Cooking For A Cause

This year the poor and homeless who ate Thanksgiving dinner at a St. Paul Salvation Army were treated to a meal from a well-trained and very accomplished chef. Then again, the former executive chef from a nearby posh restaurant cooks their meals every day. This week he was all over the news after an Associated Press writer did a story on him, and then ABC News featured him in the America Strong series here.

Christmas Prayer

Although this CBS story is a couple of years old, it's a great one to share on the official start of the Christmas season of giving. The generosity of a secret Santa in Pennsylvania is inspiring, and his timing is absolutely perfect. For the full story along with links to many other secret Santa videos, click here.

Thankful Survivor

In a beautiful and amazing story from CNN this week, a New York man enjoyed a very special reunion for Thanksgiving and Hanukkah. The Jewish Foundation for the Righteous arranged for a visit from the Polish man whose family saved him and his mother from the Nazis in 1942. Over 70 years later, he is able to personally thank this brave man who helped save his life. Read the full story here.

Stealing the Show

Last week a 16-year-old boy with Down Syndrome received an incredible surprise while performing at his high school talent show in the Charleston, South Carolina area. As he belted out a tune by country music star Darius Rucker, the country star himself walked out on stage and joined him for the last verse. See the video of his performance below (with the surprise at about the 3 minute mark) or read the full story from the Charleston City Paper here.

Surfing Blind

This amazing story was published many months ago by TransWorld SURF magazine. It's the incredible story of a young man who has become an accomplished surfer despite having been born blind. His story will be told in an upcoming documentary called Beyond Sight--the trailer is below.

Miracle Recovery

A Tampa Bay area teenager held a press conference last week to thank all the people involved in saving his life. After suffering a major head injury at football practice, he was put in a medical induced coma for 9 days and doctors weren't sure he would survive. He ended up leaving the hospital less than two weeks after waking up. Read the full story of his accident and recovery in the Tampa Bay Times article here.

Gotta Have Sole

An amazing young 15-year-old from Rhode Island was featured as a CNN hero last month for the work he has done through the foundation he started three years ago. His Gotta Have Sole Foundation has provided 10,000 pairs of shoes for homeless children since its inception in 2010. Check out the CNN story to read more about this project and how it became his passion.

Golden Voice

Last week, a CBS affiliate in North Carolina published a follow-up story on the subject of a viral video from early 2011. A then homeless man with an amazing radio voice rose to instant fame when the world witnessed his talent, and it's great to see what he's up to now. For the full story, click here.

Hospitable Survivors

There are lots of stories in the news right about the destruction caused by typhoon Haiyan, which hit the Philippines earlier this month. Thankfully, there are also some good stories that have come from the aftermath, like this one from the Waikato Times in New Zealand. The reporter was blown away by the generosity and hospitality of so many Filipino people who had lost everything.

Two-Time Survivor

While there is a huge amount of sadness in this story, the tale is too incredible to even believe. This young man has overcome the emotional and physical trauma of two plane crashes in the last 10 years, both of which took the lives of family members and both which he survived. Perhaps most amazingly, he has now overcome his injuries and signed a letter of intent to play college basketball. For the full story from ABC, click here.

Lost and Found Phone

This story from Canada's CTV News last week is a good one, but the response to the original act of integrity is even better. When a homeless Winnipeg woman returned a cell phone that was accidentally given to her with some food, her honesty was rewarded. The owner of the phone's heartfelt response on Facebook can be seen in the article by The Huffington Post, and the follow up news clip from CTV News can be seen here.

Lifesaving Invention

The idea for this brand new device which will aid in the delivery of babies trapped in the birth canal came from an unlikely source. A car mechanic in Argentina was inspired by a video he saw on YouTube--a video of someone getting a cork out of a wine bottle. The contraption will soon be manufactured by an American medical technology company and has enormous potential to save babies in poor countries. The full story from the New York Times can be found here.

Random Kindness

A man in British Columbia made the news over the weekend when he replaced a stolen bike for a boy in his community who he didn't even know. The 12-year-old's bike was stolen from the library, and the stranger bought him a new one when his family couldn't afford to. The full story from CBC News can be found here.

Floating Doctors

This five minute story from the Upbeat series by Yahoo News was published several months ago, but it's still a beautiful one worth watching. An American doctor with a dream of serving patients in the most remote communities of the world started the non-profit organization of Floating Doctors, which has treated 20,000 patients since 2010 by bringing the medicine to the people.

Extra Extra

San Franciscans came out in full force yesterday to participate in Batkid's amazing adventure, with an estimated 12,000 people showing up to support the miniature caped crusader. Even the San Francisco Chronicle issued this special edition front page of the paper. The New York Daily News captured lots of terrific pictures and video from the day, including a message from President Obama, all of which you can see here.

