An unnamed nurse's quick thinking has saved a man's life in Brisbane, Australia. Queensland Rail video footage captured the entire scene.
The video shows the 56 year old man falling onto the tracks. Queensland Rail employee Jill Lyten ran to the phone to stop the trains while the mystery nurse jumped on the tracks and saved the man. Talk about a superhero!
Queensland rail released the footage in order to showcase the emergency buttons on the platforms and promote safety.
And that's what's good,
Jon
The kids and staff at Le Bonheur Children's Hospital in Memphis, TN had an amazing surprise visit from some superheroes. Jordan Emerson, Danny Oszaniec, and Steve Oszaniec of American National Skyline window cleaning service dressed as superheroes when the cleaned the hospital windows!
Spiderman surprises kids at the hospital
The kids completely lit up with happiness :) "SO AWESOME to see them dressed up and making the kids and many adults smile! Thanks from those who work at LB, we loved this!", Sara Warhust an employee at Le Bonheur wrote on Facebook. Catherine Best Davis wrote, "My 17 month old daughter was waiting to be discharged when she saw spiderman...she was excited! Captain America was also there and he came to visit her. Thanks!!"
Well done American National Skyline crew! You have brought a lot of smiles to children's faces!
Peace & Love,
Jon
- The Good World News
The Teacher's Desk, established in 2011, has a pretty impressive report card. The past year they have given over $600,000 worth of supplies to 100 Buffalo schools. They are "A store where teachers Pre-k through 8th grade shop free for students in need."
Located at 22 Northampton St. Buffalo, NY 14209, they give free supplies to schools that have 70% or more student participation in the National School Lunch program. On average, each teacher receives $500 of free supplies. John Mika started the organization after substitute teaching in Buffalo. "Nobody had paper, either," said Mika. "These kids were struggling." He found a few supplies in the teacher's desk, but not enough to cover the class. Mika knew that he had to take action.
There are many schools in the Buffalo area that simply do not have enough basic supplies to use the in classroom. The Teacher's Desk is making a difference to the lives of these students and they are improving the educational system in Buffalo. Everyone is grateful - their large store is filled with thank you cards from appreciative students and teachers. If you are in the Buffalo area and looking for volunteer opportunities, check out The Teacher's Desk.
Thank you to The Teacher's Desk!!! You are doing amazing work.
Peace & Love,
Jon
- The Good World News
Sometimes there are more important things than the race. This is probably a valuable lesson to take throughout life. There will be times when you are so prepared and so focused on a goal that is within site, but you will need to take care of something else that has a greater immediate need.
Meet Seth Goldstein, the hero of this story. He is a student by day, lifeguard on the weekends, and saves lives during cross country meets :). Seth was running as fast as he could and he was gaining speed on the lead pack. He was nearing the end of the race when one of his competitors collapsed in front of him. The fallen competitor was bleeding out of his mouth and his eyes started rolling in the back of his head.
Seth took action and knew exactly what to do. At this point, the race was meaningless. The only thing on his mind was saving this young man's life. Goldstein rolled the man on his side so he wouldn't choke on his own blood.
Jessica Chandler, one of the parents who witnessed the whole scene commented, "Honestly, I was in shock. But this guy [Seth Goldstein] was taking complete control. He was like, 'You -- call 911. You -- go get some ice.' He turned him on his side. I thought he was a parent or an EMT."
"He was so competent and kind. When the boy started to come out of it he just kept saying, 'You're going to be OK. We're here. We're with you. You're going to be OK.'"
It turns out that the young boy had suffered from a heat induced seizure and had bitten his tongue. Thanks to Seth the boy ended up being OK. Once the paramedics arrived, Seth got up and asked if he could finish the race! "The EMTs looked at me kind of funny," Goldstein said. "They're like, 'You're racing? Well, sure, go ahead. I guess you can finish the race."
"Everyone was clapping for me, like I was the chunky kid who couldn't finish. They were all cheering and saying, 'You can do it!' I'm thinking, 'C'mon, man!'"
Seth finished in last place, but he was the true hero of the cross country meet. Long after the winners of the event are forgotten, Seth will be remembered as the hero of the cross country meet!
Seth, you are the Good World News hero of the day! This is GREAT news!
Peace & Love,
Jon
- The Good World News
True heroes are appearing all over the world, every single day. You don't need superhuman magical powers to be a hero and 14 year old, Marcos Ugarte is proving it. Note: This story is even better when you play the theme music below while reading :)
It all happened recently in a quiet neighborhood in Oregon. A fire broke out at Alex Ma's house. Alex's 8 year old son Cody, got scared and locked himself inside of a bedroom in the house. All attempts to open the door proved futile as the smoke rapidly filled the house. Alex tried several times to open the door and yell to his child, but the smoke was too think for him to stand up. Suzanne Ma, Cody's mother, made the frantic call to 911.
