10-Year-Old Raises Money to Help Poor Kids Dance

I know what you are thinking - "Is it youth week at Sublime Goodness?" No, just serendipity that I came across two inspirational stories about two activist kids in the span of a few days. Here is the caption from the AP for the photo above:

Drew Buckley, 10, a Patel Conservatory ballet student separates ballet shoes she has collected for students at Metropolitan Ministries Partnership School before a dance class Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2010 in Tampa, Fla. Buckley collected $1,700, with the help of her mother, to buy new ballet shoes for the kids, some who live in a homeless shelter, others who live in tough urban neighborhoods and take ballet as part of their physical education class.

> Read more about Drew here

7-Year-Old Organizes to Help Homeless for the Holidays

I wish I was this empathetic and resourceful when I was a kid:

Over the holidays, when 7-year-old Jonathan Slack saw a destitute woman in Chicago with a sign that said she had no place to live, he was moved to tears—and then to action. He wrote a letter to his community of Orland Park, Ill., asking residents to help the homeless, distributing photocopies around the neighborhood. Within 10 days, Jonathan’s neighbors responded with four trucks of food and toys, which he sent to Chicago’s Su Casa Catholic Worker homeless shelter. “I’d like to think it was divine intervention,” said his mother. (from The Week)

Four trucks. Did I mention he's 7? Also, I lived right next to Orland Park for many years when I was younger so that part made me happy too.

> Read more about Jonathan's story here

Related Sublime Goodness Posts:

• Homeless Teen Headed to Harvard
• 11 Year-Old Boy Works to Fight Homelessness
• Youth No Obstacle for this Volunteer
• Boy Asks Friends for Food, Not Toys on Birthday

5-Year-Old Daughter Climbs Ravine to Save Mother

This story gave me goosebumps:

A 5-year-old Canadian girl saved her mother’s life after their truck drove off a cliff. Nikki Butler, 30, was driving through the Rocky Mountains with her daughter Mary when their truck skidded on black ice, flipped over the guardrail, and rolled four times before coming to rest at the foot of a steep embankment. Unable to wake her unconscious mother, Mary unbuckled her seat belt, crawled out the rear passenger window, and climbed 150 feet back to the road where she flagged down a passing truck. “I needed to save my mom,” said Mary, “because I love my mom.” Mary was not hurt and her mother suffered only minor injuries. (from The Week)

I want to give that kid the biggest high-five in the world.

> Read More about the Rescue Here

Related Sublime Goodness Posts:

• Man Rescues Flood Victims Just Like Father
• Nursing School Student Saves Dean's Life at Graduation
• 'Hero' Mail Carrier Delivers for Woman in Need
• 8 Year-Old Girl Saves Self, Grandmother by Taking Wheel
  

Man Rescues Flood Victims Just Like Father

Heroism must run in this family. Check this out:

As the 37-year-old Douglasville, Georgia, man [Zack Stephney] set out September 22 to try and save a woman whose car was swept away by rushing waters, he thought of his father's drowning. He, too, had fought to rescue people struggling against currents.

That was in 1979.

Tommie Stephney, a City of Atlanta employee, dove into the Chattahoochee River in Atlanta, Georgia, to save canoeists who'd flipped their boat, his son said. He safely brought two to shore. The third, he said, panicked -- forcing them both under. It would be a week before his father's body was found.

A week later, the death toll in Georgia from the floods was 10. Standing along the fence still tangled with weeds and debris, Stephney peered down at Brooks' mucked-up car, knowing that number could have been higher....

"It could've happened to me the same way it did my dad," Stephney said.

The "what ifs" keep spinning through his head:

What if her window hadn't been down?

What if they 'd never spotted her?

What if she'd failed to stay calm?

Mixed in are thoughts about his father, a man he in many ways struggles to remember.

What Stephney did was not unlike the countless heroic efforts that played out in disaster areas during the flood. First responders and regular citizens risked their own lives to save others.

