Ten year old Olive Wallace comes from a musical family. Her grandmother is a retired Californian music teacher. Olive’s aunt also teaches music. Olive herself is a musician and plays two instruments- the violin and the clarinet. The fifth grader sings in her school’s choir and honor choir at Avon Grove Intermediate School.
Her mother Michelle Wallace says her daughter sketched out her first musical composition in pencil. When Olive shared the composition she had written with her mom, Michelle shared it with the TikTok community. “So my 10-year-old daughter wrote this,” Michelle explained in a TikTok video. “Could somebody play this? I need to know — I need to know if it’s any good or if it makes any sense.”
Days later, the musical piece went viral with musicians and orchestras worldwide. Musicians from all over the world shared recordings of themselves playing variations of Wallace’s song on social media. She was able to hear her music played on the guitar, the piano and the harp, as well as performed by string orchestras comprised of music instructors and middle school students. Six million views later, the composition had been played and shared by hundreds of TikTok musicians, including well-known professionals, and was turned into a full string orchestral arrangement.
“I never in a million years would have expected this to happen,I’m blown away by how many people put their time into that, it was just really amazing and beautiful,” Olive said. “I’m happy it reached so many people and brought so many people joy, I think that’s what music does for people,” she added. Olive hopes her music inspires others to pursue their love for music.
AGIS orchestra teacher Emily Lucas described Wallace as “always creative and imaginative.” She said other students at AGIS think the media attention is awesome and some have even asked Wallace for her autograph. Lucas added that she doesn’t think anyone was necessarily surprised by the response, simply because of how creative Wallace is every day. “If this type of thing was going to happen to anybody in the school it would be Olive, and Olive’s mom would be the person to make it happen,” said Lucas.
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In 2018, a homeless man found a check for $10k and his only thoughts were returning it to its rightful owner. Because of his good deed, he was rewarded with a chance at a whole new life. Elmer Alvarez had been living on the streets of New Haven, CT for several years battling addiction. The unexpected death of his brother from a heart attack spurred him into a dark spiral of addiction and crime.
Having finally kicked his addiction, he never considered keeping the check despite still living on the streets. Alvarez said “It never crossed my mind because I made a decision to turn my life over. I’d been clean for three years. I was just thinking about how that person was feeling by losing an amount of a check like that, an amount of money like that. I’d be feeling kind of desperate.” It turns out that the check belonged to real-estate broker Roberta Hoskie.
Luckily for Elmer, Roberta was full of compassion for his situation due to her own experience with homelessness as a teenage mother. “He didn’t know whose name was on the check, he didn’t know that at one point I was a single mother, I was at one point on welfare, and at one point found myself homeless” Hoskie said.
She offered him a reward for returning the check, which brought tears to Elmer’s eyes. Roberta also offered Elmer a place to live, paying his rent for seven months, and had him attend her real estate school for free. Hoskie said she was in awe of his actions. “There needs to be more people like Elmer Alvarez, he’s a golden heart guy, he’s a phenomenal guy.”
Years later, Alvarez is able to support himself as a realtor and is on the board of directors of Outreach Foundation, a non-profit Hoskie started to help with housing and resources for homeless teens and young adults. Hoskie also wrote a book- “Poverty Curse Broken: The Roberta Hoskie Story” with the hopes of inspiring others to break the poverty cycle.
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Students at Glen Lake Elementary School in Minnesota raised $300,000 for a new disability-friendly playground. Some students in Betsy Julien’s fifth-grade class took note of the complete lack of playground equipment, such as a wheelchair merry-go-round or swings that kept students with disabilities from joining in on the fun of recess.
Students Wyatt Feucht and Rhys Riley believed that every student deserved the chance to have fun during recess, so they asked their teacher why the school couldn’t buy the equipment themselves. Ms Julien explained that it was expensive, with an estimated cost of $300,000. The pair made a mission to raise money for a disability-inclusive playground.
