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1 year ago · by · 0 comments

Woman Waded Ian Flood Waters to Check On Stranger

A Florida woman braved the Hurricane Ian flood waters after seeing a stranger’s plea on social media. Christine Bomlitz was distraught as Hurricane Ian swept across southwest Florida and she could not get ahold of her 84 year old mother. Bomlitz said her mother Shirley Affolter had lost her cell phone before the storm and an evacuation vehicle had missed her on its route.

Affolter couldn’t escape on her own because she needed a walker to get around and then her landline went down. Flooding in Englewood had cut her off from her neighbors and the rest of the world. With no way to leave, she hunkered down for the night as Hurricane Ian swept across Florida. Hours passed after Ian drifted out to sea but she still had not heard from her mother.

Bomlitz posted pleas for help on social media — anywhere she could. Can someone check on her mother? “I’ve posted all night on all emergency boards as well as all Englewood storm pages checking on people. If anyone knows anyone in Englewood please give them my cell,” she wrote from her home in Las Vegas, nearly 2,500 miles away from where her mother lives in a retirement community.

Bomlitz’s pleas continued well into Thursday as she looked for someone with a boat to carry her mother and others in the neighborhood to safety. By Thursday afternoon, Good Samaritan Cheynne Prevatt, 26, came to the rescue. Prevatt had also ridden out the storm and her home sustained damage. Hurricane Ian peeled away shingles and caved in part of the ceiling when a palm tree smashed into the roof. She said “Our house didn’t really make it. All of our stuff was packed up, and we were trying to go to my grandmother’s house.” But the Florida resident waded into chest-high floodwaters to search for Affolter.

When Prevatt walked through the door she was relieved to find the woman was alive and safe. Prevatt said: “I didn’t know who she was and she was really kind of surprised to see me.” Mother and daughter were able to speak briefly on the phone but their conversation was cut short because her mom’s hearing aids had stopped working. Prevatt was able to send her a photo of her mom smiling — safe and sound which helped ease her worries. She was soon safely removed by a volunteer who had escorted her through the street’s floodwaters by paddleboard.

Bomlitz relayed in a follow-up post on how eternally thankful she was for the “angel strangers” who swam down the street to check-in on her mother. “The amazing souls, complete strangers, who came together and helped me orchestrate this from Las Vegas is astounding. I am deeply and profoundly moved beyond words by people coming together to help each other in such a way to save lives” she wrote. She commended Prevatt for wading through the waist-high water despite losing her own home in the storm. “It’s been an incredible experience. Words cannot express my sincerest gratitude to everyone. I’m thankful for this stranger, a total stranger. People are amazing.”

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2 years ago · by · 0 comments

Pennslyvania Retiree Cultivates Community with Garden

A Pennsylvania retiree is cultivating a garden and her community.  Jeri “Momma J” Brockington, of Ambler, PA started Momma J’s Country Gardening as a way to teach her friends and neighbors how to grow vegetables and plants.  Her memories of her great-grandmother picking and giving away vegetables from her own garden inspired her.

Brockington said as soon as she bought her home, she visualized using every area of the space to grow food. She went door to door introducing herself and encouraging neighbors to grow their own food.  Her neighbors know they are always welcome to come over for some fresh produce or to pick up a new gardening tip. Brockington said it’s the smiles and sense of community that motivates her.

She encourages people to think back to a simpler time and learn how to provide for one another. In the wake of pandemic lockdowns and the September 2021 tornado, it’s become more important to her than ever.”These are times when the only way we’re going to get through it is that we work together,” Brockington said.  

She also records educational videos for her YouTube page, encouraging followers on social media to post pictures of their own crops.  “You can frequently go for years without knowing any of your neighbors,” said neighbor Frank Dunsmore. “And whenever I came down to this area, she was one of the few people that was always around. I’m not the kind of person who grows plants, but she’s done an amazing job with gardening and stuff like that,” said Dunsmore. “If knowledge is power, she’s giving it away.”

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2 years ago · by · 0 comments

California Becomes First State to Offer Free School Meals To All Students

California has become the first state to implement a statewide Universal Meals Program for all public school children. The Universal Meals program will be used to reach more students with the federal National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program. The Meal Mandate is expanded to include both a nutritious breakfast and lunch for, not just needy children, but all children each school day.

The Universal Meals program is designed to build on the foundations of the federal National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and School Breakfast Program (SBP). The program is powered by both state and federal funds. The California State Legislature allocates funds to provide additional state meal reimbursement to cover the cost of the Universal Meals Program. High poverty schools will be required to participate in a federal provision.

Prior to this program, students qualified for free meals under particular criteria which included aspects like their parents’ income taxes, the level of poverty in the school’s surrounding area and the zip code where the family lives. With over 327,000 students in California public schools, 60% of students qualified for free school meals.

The state recently implemented the Universal Program to address rising food insecurity. While California produces nearly half of the nation’s fruits and vegetables, on average one in five residents — about 8 million people — struggle with food insecurity, according to the California Association of Food Banks.

