For the first year ever, people worldwide can write messages on the confetti that will fly around Times Square. The AP tells us “anyone can get a message printed on a piece of the multicolored confetti by visiting the Times Square Information Center or by using the Internet to type a message on the online Wishing Wall. (Gothamist) Photo via Kristen773’s Flickr
Personalized Confetti Hits Times Square Tonight
Woman Loses Ring in Fudge, Gets It Back
An Indiana woman has recovered a diamond ring she accidentally sold in a batch of fudge. The white gold and diamond ring her mother left her 15 years ago was sold at a bake sale inside her donated fudge.
Patriots Complete Perfect 16-0 Season
The New England Patriots came from behind in the fourth quarter to finish the regular season with a perfect record, only the second team in National Football League history to do so.
Trying New Approaches on Teen Offenders
States facing packed prisons are looking to treatment-oriented solutions like Missouri’s, “where teen offenders are viewed not just as inmates but as works in progress — where troubled kids are rehabilitated in small, homelike settings that stress group therapy and personal development over isolation and punishment.” (AP via Yahoo! News) Thanks to Graciela for sending another inspirational story!
Lessons in Success from a Rare S. African Entrepreneur
Hard work. Courage. Divine intervention. These are some of the factors that helped a boy in South Africa transform from a student without shoes to a serious young businessman in shiny loafers and blazer… Free schools teach ordinary people skills they need to start a business. (Christian Science Monitor) Thanks to Graciela for sending another inspiring story!
U.S. Teen Brings New School to Cambodia
Hundreds of Cambodian villagers welcomed the arrival of a new school Wednesday, a gift from an American teenager who raised $52,000 after reading about the hardships of growing up in Cambodia.” (AP via MSNBC)
Thanks to GNN member JenX, whose DailyMitzvahBlog is highlighting one good deed each day for an entire year. She said in her post about the teenager and the school:
We can all help improve children’s access to education. At no cost: click on Greater Good’s The Literacy Site, whose sponsors will make a contribution benefiting First Book in the U.S. and Room to Read internationally. For $5 or more: consider a tax-deductible contribution to Room to Read, which helps to build schools, provide scholarships, and publish books in local languages for children in developing countries.
Drawing Instead of Walking a Testament to Recovery
Christine Greif, was training for a triathalon 10 years ago when hit by a drunk driver. She suffered permanent brain injuries, yet, amazingly, with patient tutoring from a neighbor she learned to draw — and despite her significant disabilities she now designs greeting cards that are sold locally to fund college scholarships. (Hartford Courant) Welcoming as a contributor JenX from DailyMitzvahBlog!
Free Online Materials Could Save Schools Billions
Teachers and their students are quietly experimenting with Free-Reading.net, a little website that could one day rock the foundation of how schools do business. It’s a reading instruction program that allows teachers to download, copy and share lessons with colleagues.
(USA Today)
McDonald’s Sees Restaurants as Green Laboratories
McDonald’s has made a variety of changes to benefit the environment, like fueling delivery trucks with used French fry oil, reducing the amount and type of packaging, purchasing fish from sustainable sources and buying more goods made from recycled materials. (Reuters)
Yoga Bestows Multiple Health Benefits
Yoga induces a feeling of well-being in healthy people, and can reverse the clinical and biochemical changes associated with metabolic syndrome, according to results of studies from Sweden and India.
Students’ View of Brain Power Can Help Grades
“Some students think of their intelligence as something fixed, carved in stone. A new scientific study shows that if you teach students that their intelligence can grow and increase, they do better in school.” (Text or audio clip from NPR) Thanks to Ellen M. for the link!
Cat Poo Coffee Cost A Lot
A rare type of coffee made from the droppings of the civet cat is wowing coffee connoisseurs around the world. Enzymes in the cats’ stomach break down the proteins that give coffee its bitter taste, thus enhancing its flavor and creating a brew many consider superb.
Traffic Police Taught Laughing Exercises
More than a thousand Bangkok traffic cops who work in some of the most polluted streets are taking part in a project aimed at improving their mental and physical health.
Murder Numbers in NYC Lowest on Record, Say Police
“New York City is approaching its lowest yearly murder rate in its recorded history,” with 120 fewer people killed in 2007 than last year. (Reuters)
Increased Employment Is Climate Change’s Silver Lining: UN
Despite the detrimental effects brought on by climate change, new industries to combat global would likely spur employment oportunities for not just the middle class, the head of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) said in December.
Hero on One-Man Mission to Fight Crime
The streets are littered with villains and Superman is nowhere to be seen. But help is at hand because do-gooder Vincent Oligbo is on a one-man mission to fight crime. He has rescued damsels and foiled pick-pockets… Also see the Bexley Times story covering the Have-a-Go Hero Courage Award presented this month to Vincent.
Hero Policemen Save Elderly Couple From Car Fire
“Two quick-thinking policemen have rescued an elderly couple from a car just moments before it exploded into flames on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast”, Australia. (CourierMail) Submitted by Leisa C.
Welcome to the New Site: Please Be Patient!
Hello everyone and welcome to the NEW Good News Network site. It is a “beta” site and we are still working out the bugs. People with OLDER Internet Explorer browsers are having some problems, while still enjoying the new design. The regular ‘On This Day’ column has been moved to this tabbed box. (Please upgrade your old IE browsers (to v.7) or switch to (the always superior) Firefox, recommended for viewing this site. (It will import all your bookmarks, too). . . If you are a newsletter subscriber you need to resubscribe, because we also hired a new service to send out my weekly Top 10 Good News of the Week. You can send an email and it will be done automatically, here.
Big Holiday Pickup for Soldier and Family
Chicago-area groups gave a soldier and his wife a 2008 Chevy Silverado for Christmas with thanks for his service in Iraq. Mark returned home in April recovering from gunshot wounds. (Naperville Sun) Thanks to DJ Cabel for sending the link!
Sorrow For My Wounds? Go Elsewhere, Says Soldier.
A Navy SEAL lieutenant was shot through the face in Afghanistan. Recovering with surgeries in a hospital, he has hung a sign on his door so inspiring and so positive that we are compelled to find the man and meet his optimism. The sign on the wall reads:
Attention to all who enter here. If you are coming into this room with sorrow or to feel sorry for my wounds, go elsewhere. The wounds I received I got doing a job I love, doing it for people I love, supporting the freedom of a country I deeply love. I am incredibly tough and will make a full recovery. What is full? That is the utmost physically my body has the ability to recover. Then I will push that about 20% further through sheer mental tenacity. This room you are about to enter is a room of fun, optimism, and intense rapid regrowth. If you are not prepared for that, go elsewhere. – The Management
Op/Ed column at (HumanEvents.com) Thanks to DJCabel for sending the link!