They began collecting spare change, held a bake sale, printed flyers, and went door-to-door to raise money. They even reached out to local businesses and restaurants, asking them to donate a portion of their profits. The students’ hard work continued for several months, with support from the Glen Lake Parent Teacher Organization, until they finally reached their goal- raising the $300,000 needed.
Hall of Famer John Randle and current special teams ace Josh Metellus were on hand at Glen Lake Elementary School on Wednesday as part of a rally for students that are raising money for playground equipment to allow some of their classmates to better participate in some of the outdoor activities. The fundraiser originally had a goal of $300,000, but is now over $700,000 with the goal having moved all the way to $1,000,000.
Their teacher Betsy Julien said “My future as an adult is bright knowing that this generation of students, of changemakers, sees something that needs fixing, and they go for it headfirst.” Now the class has set a new goal: to buy adaptive playground equipment for other schools in the district. Their fundraising efforts can be found at: https://www.glenlakepto.org/glen-lake-accessibility-project
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A Kenyan high school teacher is using old laptop batteries to turn petrol-powered bikes into electric ones. Paul Waweru, a Physics teacher based in Nairobi, is turning second-hand electronics destined to become waste products into something useful. Waweru said he had to import an electric bike but the bike didn’t last long which prompted him to get innovative.
He buys old batteries that can cost as little as 0.50 Kenyan shillings, which he then cannibalizes for the cells that still can hold a decent charge. Once he has enough battery cells, he configures them into battery packs to replace the internal combustion engines of existing scooters and bikes.
A full charge on the laptop battery pack is around 60 miles and it can fully charge in 45 minutes for less than half the cost of a full tank of fuel. He founded a company called Ecomobilus which sells Ecomobilus bikes. They require zero maintenance because there are no mechanical parts that need to be repaired.
Many African cities are choked with air pollution, especially during the dry seasons, and some are seeing electric bikes as the perfect solution to quickly and effectively improve on this vital issue. Ecomobilus Bikes are now being used by many couriers and delivery drivers as a cost effective solution to the air pollution problems.
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A young pilot, Taylor Hash, is grateful a veteran pilot was around to guide her down into an emergency landing after she lost part of her landing gear during takeoff. Chris Yates, the former director of aviation at SpaceX, witnessed the landing gear come off and radioed the control tower to alert them of the potential disaster, but the control tower operators had never seen it happen before and didn’t know what to do.
The tower patched Yates through to the young pilot, “Taylor this is Chris, my daughter’s name is Taylor and I taught her to fly! We’re gonna be just fine kiddo,” were among the first things he said. Hash was only on her third-ever solo flight, and the anxiety was thick in her voice. She was up in a Diamond Star single-engine aircraft from Oakland County International Airport, Michigan. At the time of the incident, she had 57 total flight hours.
Yates helped calm Hash before instructing her on how to make an emergency landing. Hash would have to land without a front tire, so Yates told her to keep circling the field until she felt ready to try and land the plane. “When you touch down, I just want that stick all the way back. You’re gonna hold that stick back like you don’t want that nose to touch. “The nose is gonna come down, you’re okay, you’re okay. Talk to me. Thatta girl, proud of you” he can be heard saying over the recorded radio conversation.
Local news outlets shared another video of the landing as she managed to touch down without the nose immediately smashing into the ground. Yates said “I was thinking of my daughter and just how afraid and alone Hash probably felt.” Hash said “as soon as he said ‘thatta girl, I’m proud of you,’ the waterworks came.” Despite the frightening incident, Hash says she has no plans to give up flying.
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The city of Boston has expanded its tuition-free community college program to include all city residents regardless of age and income. Starting this fall, any Boston resident will be eligible to pursue a degree or certificate at one of six partnering local institutions without paying to attend. Boston’s tuition-free community college program has served over 1,000 students since 2016, according to city officials.