Now, with the state launching the mandatory Universal Meals Program, parents will be sure that their children can get at least two free, full meals at schools daily and not have to incur the expense for preparing breakfast and lunch for them. All students will be automatically enrolled in the program, although students will not be required to participate. Instead, meals will be served to the students who ask for them.

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2 years ago · by · 0 comments

Maine Boy Turns Farming Into Business

A 12 year old boy in Auburn, Maine opened a farmstand in hopes of taking over the family farm one day. Brayden Nadeau said he’s been farming his whole life and now he essentially runs the family farm himself and has opened a farm stand to help feed his community. Nadeau started his first farmstand two years ago and earned enough money to buy a new one.

He sells homemade zucchini bread and zucchini relish made by his family and other community members with vegetables straight from his garden. He also raises livestock and turkeys for meat, chickens for meat and eggs, and pigs for meat and breeding. Nadeau works 12 hours a day, seven days a week in the summer. During the school year, he picks vegetables in the morning and sets up the farm stand before heading to school.

Nadeau says he always wanted to be behind the wheel of a tractor. “I’ve been farming my whole life. As long as I could remember, I’ve been on his lap, steering the tractor, running the bucket,” Nadeau said, pointing to his grandfather, Dan Herrick. Herrick always had a farm at his home but until now, it didn’t serve as more than just a way to feed his family.

Herrick said “There ought to be more 12-year-olds like him. The farmstand teaches him business, it teaches him how to work, it teaches him to stay out of trouble, it teaches him where food comes from, and it teaches him that without farmers, there’s no food.” Nadeau said he’s learning a lot more out in the fields than he would have sitting in front of a TV playing video games.

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2 years ago · by · 0 comments

Texas Bartender Given $4K Tip From Stranger

A Texas bartender got a shock on a typical Tuesday night shift at Chances Dance Hall in Cleburne, Texas. Chelsea Lantrip, a single mom, received a $4000 tip. Lantrip said that two girls she had not seen at the bar before came in among the crowd of regulars. One of the women ordered a round of drinks for everyone at the dance hall. Bell said that their bill came to $179.50.

When it came time to pay the tab, the woman tipped Lantrip $1000. When Lantrip started to cry, the woman said ‘No, that’s not good enough,’ and raised it to $2,000,” Bell recalled. By the time that Bell ultimately picked up the receipt, the woman had increased the tip to $4,000. “I didn’t believe it until it went through the credit card machine, I still didn’t believe it until it hit the bank,” Bell said.

The owner of Chances Dance Hall said the tip was crucial because Lantrip is a single mom living paycheck to paycheck, tip to tip, without money to spare. “Her son will be heading off to Texas A&M University in the fall and while he has a scholarship and a grant to attend the college, it’s not quite enough to cover the full cost of tuition,” Senese said.

Lantrip said she’s going to take her family to dinner, pay some bills and help her son. Senese said all she knew about the two was that the woman who gave the tip received an inheritance recently and felt compelled to “tithe it to a stranger.” She expressed how grateful she was to the good Samaritan who shared her good fortune with her during what would have been a regular Tuesday shift. “I believe in guardian angels, I believe in people coming into your life at the right time that you need them. And she was definitely one of them” Lantrip said.

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2 years ago · by · 0 comments

New York Public Library Giving Away 500,000 Books

The New York Public Library launched a Summer at the Library initiative that includes a slew of free programs to entice readers. A full list of free programs and offerings—ranging from baby lapsit programs to arts and crafts for teens—can be found at their website. The library, which serves the Bronx, Manhattan and Staten Island-is highlighting the centerpiece of the program, a large scale book giveaway.

They are giving away 500,000 books for free to kids, teens and families at all of its branch locations. The initiative is an effort to help folks build their at-home libraries and “strengthen the city’s ecosystem of learning,” according to an official press release. Some libraries will even offer Spanish, Chinese and large print titles to keep.

The program started June 9th and anyone 18 and under can go to one of the branches with their library card or sign up for one and select a free book. The Summer at the Library project offers a list of over 100 summer reading recommendations from expert librarians. It also offers programs like storytimes and podcasting workshops; outdoor pop-ups that include library card sign-up events and others involving the NYPL’s famous bookmobiles; and a number of other initiatives targeted directly to adults.

Educators agree that reading over the summer is critical to helping kids maintain learning while school is out and also for fostering social-emotional development. Eighty-three-percent of educators say reading helps students understand people that are different from them, 81% say reading helps students develop empathy, and 81% say reading helps students see themselves in characters and stories.

Multiple studies have shown that owning books is a big boost to children’s literacy. Chidlren growing up in a home with at least 80 books are associated with higher literacy levels. Teens who grew up with a library of books at home “become as literate, numerate and technologically apt in adulthood as university graduates who grew up with only a few books.” A child who owns just one book of their own is six times more likely to read above grade level and three times as likely to enjoy reading.