But he had something else pushing him, the kind of inspiration rooted in family legacy. And without a doubt, Tommie Stephney would have been proud of his boy.

> Read the full amazing story here at CNN

Eerie. Also, if you read the story, you'll find out that he showered and then put in a full day's work. I would think it would be hard to concentrate after such an adrenaline rush!

Related Sublime Goodness Posts:

• Fireman Dresses as Spider-Man to Rescue Boy
• Firefighter Meets Woman He Saved 40 Years Ago
• Another Hudson River Rescue
• Dad Delivers Baby During Flood Using Google
• Hero Cop Saves Toddler from Train & Inspires Children

Nursing School Student Saves Dean's Life at Graduation

"Not your typical rescue story" is what I first thought reading this. Instead, a powerful story of second chances. Here is the deal:

Charity Townsend Caldwell wasn't even going to go to her own graduation that day, but a friend talked her into it at the last minute.

As the new nursing graduate hustled out of the rain into the DeSoto Civic Center on May 2 and saw a crowd gathered around a man, her instincts kicked in.

"I'm a nurse," she called as she pushed through people, got down on the floor in her heels and her half-zipped graduation gown and checked for a pulse. The man's breathing was shallow. Then his pulse stopped.

"All I was thinking is, 'I only have three minutes to get the blood flowing to his brain,'" she said.

Caldwell, 35, began chest compressions, an act she had only performed once before and an act she was later told saved the life of Southwest Tennessee Community College's Dean of Health Sciences, Glen Swinny.

"He really wouldn't have made it, we don't think, without Charity," said Provost Joanne Bassett. "It was just amazing to see a little angel working in front of us."

Swinny was taken to Baptist Memorial Hospital-DeSoto. He had suffered a heart attack and his arteries were 90 percent blocked. He had double-bypass surgery two days later.

Caldwell had never met Swinny, but she visited him in the hospital the day after his surgery.

"I couldn't recognize him at first, but when he looked at me, I knew his brown eyes," she said. "He hugged my neck, kissed me and said, 'Thank you so much.'"

School officials called Caldwell a heroine, but she views it differently.

"It was divine intervention for both of us," she said. "He let me know that I could do it."

It took a lot of perseverance and little bit of luck for Caldwell to reach the graduation ceremony that night.

As a single mother working full-time, Caldwell struggled for eight years to get her nursing degree. She began when her son was in kindergarten, taking one class at a time. After failing two classes, she was dismissed from the program.

"I was crushed," said Caldwell, who said she has always wanted to be a nurse.

When Southwest instituted a readmission policy in 2007 in response to the state's nursing shortage, she gave up her full-time job as a clinical reimbursement specialist at Smith & Nephew and started over.

In a letter to the school's president after graduation, Caldwell wrote: "I have no doubt that the second chance I was given to pursue my dream resulted in a second chance for Dean Swinny. To all of my instructors, classmates, friends and family, thank you for believing in me." (from Memphis' Commercial Appeal)

Watch the CNN Video:



Related Sublime Goodness Posts:

• Hero Cop Saves Toddler from Train & Inspires Children
• Another Hero Captain - "Captain Courageous"
• 'Hero' Mail Carrier Delivers for Woman in Need
• Toddler Caught by Two Men After 40-Foot Fall from Window
  

6 Year-Old Takes Wheel, Save Dad's Life

Another day, another courageous kid highlighted in Sublime Goodness! What's also eerie to me is it was only a month ago that I posted about an 8 year-old girl who took the wheel and saved herself and her grandmother. Here is Tustin's story from last week:

Philip Mains of North Platte, Neb., is usually able to control his diabetes. But while driving recently with his two young sons in his Chevy Avalanche, Mains’ blood-sugar level suddenly dropped, plunging him into unconsciousness. His 6-year-old, Tustin, immediately took the wheel and safely steered the vehicle, which was traveling at about 15 mph, until a police officer chased it down and threw the car into park. “I saw my dad fall asleep,” said Tustin, “and I climbed over the seat and got on my dad’s lap.” His dad is doing fine. (from the Week)

> Read more about the events here in the North Platte Telegraph

It should also be noted that "Tustin managed to do a pretty good job of driving the Avalanche. Phillip said there wasn't any significant damage to the vehicle and it appeared the only damage was a scrape that occurred when Tustin brushed the side of the bridge after he turned the vehicle around."

Wow. Great job Tustin! Your father should be proud. What an amazing and inspiring child.

Hero Cop Saves Toddler from Train & Inspires Children

I'm sure you might have seen this story on the news recently - it's pretty amazing (and in Wisconsin!). It's always great to hear about someone acting selflessly to save others. In case you missed it, here is the deal (if you know the scoop, just skip to the video below):

Monday's Memorial Day Parade in Elm Grove [WI] was canceled after an accident on the train tracks. But the tragedy could have been even worse if it weren't for the actions of a West Allis man and Elm Grove Police Officer John Krahn.

Tim Weiner was on his way to the parade when he saw a van get stuck between the gates on the train tracks on Juneau in Elm Grove. Inside the van was a 23-year old mother, Monica Partenfelder and her 2-year old son.

"She kind of panicked. I don't blame her. She probably didn't see where the train was coming from. You could hear it was getting close," Weiner said.

The wheels of the van were lodged on the tracks. She was trapped. That's when the boy's father, Scott Partenfelder, who was riding in a different car, raced to try to get the mother and son out in time. Witnesses say Officer John Krahn also came out of nowhere to help.

"I couldn't figure out why he wasn't getting away from the car. But I later found out there was a child in the back. So he was reaching in the back when the train hit the car. He was trying to get the child out. This guy is a hero," Weiner said.

The two men got the mother out of the van in time, but they couldn't get the 2-year old boy out of the car seat. The train smashed into the van, knocking the vehicle into both Partenfelder and Officer Krahn. Witnesses say even after the crash, Officer Krahn was only worried about the boy's safety.

"I ran over to the police officer, and his leg was pretty bad, and all he said to me was "Get the kid out of the van!" and he was screaming and yelling in pain," Weiner said.

The 2-year old was in the van when the train collided with it head on. Incredibly, the young boy wasn't hurt. Officer John Krahn, now in the hospital, is being praised for his actions.

"That cop, that guy's a hero as far as I'm concerned. He really didn't have to be there, he didn't have to do that. But he did," Weiner said. (from MSNBC)

I also really liked this video about Krahn's impact in a local elementary school where he children know him as the "D.A.R.E." cop. His heroic actions inspired some great discussion with the kids.

Watch:



Related Sublime Goodness Posts:

• 8 Year-Old Girl Saves Self, Grandmother by Taking Wheel
• Toddler Caught by Two Men After 40-Foot Fall from Window
• Another Hero Captain - "Captain Courageous"
• 'Hero' Mail Carrier Delivers for Woman in Need
• Boy, 5, Saves Dad's Life
• Back-to-Back Heroic Acts by a Transit Officer
• Chesley Sullenberger is My Hero: Facebook Edition

Dog Saves Owner's Life from Mountain Lion Attack

I'll never get tired of stories like this. When you watch the video, it's touching to see the owner's emotion for his dog (I would be grateful too!). Here is the deal:

They say dogs are man's best friend and one west coast pup certainly lived up to that title. An Orange County [Georgia] couple said they were hiking when a mountain lion came at them. The couple's beloved pet jumped into action.

William Morse said he and his wife, Candy, were hiking in Falcon Campground about 1:00 p.m. when he spotted a mountain lion approach.

That's when the couple's 5-year-old Labrador-chow mix, Hoagie, attacked the mountain lion and protected the couple.

The Morses said the attack lasted about 30 seconds. The mountain lion took off and William and Candy Morse were unharmed. Hoagie was severely injured. (from Fox Atlanta)

And here is the sublime end to this story (which isn't touched on in the CNN video below):

Candy Morse said they got Hoagie three years ago. Hoagie had been abused and the previous owner was going to have him put to sleep. The Morse family saved Hoagie and now Hoagie has returned the favor.

