Weekly Uplifting Stories - January 29th 2024

Mainstream news media often shows the worst side of humanity. But if you only focus on those stories, it'll be really hard to maintain a balanced perspective on reality.

Let's not forget that despite the chaos and conflict in the world, there are still so many good things happening all around us.

Pay attention to stories about resilience, kindness, empathy, and everything else that keeps hope alive in our hearts!

“The great gift of human beings is that we have the power of empathy, we can all sense a mysterious connection to each other.” - Meryl Streep

This week, we bring you stories about:

• Thoughtful young boy steps up to support his little sister
• A grandmother received an extraordinary Christmas present
• Golden retriever helps save endangered African-painted dog pups
• Stranger helps homeless woman get her big break

 January 29th 2024 Uplifting Stories

10-year-old boy stands in for his late father at his sister's kindergarten sports day

In eastern China’s Anhui province, a 10-year-old boy played the role of his father at the parent-child school sports day at his sister's kindergarten.

This heartwarming video shows the thoughtful boy giving all his strength to help his little sister win.

“You have your dad [with you]. I have my brother [with me]!,” the sister told her classmates.

It's been a difficult time for the family since the siblings' father died of leukemia two years ago. Their mother, Xu, a primary school teacher, has been a single parent to her two children, while also providing care for her late husband’s parents.

Despite the difficulties, this little boy is determined to take care of his sister and give her all the love and affection she deserves.

This grandson made his grandma's biggest dream come true

Barbara Rieco wrote a book in 1972.

She then spent 40 years trying to get her book published, with no luck. So, imagine her reaction when she opened her Christmas present, only to find a published copy of her book!

A dream of more than 50 years has finally become a reality, thanks to Barbara's grandson, Chad Cooper, who has been hearing about the book since his childhood.

Cooper, who now works in design and production, took his grandmother's unpublished manuscript and illustrations, and transformed them into a book titled “More! More! More!".

He captured his grandmother's emotional reaction to receiving the gift of a lifetime. The video quickly went viral, which in turn boosted the sales of the book. The book became a No. 1 best-seller in children’s multicultural literature on Amazon!

“This is probably the nicest thing anybody’s ever done for me in my entire life,” Rieco said.

A golden retriever served as a surrogate mother to African-painted dog pups

The Potawatomi Zoo in South Bend, Indiana welcomed a litter of endangered African painted dogs in September. Since African-painted dogs live in packs in the wild, the staff at the zoo usually employ a hands-off approach to help maintain the pack structure.

Unfortunately, their parents, Bleu and Maurice, didn't display interest in feeding and raising the pups. The zoo's staff along with the African Painted Dog Species Survival Plan found a surrogate to raise the puppies.

Kassy, a golden retriever, had recently given birth and was producing milk. She immediately started nursing the painted dog puppies like they were her own.

The zoo staff worked round-the-clock to provide a support system for the endangered African-painted dog pups.

The three pups are thriving under Kassy's care despite having a challenging start to life.

"Sometimes the journey is smooth and sometimes it takes extraordinary measures. These three healthy, active pups are just the start of this story, and the Zoo hopes to share more positive updates of their milestones in the future," said the zoo.

A woman's dream turned into reality after a chance encounter with a stranger

Ara Bolster's soulful voice echoed through the streets in downtown Boston. Ara had been homeless for two years.

She was singing on the street when radio news reporter Matt Shearer noticed her.

Matt was blown away by her voice and the song she wrote on a piece of cardboard. He decided to help Ara share her music with the world.

He brought her to a recording studio and arranged for her to record her song. The recorded song was uploaded to Bandcamp, where it generated $5,000 in downloads!

"I made a friend for the rest of my life," Bolster said. "He's everything to me right now that I don't have. And he's a hero."

Bonus Story - From One of Our Readers!

One of our wonderful readers, Sridevi, wanted to share her own Uplifting Story with the community!

"This is literally an Uplifting story! This morning as I went down my driveway to collect the newspaper as usual, I did not see the patch of black ice and my feet skidded and I fell on my back.

I tried scrambling up but couldn't get a foothold in the ice. I lay there in the cold with nobody nearby. When suddenly out of nowhere a car passing by slowed down and a man stepped out. I warned him about the black ice but he very slowly pulled me to the side and gently helped me up.

After making sure that I was able to walk and was not hurt he got into his car and drove away before I could even thank him properly or ask his name."

We're so happy that generous man was there to help you Sridevi! Thank you for sharing your story. 

What's Your Uplifting Story?

And that wraps it up for this week! 

Do you have any Uplifting Stories of your own? You can contact us in the comments below, or reach out on our Instagram page. We might just share your story in a future article.

Thanks everyone for reading, and have an uplifting week ahead. Take care and see you next week! 

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio