Hello everyone! Welcome back to another week of Uplifting Stories - a reminder that not everyone is out to get us.
I thought we could start the week with some uplifting quotes in this spirit to remind ourselves that what we, as individuals do every day DOES make a difference. You just might not see the results right away.
"Kindness is one thing you can't give away. It always comes back." - George Skolsky
"Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does." - William James
This week's heartwarming stories include:
Let's get started!
When grandpa David Zielke found his granddaughter, 5-year-old Lisette had stashed a set of her beloved Peppa the Pig toys in his luggage on a trip to Cabo San Lucas, he took the opportunity to give something back to her.
Throughout the trip, Grandpa David dutifully filmed Peppa and her friends enjoying their adventurous vacation too - swimming in the pool ("Don't get too close to the middle!" narrates David.), sunbathing, going out to see the whales and eating dinner with him.
When his daughter Tanya posted her own video of her dad David filming for Lisette, of course it went viral! Who doesn't want to see a sweet video made by a loving grandpa? Once the video was done, Tanya arranged for a special screening with the whole family. It's really adorable.
You can watch the behind the scenes video with Grandpa David and his family here.
OK, this might not seem uplifting.
But! The GPGP exists, whether it's depressing or not. At least someone is doing something about it, and can inspire others to do the same, volunteer, donate, learn more about how they can reduce their plastic contribution as well.
Haven't heard of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP)? It's exactly what it sounds like - a massive, 80,000 ton patch of floating plastic garbage floating in the Pacific Ocean between California and Hawaii. It's estimated to be the size of France.
Enter The Ocean Cleanup - an initiative started back in 2013 by Boyan Slat, a Dutch inventor - who was only 18 years old at the time, by the way.
They aim to clean up 90% of floating ocean plastic pollution by 2040.
"The Ocean Cleanup is a non-profit organization developing and scaling technologies to rid the oceans of plastic. To achieve this objective, we have to work on a combination of closing the sources of plastic pollution and cleaning up what has already accumulated in the ocean and doesn’t go away by itself." - The Ocean Cleanup
Using 800m long floating barriers pulled by two ships to make a U-shape, the system moves forward at a slow pace, collecting plastic and still allowing for marine life to come and go as needed (The bottom of the barrier is left open for this purpose).
Once enough has been collected, the ships come together and the plastic waste is collected in a retention area to be sorted and sent for recycling.
What do they do with the plastic they collect, you might ask? Why, they turn them into products to sell to further fund their project.
In a simple and clever move, Boyan Slat and his team worked with designer Yves Béhar, and Safilo, a leading eyewear industry company to turn recycled plastic into fashionable sunglasses. They can then sell the glasses, making more money to fund more plastic extraction.
You can read more about this incredible program at their website, theoceancleanup.com or follow them on their Instagram page.
An adorable TikTok video shows 93-year-old Grandma Droniak prepping for her first date in 25 years.
Providing hilarious commentary as she primps, combs, powders and applies lipstick, this is a highly entertaining watch!
"I met him at Bingo, and that's the way it goes."
Grandma Droniak shows off her outfit, does a spin, and says she's excited for a free dinner.
If you really want a laugh, you can watch some of her other content of her "Get Ready With Me" series. In one, she gets ready to visit her husband at the cemetery, ponders if she'll kiss a ghost, then wonders if the ghosts will get jealous because she's still alive.
Other videos include Grandma Droniak's morning routine ("As soon as I get up I dance."), and my personal favorite, Grandma dancing in front of her old high school, where she went to pay tribute to all the girls who told her she wouldn't be popular ("RIP to them but look who's popular now.").
If you need a pick-me-up, a good laugh, or a reminder that you are as young as you feel, I highly recommend Grandma Droniak's TikTok videos.
Injuring herself after falling on her stairs while carrying her groceries to her house, Diane Georgelo found herself without her phone, with no neighbors in sight, and in a lot of pain.
Enter Kellan Georger, an Amazon delivery driver coming to drop off packages at Diane's house. When he saw her in distress, he picked her up, carried her inside, wrapped her foot, called an ambulance and put even her perishables in the fridge!
"He knelt down to me in a very nurturing, caring way...What can I do for you?" - Diane Georgelo, on Kellan's arrival
He left for his route once he heard the sirens approaching, but stayed by her side until he knew she would get the help she needed.
After Diane was safely home and sorted out, she asked to finally meet her hero to say thank you in person.
You can watch their happy reunion in this video.
In the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Rowing race, competitors cross the Atlantic Ocean from the starting point in the Canary Islands, to the finish line in Antigua & Barbados - a more than 3,000 mile trip.
It's part of World's Toughest Row - a series of extreme endurance races where international competitors test themselves against Mother Nature and each other.
63-year-old Liverpool mental health campaigner Bernie Hollywood OBE finished the grueling race in 109 days, 14 hours and 16 minutes. He survived 17 storms, 2 boat capsizes and multiple health issues to finally complete the event.
A charity fundraiser, Bernie undertook the grueling race in order to raise awareness for mental health, suicide and depression, part of his two year campaign #BoatofHope.
His goal is to raise £100,000 for the mental health charity, Samaritans and the British rowing charitable foundation Love Rowing.
"We must get people talking about what’s in their heads and in their hearts." - Bernie Hollywood OBE
You can follow the campaign and Bernie's incredible adventures on the BoatofHope Instagram account.
Did you see someone making a difference in the world?
As always, if you have an uplifting story of your own to share, please comment below the article, or message us on our Instagram account.
Take care, and see you next week!
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