Isn't that amazing?

Watch the CNN video:



Related Sublime Goodness Posts:

• Dog Saves 9 People
• An Autistic Boy & His Dog
• Hero Dog Tries To Help Wounded Dog
• Boy, 5, Saves Dad's Life

8 Year-Old Girl Saves Self, Grandmother by Taking Wheel

I love stories like this for a few reasons. Wait, here is the deal:

CBS11 in Dallas / Forth Worth has the story about an 8-year-old girl who helped steer a car when her grandmother passed out.

Emma Hicks, 8, of Cleburne, a town south of Forth Worth, is being given a national award for doing a good deed. While she crashed her grandmothers SUV through a fence and into a shed, it was a crash that may have saved lives.
There's still damage visible at the site where Emma Hicks ride home from school ended. "On the way home my grandma, she blacked out," the little girl explained.

Emma's grandmother, Jeannie Mendoza, has to depend on her granddaughter's memory. "I turned on the corner and I told her [Emma] I felt funny and I was going to pull over," Jeannie recalled. "I pulled over a little bit and I don't remember anything after that."

Jeannie had a seizure while driving with her granddaughter. Emma said, "And her foot was on the gas pedal and then we were going." The two were racing down the road and heading toward danger.

Something had to be done, so little Emma took action. "I had to undo my seatbelt and I had to get in the front seat and I had to steer the truck. And then we came to a turn and I couldn't make it."

Until the incident, Emma's only driving experience was on her grandfather's lawnmower and tractor. It was a rocky ride for the courageous little girl. "So we went through a metal fence, a shed, and we hit some wood. And then the car stopped, but the doors were jammed on her side and my side. And so, I opened the window and I went to go get help." (from CBS News)

First, Emma Hicks saved herself and her grandmother...awesome. When faced with danger, she acted courageously.

More importantly will remember this event for the rest of her life when faced with perilous situations. She also inspired many around her, including those not around her...like me!

Watch the CNN Video:



Related Sublime Goodness Posts:

• Toddler Caught by Two Men After 40-Foot Fall from Window
  
• Fireman Dresses as Spider-Man to Rescue Boy
• Dog Saves 9 People
• Hero Dog Tries To Help Wounded Dog
• Boy, 5, Saves Dad's Life
• Back-to-Back Heroic Acts by a Transit Officer

Another Hero Captain - "Captain Courageous"

A few months later, we have reason to celebrate another American Captain - Richard Philips. A selfless and heroic soul. Here is the scoop from the Early Show:

Appearing on CBS' The Early Show, Captain James Staples, a friend and former classmate of Richard Phillips at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, said the willingness of the captain of the Maersk Alabama to risk his own life to protect his crew did not surprise him at all.

"It's an amazing feeling to know that Richard's now safe. I can't even explain how happy I was when I heard this great news," Staples said.

In a move that surprised the pirates, crew members of the U.S.-flagged ship had put up a fight Wednesday when pirates boarded the cargo vessel. Somali pirates had become used to encountering no resistance when hijacking vessels in search of million-dollar ransoms.

The ship had been carrying food aid bound for Rwanda, Somalia and Uganda when the ordeal began Wednesday hundreds of miles off Somalia's eastern coast. As the pirates clambered aboard and shot in the air, Phillips told his crew to lock themselves in a cabin and surrendered himself to safeguard his men.

At the beginning of the tense standoff, the Maersk's crew actually held one of the pirates hostage, hoping to exchange him for their captive captain. But Phillips opted to be taken away by the bandits so that his crew would be freed.

Early Show anchor Harry Smith asked Staples about their experience and training at the Merchant Marine Academy and how it prepared Phillips for the hazardous region around the Horn of Africa.

"Well, surely he was taking all the precautions that he's been trained to do to keep the ship out of harm's way," Staples said. "It's just that every day at sea is a different day. And it just was probably a situation he was under and he just handled it marvelously."

Staples called his friend "Captain Courageous." [emphasis mine]

> Read more about what happened here.

Watch a video recap:



Related Sublime Goodness Posts:

• Miracle on the Hudson - Chesley Sullenberger is My Hero
• Chesley Sullenberger is My Hero: Facebook Edition
• Back-to-Back Heroic Acts by a Transit Officer

Toddler Caught by Two Men After 40-Foot Fall from Window

Talk about being in the right place at the right time...and having the courage to do something wonderful:

Two men were being hailed as heroes by police on Monday for catching a toddler who fell 40 feet from a home's third-story window.

Robert Lemire told the North-Andover (Mass.) Eagle-Tribune newspaper that he was talking on his cell phone Sunday evening outside a pizza shop in Lawrence, about 25 miles north of Boston, when he saw the toddler dangling from a window across the street.

The 45-year-old father of two bolted across a busy street, where he met 23-year-old Alex Day, who had been inside the home at a Bible study meeting. Together, they caught the 18-month-old before she hit the ground.

> Read more at MSBNC

Watch the video recap:

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

Related Sublime Goodness Posts:

• Fireman Dresses as Spider-Man to Rescue Boy
• Dog Saves 9 People
• Hero Dog Tries To Help Wounded Dog
• Boy, 5, Saves Dad's Life
• Back-to-Back Heroic Acts by a Transit Officer

*Thanks to happytweets for the tip on this great story!

Firefighter Meets Woman He Saved 40 Years Ago

This would be an amazing story by itself - a white firefighter saving a black child forty years ago in a burning building. But now, years and years later, the young child is all grown up and wants to make sure that firefighter knows she is grateful.

A Boston firefighter and the woman he rescued from a devastating blaze as a baby 40 years ago have been reunited. William Carroll, now 71, crawled through the flames on his stomach to rescue Evangeline Harper, then an infant. A photograph of the white firefighter emerging from the burning building, giving mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to a black child, became a symbol of hope during an era of racial upheaval. Only when Harper tracked Carroll down, though, did they finally reconnect, in an emotional meeting last week. “Thank you so much,” she said. “Thank you for remembering me,” he responded. (from The Week)

> Read the full story in The Boston Globe

Watch a video of the reunion:

Teen Shields Boy from Bullet

What a week - I didn't intend to post two heroic stories in three days, but then Jullaion Jones goes and potentially saves a 6 year-old boy's life.

Here are the details that occurred during a high school basketball game in Kansas City:

...15 men stormed a gymnasium, gunfire erupted, and player Jullaion Jones quickly left the game and shielded DeSean Merritt, 6, who had lost his father Sean in the confusion.

Jullaion got hit, the bullet grazing his body, but he will survive. Jullaion Jones is a hero and this story will bring tears to your eyes about how one kid did what was right, so very right, and so very fast, to risk his life for another. (from HipHopMusic.com)

Jullian has a lot to be proud of right now and deserves every accolade. Thank you for your inspiration!

> Read More at the Kansas City Star

Watch the short CNN video wrap-up below. My favorite part of it is at the end, when Jullaion and DeSean are walking down the hall like brothers - so wonderful.

Boy, 5, Saves Dad's Life

Here is a remarkable story of a quick thinking kid who is now a little hero. Even more remarkable is the outpouring of support for the father after community residents heard the episode started because he couldn't afford his medical supplies.

Danny Stephen says he was trying to cut back on the use of test strips Saturday when he collapsed, unconscious, on a couch for 10 hours.

Stephen's son, Jude, was the only one home at the time. At dinnertime, he tried to wake his father.

"I literally just passed out," Stephen said. "I couldn't move. I couldn't talk. What came out was mumbo-jumbo."

Stephen said he mumbled the word "juice," and his son thought he was saying "Jude." Once the Bear Creek Elementary School student realized what was happening, he began to pour honey and juice into his father's mouth. Jude then hand-fed his father cupcakes.

