Nicole Pal is expecting to graduate from Santa Clara University in 2014 with a degree in web design and computer engineering. She shares this close piece about how much her father has influenced her throughout her life.

“Forget barbies or tea cups. The most precious gifts I received as a child were a white board and a book about bridges. I never questioned whether I could succeed as an engineer, and as I head into my final year of engineering school at Santa Clara University, I realize my dad played a huge role…”

Read more of Nicole Pal’s meaningful story here.

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“A five-year-old girl set up a lemonade stand “for peace” right across the street from a notorious church in Kansas which has been accused of spreading hate and homophobia wherever it goes.

The purpose behind young Jayden Sink’s beverages is to raise money for a nonprofit organization called Planting Peace, which supports orphanages, works to conserve rain forests and provides medication to poverty-stricken children all over the world…”

Click here to read more of this story by Elisha Fieldstadt, NBC News.

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Nicole Sadler prepares for mission trip to Oklahoma

It’s never too young to give a helping hand and for recent high school graduate, 18 year-old Nicole Sadler, she’s excited to offer her help.

Sadler’s youth group and an adult ministries group from Fellowship Reformed Church in West Michigan are heading to Moore, Oklahoma to aid in a disaster relief project.  After the tornadoes hit last month, demolishing the city, the group filled with loving, compassionate hearts wanted to offer their helping hands.

Leaving July 7, Nicole and her group will spend a week helping to clean up, rebuild and recover what the tornado destroyed.

“I hope to spread the love of God by helping others and to grow in my relationship with Him through the process” Nicole said.

This is Nicole’s first mission trip and she and her group are anxiously anticipating their arrival to Oklahoma.

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Mitchell Peterson, now 17, was diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy in March of 1999, and he and his family, along with plenty of friends and volunteers, put on the 5k race through downtown Rockford. The event includes three different kids’ races for ages 2-10 and the full 5k. The community also holds an annual volleyball tournament for Mitchell and Parent Project MD, appropriately named Volley 4 Mitchell.

For more information on Mitchell’s Run, as well as race registration info, visit their website: http://mitchellsrun.org/

For more information on Duchenne muscular dystrophy and the Parent Project MD, visit: http://www.parentprojectmd.org/

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Instead, they made a gesture to a player whose career was cut short.

Bypassing conventional wisdom in the draft, the Diamondbacks used the 1,020th overall pick of the draft on Arizona State’s Cory Hahn, an outfielder who was paralyzed during a game in 2011.

“It was a very emotional selection for us to make,” Diamondbacks president Derrick Hall said on Saturday. “When (scouting director) Ray Montgomery and his staff came up with the idea and presented it to me, it was a no-brainer.”

To read the rest of the story visit USA Today or http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/draft/2013/06/09/arizona-diamondbacks-asu-cory-hahn-mlb-draft/2404757/

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Angela Topp is a tree hugger, and to tree huggers’ it’s Earth Day every day of the year. In 2010, Angela decided to cement her legacy in Grand Rapids as an eco-warrior by founding Tree Huggers, an earthy-friendly retail store in East Hills, Grand Rapids. With the idea of ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’ in mind, she opened a shop that focused on upcycled and recycled goods.

“People always ask me, ‘What IS Tree Huggers?’ and to that I say: sustainability” said Topp. “It’s hard to define what Tree Huggers is because Tree Huggers is in everything we do. From recycling our waste to lessening the waste we create, our store helps every step of the way.”

Her intention was to create a hub for sustainability- but she felt that more than a few sustainable practices were being left behind by her store.

It didn’t take her long to remedy that problem: just a few months later she incorporated a recycling center and a package-free food section to her location. These furthered her ideal of representing every piece of the ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’ mantra that she’s always lived by.

“I’m really excited to see where we go from here. I never would have dreamed that Tree Huggers would be the thriving business that it is today…not in a thousand years. I just wanted to help this community – it’s just a bonus that they helped me along the way.”

From an early age, Angela’s conviction for treating mother Earth with respect was obvious to anyone with ears or eco-unfriendly opinions. As she grew into the professional she is today, her youthful passion never changed. If asked, she would just as fervently defend the planet by any (legal) means necessary- but her battles are won with words and actions now, rather than the playground fights of yesteryear.

To learn more about Treehuggers, click here: http://thetreehuggerstore.com/

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Think of a memorable catchphrase about what kind of news ‘sells’. Got it? Great! Did your mind immediately think of ‘If it bleeds, it leads’ or perhaps ‘bad news sells’? We’ve all been trained (those of us that write professionally, anyhow) to believe that bad news is the only news that catches viewer attention. But social media is bucking this trend.
According to John Tierney of that little New York Times website, goods news is trumping bad in every medium for social media. His recent article countered the logic of the last 100 years, at least for sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. Apparently, people would rather share good news than bad when it comes to their friends. Who’d have thunk it?
Learn more about John here or by reading his article in the New York Times.

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From time to time, everyone suffers from depression and anxiety. To be human is to feel the myriad of emotions that our chemically charged brains house. Unfortunately, with the ups and downs of life, our brains tend to pour on heavy doses of sadness. But what if there were a way to be happy on demand? Or just happier in general?
Garnering larger doses of happiness isn’t crazy at all – in fact, Matt Killingsworth has dedicated his life’s research to the topic of happiness. And what has he found? In a nutshell: when we become lost in a moment, we are much more likely to become and remain happy. You heard it here – get lost in the moment, folks!

To learn more about Matt and his take on happiness, watch this video! More information about him can be found at his website here.

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Abedin, who is now over 60 years old, spent half his life saving money to bring Tanhashadia its own medical facility, according to a report by Al Jazeera. He says his father was the inspiration for this dream.

“My dad died because we couldn’t take him to the hospital and the nearest doctor was two days walk away,” he told Al Jazeera. “I was so angry. People here think that because we are poor, we are helpless. I wanted to prove them wrong.”

According to the BBC, Abedin moved to Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka with his wife to earn money as a rickshaw driver, where he earned approximately $6 a day. He saved all he could for 30 years in order to make the clinic a reality.”

Do you think this story is compelling? Read more here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/10/bangladesh-rickshaw-driver_n_3405643.html?utm_hp_ref=good-news

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A young child writes a letter to our President

A young girl, Sophia writes to President Obama. She shares with him that she has two dads, and sometimes, other kids at school pick on Sophia because of this fact. Sophia says, “I have two dads and they love each other, but at school kids think that it’s gross and weird but it really hurts my heart and feelings . . .”

Sophia reminds us to watch our words and to watch what we say around children, because we don’t want to spread hate or hurt others. She even asks Obama for advice in her letter. The President’s reply is below.

Obama has a few wise words for Sophia, but we can all take them to heart.

“Our differences unite us. . . A good rule is to treat others the way you hope they will treat you. Remind your friends at school about this rule if they say something that hurts your feelings.”

The President responds to a young child’s letter

See more inspirational photos here.

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