This is where the hero stepped in. Marcos Ugarte heard screaming down the road and saw the growing flame. He immediately knew what to do. Marcos ran down the street to help. In Marcos' own words:
"When I arrived at the door of our neighbor's house, he [Alex Ma] was stumbling down the stairs because he had been completely engulfed in flames. He had soot coming out of his nose and his mouth, he had just ingested so much of it."
Marcos saw a nearby ladder and took action. "I took the ladder, and I propped it up on the window, and I crawled up the window and punched the screen out and grabbed the 7-year-old boy -- about 7, he looked 7 -- and grabbed him and carried him down the ladder", Marcos said.
What a rescue!!! He is rightfully being hailed as a hero. The local fire department is planning on honoring him later this year. Amazing!
Peace & Love,
Jon
Fitting theme music :) - I Need a Hero
Sometimes you only have seconds to make a decision that could save lives. Darrell Krushelnicki didn't hesitate or freeze when he saw a driver chatting on his cellphone, not paying attention to the road, and speeding towards kids who were walking over a crosswalk. Darrell saw the inevitable and decided to take action.
Darrell was waiting to make a left turn at an intersection in Edmonton, Canada when he saw the motorist going over 50 mph in 20 mph zone. He inched his car forward in the intersection to see if the speeding motorist would see either him or the kids. The 23 year old speeding motorist did not show any signs of slowing down so Krushelnicki immediately drove his 2006 Hummer H3 into the vehicle and saved the kids from the collision. Darrell stated, "It was just a reaction". Darrell jumped out of the car after the crash to confirm that the kids were safe and were not hit by any of the debris. Neither driver was seriously injured.
Police officer Scott Pattison told the press, “He did a very valiant thing. Obviously police don’t recommend people do those sorts of things that put their own lives in jeopardy, but certainly, we could have been talking about a very different story today that involved, potentially, the serious injury or death of four children between the ages of three and 16,".
The reckless driver faces one count of dangerous driving. Krushelnicki received praises from the police instead of charges. He's happy things worked out, but he was not expecting praise. “The best thing that could have happened, happened. Twisted metal can always be fixed.” Darrell Krushelnicki said.
With a last name that starts with "Krush", maybe he has fulfilled part of his destiny :)
Peace & Love,
Jon
- The Good World News
Now this superhero family needs some theme music! They were enjoying a family reunion at Henry Hagg Lake in Oregon when they heard frantic shouting. The yelling was coming from a family of eight children that were grasping for life in the water. The eight children between the ages of 3 and 13 were wading in the shallow water when they fell over one of the many hidden drop offs in the lake. None of the kids were wearing life jackets and none of them could swim.
In rushed the A-Team to save the day. Lura Kirby, one of the six superheros that helped saved the day stated that they pulled the children out of the water by "passing them up hand to hand to shore,". They rescued 7 children when someone shouted that there was still one more in the water. The rescuers rushed in the water and found the last child submerged at the bottom. The family was ready to do CPR on two children that weren't breathing when they suddenly gasped for air. All eight children survived!
Peace & Love,
Jon
- The Good World News
Marius Schneider, a 12 year old in Germany, is now on a steady path to recovery thanks to his loving parents. Marius was suffering from cystic fibrosis, a genetic disease which causes thick mucus to build up in the lungs. His family was desperately waiting on a lung donor, but time was running out. Marius was breathing through a ventilator in order to survive.
Even though times seemed rough, Schneider was in luck. He has parents that were willing to do anything to get him healthy and they had the help of Germany's top transplant surgeon, Professor Dr Axel Haverich. Marius' father, Lars, stated, "We were desperately waiting for an organ, waiting for a call every day". When a donor could not be found, Marius' parents decided that they would each donate one of their lungs to save their child. Dr Gregor Warnecke, the doctor in charge of Marius' care said "The transplant was his last chance. The hospital would not have operated on his parents if it had not been an absolute necessity".
The surgeons at Hannover Medical University operated on all three of them at the same time and the procedure was successful. "Marius was already somewhere between heaven and earth when we operated", Professor Dr Axel Haverich stated. "He was living in a state of almost perpetual anesthesia. But he is a real fighter. We had a team of 40 and he came through."
Marius was released from the hospital after 155 days and he can now lead a healthier life without breathing assistance thanks to his loving parents!
Peace & Love,
Jon
- The Good World News
Part of the reason why so many people love Batman is because under the dark mask is a normal human just like all of us. He does not have any superpowers or magic ability. Under all of the cool gadgets and costumes, he just has his wits, his heart, and his determination to make the world a better place.
Christian Bale, the actor in the recent "Dark Knight" batman films is proving to be a real life superhero. Bale flew Jayden and his family to Anaheim, California to go to Disneyland.