"He knows my expressions when my sugar's low," said Stephen, who was diagnosed with diabetes 26 years ago. "He saved my life. All I remember is sort of coming out of it."

> Read More about the Story here.

Watch a short CNN video:


The father seems so proud. Heck, even I am!

Back-to-Back Heroic Acts by a Transit Officer

This is an unbelievable story. Houston Metro Officer Eliot Swainson was in Washington, DC this week, deputized to help with the large crowds for the inauguration. On Tuesday, he saved a 68-year-old woman woman who fell on the subway tracks, by quickly tucking her under a platform seconds before a train arrived.

Wait, it gets better. The next day, after he was leaving an interview about the heroic train rescue, he and two Washington transit officers noticed smoke pouring from a nearby row house. They were the first on the scene, alerted firefighters and then began to help people get out of the building.

> Read the Full Story Here

My favorite part comes at the end:

...he couldn't resist playing along when a reporter asked whether -- like Superman -- he was wearing a shirt with a giant letter "S" beneath his uniform. "Well, it's 'Swainson,' " he said, laughing. "So, it's always there."

It takes a special type of person to impulsively act like that - to jump in harm's way to save another life. Thank you Mr. Swainson for being sublimely good!

Watch Swainson talk about the subway train rescue:

Chesley Sullenberger is My Hero: Facebook Edition

A lot has happened in the last day. It is rare that one person can become so universally beloved in such a fractured society we supposedly live in ("red-state, blue-state,etc"). It seems that there is one thing we can all agree on - Chesley Sullenberger is a hero and let's show our gratitude!

Already, when I logged onto Facebook this evening there is a growing number of grass-roots "Chesley Sullenberger" pages for Facebook members to become fans of and "Chesley Sullenberger" groups for members to join. What touches me more than seeing literally about 100,000 people (by my count and growing rapidly) become public supporters of this man from all corners of the earth is to see the overwhelming number of emotional words of thanks. Here are just a few:

I am so impressed at such a wonderful and heroic job. I am planning on getting my pilots license and I would be happy if I could be even half as brave and knowledgeable as you are. You are my hero.

You are a true hero. I haven't flown in since 2000, but you...you my dear man have given me hope. You have done a remarkable thing. My faith has been restored. I just might take that short flight to Hawaii with my family after all....

Sully, you are a true hero. I hope that people will teach their children that people like you, your co-captain, flight staff, the ferry boat staff, and first responders are the true heroes...

I am still awestruck.

hi im gabi and im 8 years old I am very proud of you. P.S. this is my dads facebook but email me back!!!!!!

Amazing job Sully! America loves you!

Your actions yesterday not only saved 155 lives they also impacted millions of lives. God Bless YOU!

> Read More on Facebook

Miracle on the Hudson - Chesley Sullenberger is My Hero

The lead story on the news across the country is no doubt the emergency landing of a US Airways plane in the Hudson River today. Apparently a few birds crashed into the plane, causing it to go down. It could have been terrible and tragic...but it wasn't. Before today, Chesley Sullenberger was a pilot. Now he's a hero.

In the aftermath of the crash, the pilot, Chesley Burnett "Sully" Sullenberger III, was praised for his efforts at landing the plane softly on the river's surface, allowing rescue crews to get to the passengers before the plane sank.

"It would appear that the pilot did a masterful job of landing the plane in the river, and then making sure everybody got out," New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said at a news conference late today.

What cinched it for me was this - he walked the aisle of the downed US Airways jet twice looking for passengers before exiting the plane he safely ditched in the Hudson River, saving the lives of more than 150 people onboard. What an amazing man.

> Read More about the Heroic Landing & Sullenberger

Hero Dog Tries To Help Wounded Dog

This video is only a minute long and pretty amazing. You always here about the heroic nature of dogs in the news, usually by saving their owner or similar. But here is one caught on tape...helping another dog! From Santiago, Chile.



> Read more about it in the video description @ YouTube