The Tuition-Free Community College (TFCC) Plan pays for up to three years of tuition and fees for Boston residents — regardless of their age, income, or immigration status — who are pursuing an associate degree or short-term certificate program at a partner college. The community colleges participating in the program include Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology, Bunker Hill Community College, Massasoit Community College, MassBay Community College, Roxbury Community College and Urban College of Boston.
The costs covered will be all tuition and mandatory fees remaining after any other applicable financial aid has been applied. Students will also get $250 each semester for up to three years of college-related expenses such as books or transportation. The program will also pay debt of up to $2,500 for students with an outstanding balance at a partner college that is preventing a student from re-enrolling at that school.
Students simply need to apply to their desired program and the partner colleges will apply the funds as a part of their financial aid process. Boston’s mayor Michelle Wu said she believes that “every Boston resident who wants to learn the skills and knowledge to give back to our communities and build a life here should be able to do so.”
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A Colorado Springs man is being hailed as a hero for scaling a three story building to save a neighbor suffering an asthma attack during an apartment building fire. Dewey Parker said his neighbor was alone in the apartment and when he saw someone in trouble his adrenaline took over.
The man was in a building adjacent to the one that was on fire, which became involved after smoke from the affected building ballooned out to surrounding structures. Lt. Chris Weaver with the Colorado Springs Fire Department said the fire started inside a chimney and spread outside of the firebox, moving vertically from the first floor to the second floor. It then drifted toward the adjacent buildings, triggering the man’s asthma attack.
“We saw the fire going on and noticed a guy on the third floor was having a hard time breathing. He had an inhaler in his hand but he couldn’t even stand up. Somebody else told the EMTs and they went up — but the door was locked” Parker said. With little regard for his own safety, Parker scaled up the balconies to the man’s third-floor apartment, let himself in, and opened the door so EMTs could get in to render aid.
“He needed a hand. I just decided to scale up to the third floor off the balconies and unlocked the door. I was able to reach. It was scary, though, because I figured, if my hand slipped, then they’re going to have to be helping me. I’m glad I was here and was able to help,” said Parker. “I just figured, if that was me, I would hope someone would have done the same thing.” Firefighters were able to get the blaze under control but the fire affected two apartments, displacing eight people and five animals. Aside from the man having the asthma attack, no one else was harmed.
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Minneapolis bus driver Ambrose Younge is being praised for helping a lost boy he spotted while finishing his route. He noticed a young boy wandering alone during a snowstorm on a day with 21 degree temperatures and knew he needed to help. The boy was wearing a backpack despite school cancellations and tugging on the door handle of a car.
Younge said he knew he had to do something when the car pulled away leaving the child. He convinced the 9 year old boy to get on the bus and quickly realized he was autistic. He called the control center that Metro shares with the police department and informed them of the lost boy. Patrol officer Juan Peralta said minutes earlier he overheard the report of a missing child.
“We overheard there was a missing child, we took note of that and within minutes our Metro Transit dispatch notified us a Metro Transit operator had a child,” Peralta said. Officer Peralta says the child has autism and was nonverbal. It’s not the first time he had wandered away from home. The boy, who had wandered 15 blocks from his home, was reunited with his family thanks to Younge.
Younge said he doesn’t want to be called a hero. “I feel like I did what we’re trained to do as bus drivers. I feel like it’s what any bus driver would do, or any parent in my position, my shoes would do,” Younge said. “I’m just happy he was able to get safely back to his family. I consider myself a dad because that’s what I would hope someone would do for my child” he said.
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An 8 year-old Arkansas boy started a GoFundMe for his favorite Waffle House waiter after finding out he was living in a motel. Kayzen Hunter’s mom Vittoria Hunter said they started going to breakfast at their local Waffle House in Little Rock just about every other weekend and her son would always talk about how much he liked the waiter, Devonte Gardner.
