University Student Gets Anonymous $16,000 Check for Tuition

Pay it forward. That's what the letter accompanying the $16,000 check said to Marc Alexander:

Dear Mr. Alexander,

Enclosed is a cashier's check for $16,000. This is a gift to pay for your classes next term at Kettering. We hope that at some time in your successful future you may find someone in need and "pay this gift forward."

Amazing isn't it? Here is the deal in a nutshell:

In the midst of a credit crisis, the 23-year-old had been rejected seven times for the $16,000 loan he needed to attend Kettering University this term.

But someone out there just couldn't stand to see the star senior quit college.

The anonymous letter came to Kettering's financial aid office just days after his story appeared in The Flint Journal -- enclosed was a $16,000 cashier's check.

Just one simple request from his secret donors: Pay it forward.

"I was just blown away," said Alexander, head of a non-profit organization that helps youth. "Nothing like this has ever happened to me. This was something I'd only seen in the movies.

"It's kind of hard to even express how grateful and thankful I am. I am on top of the world."

> Read the Full Story at the Flint Journal

What are you doing to pay it forward?

*Thanks to Daily Good for the tip-off on this great story.

Amputee Swimmer Doesn't Quit

I love stories like this - someone who doesn't look at their disability as an barrier..but an obstacle to overcome. Here is Dwight's story:

Dwight Montgomery was pulling himself out of the water when he looked up and saw the crowd was clapping and cheering for him.

Three years after a horrific motorcycle accident left him with one leg, the Jamaican-born swimmer finished his first Nike Swim Miami two weeks ago in a little more than two hours.

"They made me feel as if I won the race even though I finished 174th out of 182 swimmers," Montgomery said. "I did the [3.1-mile] race as a challenge. It was one of the most taxing and rewarding things that I ever have done. The pain lasted for two full days."

The next week Montgomery, 48, of Tamarac was right back in the pool training for more challenges.

This is my favorite part:

"I find now that I am doing all of this I am motivating my [10 yr-old] daughter even more," said Montgomery, who hopes to compete in triathlons. "The lesson she learns isn’t just about swimming. The lessons she gets by watching about not quitting and being in pain and getting past that is invaluable. It says that you can do anything."

> Read the full story and more about Dwight Montgomery

Watch the CNN video recap:

Related Sublime Goodness Posts:

• No Stopping Five-Year-Old Girl with New Legs
• Disabled Iraq Veteran Overcomes Tragedy & Inspires Others
• One Man Helps the Disabled See the World
• Don't Quit Poem Video

"Across the Universe" by the Beatles

This Sunday's sublime song is one of my most favorite songs of all time. For a long while, I wanted this played at my funeral. Also, both of my little daughters request this song to be sung as a lullaby - there is something about it that is so...universal. It takes me to another place when I hear it.

The version here is not the overproduced one from "Let it Be," this is the alternate take from the Beatles Anthology - a truer, stripped down version closer to how John Lennon meant it to sound and be heard.

Close your eyes and listen:



Jai Guru Deva, Om....Nothing's gonna change my world...

As a bonus, here are two of my favorite cover versions:

• Rufus Wainwright
• Fiona Apple

Have you downloaded the Sublime Goodness Mixtape yet?

A Million Little Pictures - Photo Project About Art of Documenting

This is so cool. If you remember, recently I posted a recap of a collaborative project by Art House Co-op in Georgia where a few thousand people from around the world (artists & non-artists) created art in sketchbooks, sent them in and they exhibition went on tour. I was bummed that I missed the deadline for that neat project!

Thankfully, the good folks at the gallery saw my post and tipped me off to a new project - "A Million Little Pictures." I'm so excited! Here is the deal:

During the summer of 2009, one thousand artists from around the world will document their lives in 24 frames using a simple disposable camera with a flash.
On September 25th, 2009, an exhibition housing over 24,000 photographs will be constructed to take you on an adventure through the lives of these thousand artists.

We're looking for people with different cultures, ethnicities, geographic locations, and lifestyles. This is for anyone. You do not have to consider yourself an "artist" to participate.

They are going to hold the exhibition in the city that has the most participants. How cool is that? I love projects like this one (and their sketchbook project) -it's simple, creative and engaging to almost anyone.

The camera is only $18 - get yours!

> View the Million Little Pictures website (there are some pictures posted already)

One Thousand & One Faces - Beautiful Video

What a sweet and smile-inducing piece. Here is the intro:

1000 and one faces.Playing off the theme of a recent video contest, « Transformation : Live and React », Julien Lassort and Matthieu Burlot (France) explored the human face, the most exposed and personal part of the human body. Their dynamic portrayal of 1000 and one faces is a mosaic of portraits and emotions that plays off of the power of faces seen close up. Julien Fargo composed the melody that encapsulates the film.

Enjoy:

L'homme 100 têtes by JUL&MAT All rights reserved from JUL&MAT on Vimeo.

> View More Beautiful Video Motion Pieces (the love story one is another favorite)

Related Sublime Goodness Posts:

• The Sound of Music - A Surprise Public Performance in a Train Station
• Fingers Breakdancing Video
• Funny Cat Videos
• Fifty People, One Question: New York
• Passage - A Video Game with a Heart

Share Our Strength's "Great American Bake Sale"

It wasn't too long ago that I spotlighted the innovative and great work that the organization Share Our Strength is doing - they've contacted me again recently to help spread the word about something called the "Great American Bake Sale." Here is the deal from Alice on behalf of Share our Strength:

Today, more than 12 million children in the United States do not know when their next meal will come. Unfortunately, this number continues to riseas these difficult economic times are leaving more and more people jobless, without homes, and unable to provide food for their families.

What can you do?

1. Sign-up to host a bake sale: http://www.GreatAmericanBakeSale.org/vgabs
2. Buy the virtual Great American Bake Sale eBook: http://StolenMomentsCooking.com/virtual-gabs
3. Post a ChipIn widget or banner on your blog: http://www.GreatAmericanBakeSale.org/bloggers

Make a difference in a child’s life by signing up and purchasing a virtual cookbook today! 100% of the proceeds from this eBook will benefit Share Our Strength’s Great American Bake Sale, which is a national effort thatencourages Americans to host bake sales in their communities to help end childhood hunger. Funds raised support summer and after-school feedingprograms in your community that thousands of kids depend on.

Once you have purchased your virtual Great American Bake Sale cookbook, double your impact and use the recipes to host your own Great AmericanBake Sale! Hosting a Bake Sale is a fun and easy way to make a big impact! To register your Bake Sale or for more information, please visit http://greatamericanbakesale/.

Bake Sale? Fresh brownies and cookies for good? Hard to argue with that.

Be Humbled by The Vastness of the Universe

Get ready to reflect and be humbled.

Maybe it's the launch of the Atlantis mission today to repair the Hubble telescope or the opening of the new Star Trek movie this past week, but I was pondering our teeny, tiny spot amongst the thousands of galaxies in the universe.

This video put it in perspective and blew me away (also, the images are staggeringly sublime):



*Note to my dear readers: I am leaving to work on an intensive training program out of town tomorrow for a week. Posts will be few and far between - in the meantime, here are some sites to check out in my tentative absence.