Welcome back to another day full of heartwarming tales of real people doing really good things. It's time for another edition of Uplifting Stories.
“Constant kindness can accomplish much. As the sun makes ice melt, kindness causes misunderstanding, mistrust, and hostility to evaporate.” -Albert Schweitzer
This week, we've found positive news clips about:
6-year-old Aria Zanolli, from Hatboro, Pennsylvania had a very special birthday, thanks to her mum and some unexpected but very welcome support from the community.
Because of her serious medical issues, Aria has never been able to have a traditional birthday party. But this year, her mom, Katie Jaskel decided to reach out for some help in making her big day extra special. She was not disappointed.
Thanks to the Next Door app and a Facebook post asking for birthday cards, Aria received hundreds, even thousands of cards, gifts and drawings from the community, all wishing her a very special day.
"It kept steamrolling into this huge thing. I'm crying in the post office. I didn't expect it to blow up the way that it did." - Mom, Katie Jaskel1
The Next Door app is a network that brings neighborhoods and organizations together to connect communities and help people with resources. (Follow this link to find your own community!)
When TikToker Red (internetfamouslol) first walked past Texas author Shawn Warner trying to sell his debut novel in a store, he noticed how down he looked.
“This new author seemed super defeated when I first walked past him. So before I left the store, I decided to go back.”2
He recorded the interaction, and you can see how Shawn's face lights up when Red and another customer strike up a conversation with him about his book. He ended up buying books to give away on his TikTok account - and the results have been staggering. (You can watch the video here.)
Red's TikTok followers blew it up, with people encouraging others to support Shawn and his book, and leaving thousands of comments about how a little kindness goes a long way.
The original video has since gotten over 20 million views, and the thank you/reaction video from the author about 3 million. His book, is now a #1 bestseller on Amazon.
It's an amazing story of what can happen when someone decides to pay a stranger a little kindness and recognition!
7-year-old Oliver Johnson is absolutely obsessed with trucks. He knows the names of every type of truck, truck companies and even gets a trucking magazine every month. Of course, he wants to be a truck driver when he grows up.
Noticing that her son has been feeling lonely, mom Katherine offered $50 in a Facebook request to anyone willing to take him for a special surprise ride in their truck.
The response has been huge - with help from trucking company Hart Haulage owner, Barry Hart, who organized a convoy, now some 40 trucks are making their way to Ollie's town of Hamilton, New Zealand from Auckland, which is 123km away.
“I just saw that there was a kid who didn’t feel like he had friends and didn’t feel like he had a community around him,” Barry Hart, owner of Hart Haulage3
Ollie will be picked up from his house and brought to a location where he can get in the trucks and meet the drivers. Happy Birthday Ollie!
During the pandemic, farmer's markets were one of the only places we could go for a time. Now that everything is reopened, it's heartwarming to see reports of the markets continuing to thrive in the years since, with people still flocking to support the local vendors and goods.
In an article from APnews.com, farmer's markets around big cities in the US are thriving, with examples like Green City Market in Chicago seeing 8,000 to 15,000 customers each Saturday, where before it was more like 5,000 - 10,000.
In Manhattan's GrowNYC market, many of the local restaurants source their fresh produce straight from the vendors.
With grocery prices soaring, people are switching to the local farmer's markets, where the prices may be more reasonable, what with supply chain issues and shortages in the bigger chains driving costs through the roof.
Shopping local can be more expensive, but with things like eggs, bread and produce, pricing can be more reasonable, and definitely fresher.
It's so encouraging to see more people supporting these small and local businesses, with people offering unique, homemade products and putting in tremendous effort to bring their goods to the community. We hope this kind of community support continues to grow!
And there you have it! Hopefully, these stories will inspire you - or at least brighten your day with a little human sunshine. There are good things happening in the world right now too - we just have to look a little harder for them sometimes.
If you want to get involved, you can send us your own links or Uplifting Stories by commenting below, or connecting with us on Instagram. If we publish your story, we will also give you a shoutout!
Have a great week everyone, and take care of each other.
2 Source: People Magazine
3 Source: New Zealand Herald
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