading to a powerful intersection of psychiatric philosophies.
Beard expanded the facility’s hours and began engaging the skills and enthusiasms of members in its operation. He invited them to help hire staff, maintain the premises, assist with clerical operations, and prepare and serve food for members of the ‘clubhouse’.
As new needs arose, club members were consulted and involved in solutions.
The result was greater engagement on everyone’s part, and close friendships between members and staff. There was a transformative effect, both for the self-image of all the individuals involved and for the organization itself.
Today, Fountain House has about 1,400 active members. It also operates a second location in New York, in the Bronx, with approximately 200 members. (Roughly a third of Fountain House’s members have been homeless at some point in their lives.) Fountain House and its philosophy have also served as a model for the modern Clubhouse movement, with over 300 such facilities operating around the world.
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In fact, Fountain House’s clubhouse model is used by more than 60,000 people with serious mental illness in the U.S, according to Harvard Public Health Magazine.
The current Chairman of the Board, William Hilburn, was surprised and delighted by the $12 million gift from Ms. Scott.
“We are thrilled to be recognized by MacKenzie Scott and have her as part of the network of foundations and individuals that recognize the urgent need to change how we support those most impacted by serious mental illness, and Fountain House’s life-changing work.”
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“The bamboo that bends with the wind is stronger and more resilient than the oak tree that resists.” – Japanese proverb
Quote of the Day: “The bamboo that bends with the wind is stronger and more resilient than the oak tree that resists.” – Japanese proverb
Photo by: Joey Zanotti (CC license via Flickr)
With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quote of the Day page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?
Heart Transplant Girl Misses Father-Daughter Dance Until Hospital Came to the Rescue (Watch)
A ten-year-old girl waiting for a heart transplant missed out on her school’s father-daughter dance—so the staff recreated the magic in a hospital.
Ava Cooper was born in 2014 with several heart defects and had her first open-heart surgery when she was six days old.
Later a sinus infection escalated, pushing her into heart failure, and she was put on the transplant list.
Recently, she has spent more than 200 days at the Cleveland Clinic Children’s Hospital in Ohio waiting for a donor heart.
Every February, Ava would look forward to attending a beloved father-daughter dance at school, but missed it this year.
So, on February 12, the hospital decorated a room and turned it into a dance hall.
Corsage in hand, her dad Sean was waiting for Ava outside her room to take her to the ball.
Caregivers, who have been more like family, greeted her with a round of applause as she entered the valentine-decorated space.
She and her father danced to a curated playlist of her favorite songs put together by one of the music therapists.
“It was an unforgettable experience,” said Sean.
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“We can’t thank Ava’s care team, and everyone involved, enough for making this such a special dance.”
“I’m grateful to be a girl dad,” he said. “It means being inspired to always be better.”
(Watch the video of the sentimental moment below…)
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Good News in History, March 2
60 years ago today, The Sound of Music premiered in movie theaters, featuring the incredible singing performance of 28-year-old Julie Andrews as the spunky nanny who goes to work for the von Trapp family in Austria. The patriarch disciplinarian played by Christopher Plummer places the guitar-playing nun in charge of his seven lonely children. WATCH one of the charming musical numbers… (1965)
Abandoned Puppy Found With Severe Skin Condition Makes Remarkable Recovery
A 14-week-old puppy found abandoned with a severe skin condition that left her bald has made a remarkable recovery.
The Cane Corso was found running loose in January on the Rochdale Canal in Manchester suffering from significant hair loss on her body.
She wasn’t microchipped or wearing a collar so was taken to the Manchester and Cheshire Dogs Home, where she was given her name, Pearla.
Pearla’s face and front legs were covered by scabs that were bleeding, so was taken to the RSPCA’s Greater Manchester Animal Hospital where she underwent treatment.
Now adorable—with fur restored—the puppy has made a full recovery and even has a potential new owner.
“Pearla is your typical energetic puppy, who is bouncy, playful and always on the go.” said an RSPCA spokesperson. “She is gentle and friendly with everyone that she meets.”
“She is learning how to walk nicely on the leash, along with basic commands.
“She loves playing with her toys, whether in your company or not, and enjoys spending time relaxing in her bed.”
AWWW, CUTE: Girl With Cleft Lip Adopts Dog Born With the Same Feature
RSPCA Inspector Jess Pierce, who was investigating what happened to Pearla, said it was “really upsetting to see a young dog in such a dreadful state”.
But thanks to the RSPCA officials and compassionate health workers, Pearla is about to be adopted, according to SWNS news agency in the UK.
LOOK: Neglected Beagle Freed From 4ft Chain Enjoys First Cozy Christmas Thanks to Anonymous Caller
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