For Gardner, the feeling is mutual. He would greet Kayzen with a high five and always remembered his usual order -scrambled eggs with cheese, no toast, hash browns covered with cheese and an Arnold Palmer. Gardner says “He’s a wonderful kid. He tells me jokes every time he comes in, like, ‘Hey, Devonte, I got a joke for you,’ and the next thing you know, we’re laughing,” he adds.
Vittoria said “As we started to go more and more and we met Devonte, we realized he’s just really a light in the world. It got to the point where we always would sit in his section, he’s so smiley, he’s always like, ‘Hey, Kayzen, how are you?’” One day, Kayzen learned that Gardner had moved into a motel 8 months earlier because his daughters were getting sick from black mold in their apartment and the heat stopped working. The move meant he had to hold off on buying a car.
Vittoria said “He came home and said ‘Hey, Mom, Devonte walks or gets a ride to work and I’m gonna start a GoFundMe,’” Hunter said he begged her for a while to do the GoFundMe before she agreed to take the plunge. The initial idea was to raise enough money to help Gardner buy a car so the original goal was to raise a modest amount of $500 for Gardner. They posted the GoFundMe titled “Help Devonte get a family car” on Feb. 18. Though the Hunters say the GoFundMe started out slow, after passing the initial goal they decided to raise it to $5,000.
As the GoFundMe gained more attention, the amount raised skyrocketed to over $100,000. Gardner just signed a lease on a two-bedroom apartment and plans to get a minivan but will save the rest of the money for his kids. Gardner said Kayzen is a positive kid with a huge heart and he’s thankful he came into his life. Vittoria said “I think so many people spend a lot of energy complaining about what they don’t like but if you just be positive, then you know eventually love and positivity is gonna prevail. It always does.” Kayzen’s father Korey Hunter said “‘Be the change you wish to see in the world,’ right? We know who we are as people and we know the potential of what our children can be.”
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A Louisiana man says an encounter while grocery shopping changed his outlook on the world. Jason Boudreaux was chatting with another shopper, Kevin Jones, while waiting in the checkout line. When he went to pay for his $30 worth of groceries, his card was declined. Jones immediately stepped up to help.
Boudreaux shared the story in a now-viral post on Facebook with the story of the kind act he experienced while out grabbing groceries. “Much respect for this young gentleman,” Boudreaux wrote in the post with a photo of him and Jones. Boudreaux explained that he had deposited his payroll check an hour prior to the photo thinking his check would have cleared and the money would appear in his account.
“This lil gentleman said I got you,” wrote Boudreaux. “I said no you don’t you probably didn’t hear the price. He responded yes Sir I did, and I got you. I scrambled to my car to give him my business card, so I can repay him. He said no problem, but it is a problem to me owing money to anyone. But the point of this is the dude just stepped up for a complete stranger, he should be recognized” Boudreaux wrote.
Boudreaux also said he intended to pay Jones back but in the ensuing excitement over the act of kindness, didn’t even get Jones’ name. Thankfully, a mutual friend saw his Facebook post and connected them. After getting in touch with him, Boudreaux invited Jones and his wife over for “Family Day,” a weekly event held by Boudreaux’s parents. While over at the house, word got out that it was Jones’ 28th birthday, so Boudreaux and the other attendees improvised a “cake” of sorts to commemorate the day.
Jones, a truck driver, said “Coming from where I come from in Louisiana, it’s not a very wealthy town. I know that feeling so not having the right amount of funds to pay for groceries, I know that feeling. I see a lot of people going through that, and not a lot of people are willing to make a sacrifice and step up and help the next person.”
Jones says, after he paid Boudreaux’s bill, he went on with his day, not expecting anything in return, not even telling his wife Marissa about the exchange until he received several calls and messages about the man wanting to return the favor made its way to him. Boudreaux and Jones keep in touch via text and have future plans for Family Days and weekend outings. Boudreaux says he describes their friendship more like brothers and that Jones is one of the most sincere souls he’s ever met.
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