Learn the Address

There's a movement happening in the U.S. right now in honor of the 150th anniversary of the Gettysburg Address, which is coming up next week on November 19. An American documentarian has launched a national effort to encourage everyone in America to record themselves reciting President Lincoln's famous speech. Visit the Learn the Address website for more information and many more videos.

Batkid

A little boy in San Francisco will have a terrific surprise tomorrow when the Make-a-Wish Foundation grants his wish to be Batkid. The organization has planned a whole day of heroic adventure for the little leukemia patient, and thousands of volunteers will be coming out to help.  Check out the original ABC News article here or an update from NBC's Today Show. You can also follow Batkid's adventure through the evil Penguin's Twitter account (@PenguinSF) and by looking for the hashtag #sfbatkid.

Running Records

Over the weekend a teenage girl from Oregon became the youngest person ever to run a marathon on each of the seven continents. Even more inspiring and amazing is that she runs in honor of her late father, who lost his battle with prostate cancer when she was just 9 years old. This 14-year-old has set running records and raised $400,000 for prostate cancer research since her father's death in 2009. Read the full story on ESPN.

Common Humanity

When a 99-year-old British veteran who had no immediate family died near London last week, the funeral home holding his service posted this obituary. Their plea for service people to attend was answered in a huge way--hundreds of people he didn't know showed up to pay their respects yesterday. See the full story in The Independent which ran over the weekend or the picture posted on social news site Reddit by a user who was there. 

Veteran's Day Surprise

In a story that's perfect for this Veteran's Day, a young girl in Hawaii is celebrating her 10th birthday today with her mother, who made a surprise trip home from Korea after being stationed there 9 months. The little girl's emotional plea in the letter she wrote to President Obama was almost as touching as the actual reunion with her mom, captured by the local ABC affiliate in Honolulu.

Transformation

This amazing transformation of a homeless veteran that went viral this week is beautiful and emotional. His makeover was made possible by an organization in Grand Rapids, Michigan called Dégagé Ministries. Find out more about this ministry at their website.

Touchdown Surprise

This video from the CBS Evening News has received over 3 million hits this week, but it's just too touching not to share once more. Some middle school kids in Michigan set out to make the day of a special needs teammate, but they were profoundly changed in the process.

HappyHealthy

There's a brand new free app from the folks at Google that's designed to help people live happier, healthier lives. Simply by quickly reporting ratings on four key health areas each day, the app is supposed to help motivate users to make healthier choices, which will in turn make them happier. Check out all the details on OptimistWorld.com.

Sad Triumph

A couple of days ago the New York Daily News passed along a sad story: the oldest woman to run the New York City Marathon passed away on Monday. Her life, however, was an inspiring one that was definitely well lived. She ran the race on Sunday at age 86, and passed away the next day with her running shoes still on her feet--which was just the way she wanted to go. Click here for the full story.

Heroism at 90

This short story from ABC's America Strong series is actually a clip from a recent episode of E:60 on ESPN. A 90-year-old man who has worked at a racetrack in the L.A. area for 51 years spent 7 weeks in the hospital after being trampled by a runaway horse. The amazing thing was that he put himself in harms way in order to protect a young girl he'd never met. The video below is great, but the story on ABC's website has a lot more details about the nonagenarian's heroism.

Breaking News

Grand Slam

A U.S. athlete made sports history this week after winning the women's wheelchair division of the New York City Marathon. After winning the races at Boston, London and Chicago earlier this year, she became the first wheelchair marathoner to sweep all four majors in a season. The feat is even more amazing considering she spent the first six years of her life in a Russian orphanage and almost didn't survive her childhood. For her full story, visit her official website, but also check out the article about her most recent win from ESPN or USA Today.

Cancer Trial

There's a new clinical trial going on in London for the potential treatment of breast cancer through photodynamic therapy. This laser treatment being tested for early breast tumors has already been approved for other types of cancer, which is an exciting breakthrough in and of itself. Read the full story, which was first posted a couple of months ago on the U.K.'s Daily Mail Online.

Operation Christmas Child

It might seem a little early for Christmas, but November is the month in which volunteers for the humanitarian organization Samaritan's Purse start packing shoebox gifts for children and shipping them all over the world. Find out more about this program that brings joy to kids in every corner of the globe by clicking here and following the journey of a shoebox gift in the short video below.

Paralympian First

In just a few months the 2014 Paralympic Winter Games will be held in Russia, and para-snowboarding will be included for the first time. This incredible and inspiring athlete will compete in the upcoming games after also being instrumental in convincing the International Paralympic Committee to accept the sport. Along with several other members of Team USA, she was recently featured in a motivational video by Kellogg's. For the full story, visit The Huffington Post.

Rescue Hike

Last week a Phoenix woman made the news after finding an injured dog at the peak of her morning hike and then carrying the 47 pound pit bull for an hour to get him help. Her family later adopted the 2-year-old pup despite their previous prejudice towards the breed. Here's the full story from CNN.