Jayden's mom wrote an ecstatic message on Facebook - “Finally can share!!! Christian sent us to LA and we had lunch at Disney club 33 on wed!! He and his family were so awesome and down to earth!!!”
We can definitely say that Christian Bale is a real life superhero! He has made a young boy's dream come true :)
Peace & Love,
Jon
- The Good World News
Boston (CNN) -- Johanna Crawford was volunteering for a domestic violence shelter in 2003 when she answered a hot line call she will never forget.
On the other end of the line was a petrified woman who had just arrived in town after fleeing her husband. She said he had abused her physically and emotionally for years.
The woman had her two young children with her, along with two trash bags that carried all their belongings.
"They had gotten on the first bus out of town, and here they were," Crawford said. "They knew nobody. And we had a bed (at the shelter), we had a room. So I picked her up."
The woman didn't have a dollar to her name. And because she left so fast, she didn't have identification or her children's birth certificates -- things that she would need to start her new life.
"She did not legally exist," Crawford said. "She could not get food stamps. She could not get welfare. She could not sign up for health care. She could not get counseling. And (she had) no hope of ever getting housing."
The woman needed $40 to get the documents she needed. Crawford decided to help.
"It is totally forbidden for staff or volunteers to give clients money. But I've never been very good with rules, so ... I gave her the two $20 bills," she said.
Crawford gave her a third $20 for mailing expenses and told the woman to treat her kids to McDonald's with the leftovers.
"She was blown away," Crawford said. "And I was thinking, 'I just changed a life -- three lives and many generations of lives, perhaps -- with $40.' And it felt great."
A year later, Crawford founded Web of Benefit, a nonprofit that awards grants to female survivors of domestic violence. The grants, which average $500, allow each recipient to take the first step into her new life.
Some women use the grants toward a security deposit on an apartment. Others buy a computer to access online education and job postings. Grants also help pay for child care, transportation or materials to start small businesses.
"These women (need) to know that they deserve their dream and have the power to create it," said Crawford, 65.
In the United States, 74% of female domestic violence victims have stayed with an abuser for economic reasons, according to the Mary Kay Foundation.
"There is a reality that women go back to abusers because ... the financial hardship is horrific," Crawford said. "What they have left is shattered dreams. ... It (takes) about six months to have the stability and the emotional and psychological well-being to be able to take the next step toward the rest of their lives."
That was the case for Suzie, who sought an order of protection and later a divorce from her husband after months of sexual and physical abuse after her immigration.
CNN Hero Johanna Crawford
"I couldn't speak any English," said Suzie, whose real name is being withheld to protect her identity. "I was just lost. I had no money. I had nothing. I couldn't see the future.
"When I met Johanna, I was so happy. She said she would help me to buy materials and the sewing machine I needed (to) create a small platform for myself, which made me so grateful."
Women are referred to Crawford's group by advocates at dozens of shelters and agencies that serve the survivor community. This ensures that the first and most strictly held grant requisites are met: that the applicant has been free of her abuser and any substance abuse for at least six months.
Applicants and their advocates complete what Crawford calls a "dream proposal," which is the description of the survivor's ideal life. Crawford then meets with each applicant to help her lay out the plan for how to achieve that life, identifying each of the steps required.
Crawford oversees each grant personally, delivering the money directly toward the item, program, school, hospital or landlord it will pay. In all, she has given more than 1,000 grants totaling more than $600,000 to women in Boston, where Web of Benefit is based, and Chicago, where the nonprofit has expanded.
Most of the group's funding comes from private individuals and foundations. Crawford has also put in a lot of her own money.
As a child, she experienced domestic violence in her own home, and she said she once witnessed her father nearly kill her mother. She and her older brother managed to stop the attack, and the family was able to separate from him.
"(My mother) was lucky that she was financially OK, because at that stage, there were no shelters," Crawford said. "Had he kicked us out of the house, we would have been homeless."
Grant recipients in Web of Benefit are required to complete three good works to support other survivors like themselves. Recipients help one another with things such as child care, job training, career guidance and transportation, growing the "web of benefit" community exponentially.
Suzie has already taught another survivor how to sew, a skill she used to build her thriving tailor business.
"Watching Johanna," Suzie said, "made me realize I should be a person who not only receives help but someone that can pay it forward. A person that helps others in need, like how I needed Johanna."
Crawford says she hopes her efforts to empower women can ultimately help stop the cycle of violence.
"One woman can make a difference," she said. "But women working together can change the world."
Want to get involved? Check out the Web of Benefit website at www.webofbenefit.org and see how to help.
Berger, Danielle. "Grants help abused women start over". CNN. 19 July 2012. Web.
View original article at cnn.com:
http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/19/us/cnnheroes-crawford-domestic-violence/index.html