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2 years ago · by · 0 comments

Long Island Teen Hailed Hero For Saving Woman from Patchogue Bay

A Long Island teen is being hailed a hero for diving in to save a woman who accidentally drove into Patchogue Bay. Mia Samolinski, 18, stepped on the accelerator instead of the brake when pulling her Subaru Outback out of a parking spot along the docks of Long Island’s Patchogue Bay. Anthony Zhongor, 17, immediately dove into the water as her car sank.

Zhongor said “She went pretty deep in there and was banging on the door, banging on the window, trying to break the window, of course, and that kind of got me nervous, scared for her, so I just went into the water.” The door wouldn’t open from the outside either. Zhongor realized that the weight of his body tilted the nose of the car down, bringing the back of the car above water level so he kept his weight on the car, allowing Samolinski to escape through the back.

Together they swam to shore. “She just came up to me and said, ‘Oh my God, thank you’ and was crying,” Zhongor said. “It doesn’t matter who it was, they were suffering. I couldn’t watch anybody suffer in front of me.” Mia managed to make it out unscathed but was shaken up by the experience and is thankful was there at that moment.

Mia’s father Charles Samolinski visited the dock where it happened to reunite with and thank 17-year-old Anthony Zhongor for saving his daughter’s life. “The reason I’m here is because he’s really the hero of the day” Mia said. The Samolinskis expressed their their gratitude for Zhongor’s bravery. “He jumped out of his car and jumped in, and because of that, my daughter is alive and not really harmed,” said Mia’s father Charles. “It’s a miracle.”

The pair who went to the same high school live less than a mile away but never crossed paths until that night. Zhongor is set to graduate this year and will be heading off to South Carolina for Marines boot camp. Staff Sgt. Christian Erazo with the U.S. Marine Corps said “It shows that our training and mentorship has gone to the right place and I’m happy he acted because it could’ve ended somewhere very differently.”

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2 years ago · by · 0 comments

California Woman Returns $36,000 Found In Couch From Craigslist

A California woman got the shock of her life after bringing home a set of sofas and a chair that she found on Craigslist for free. Vicki Umodu of Colton, California said she just moved in and was excited to get the first pieces of furniture in her new home. A lump in the cushion of a chair she initially thought might be a heating pad but said it felt like a bunch of paper.

When she unzipped the cover, she pulled out envelopes stuffed with thousands of dollars in cash. It turned out to be more than $36,000 stashed inside the cushion. “I was just telling my son, come, come, come! I was screaming, this is money! I need to call the guy” she said. When Umodu called she learned that a family member had recently died and the family was selling furniture as they were clearing out the house. .

The man’s family said they believe it was hidden away by the deceased as part of a saving strategy. Vicki said it never once occurred to her to keep the money. “God has been kind to me and my children,” Umodu said. “They are all alive and well, I have three beautiful grandchildren, so what can I ever ask of God?”

Umodu said she was not expecting a dime from them but the owners were so grateful for her honesty that they gave Umodu $2,200 to buy a new refrigerator for herself. They also said they later found money hidden in other places in the house and are now checking all the furniture they were planning to sell-all thanks to Umodu’s honesty.

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2 years ago · by · 0 comments

Good Samaritans Recognized for Saving Florida Woman Having Medical Emergency In Her Car

A video of Good Samaritans in Florida rushing to help a driver experiencing a medical emergency in her car went viral. The rescue happened on May 5th and the video shows several people springing into action after witnessing a gray car slowly roll into an intersection with its driver, Laurie Rabyor, unconscious at the steering wheel.

A press conference was held where Florida’s Boynton Beach Police Department recognized Jannette Rivera, Juan Chavez Jr., Michael Edelstein, David Formica, DaVida Peele, Marko Bartolone, Muriel Vaughns and Robin Fox for their quick thinking and courage. The press conference was the culmination of tracking down those who had helped. Each person was awarded a Royal Caribbean cruise and a $2,000 gift card, plus flowers.

Jannette Rivera, a co-worker of Rabyor’s had seen Rabyor slumped over her steering wheel, jumped into the street and began waving her arms to attract the attention of other motorists.
Several individuals, including Edelstein, leaped into action to find a way to stop the car, put it into park and then push it into a nearby 7-Eleven parking lot. A nurse there helped Rabyor until the fire department arrived.

Marko Bartolone said “I saw a lady chasing a car through an intersection in South Florida … and I thought, ‘Wow, she’s really mad at that other lady!. I figured out what was happening and thought, ‘I really can’t stop a car.’ But then I see Chavez … and I thought, well, with a couple of people, we could probably stop the car. I feel like I just did what anyone would do.” Michael Edelstein said “I’m stunned to be standing here. I was in the right place at the right time. … I was the fool that jumped in front of the car and then tried to punch the window out.”

Rabynor says she doesn’t remember any of it. “They all just came together to help a little old lady and I appreciate it so, so much. … It is so wonderful to see something nice today instead of all this crap that’s going on in the world and even in our community. … It’s so nice to see something nice” she said.

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2 years ago · by · 0 comments

Call of Duty Endowment Reaches Goal of Putting 100K Vets Back to Work 2 Years Early

Since the first release of the Call of Duty video game in 2003, the game series has received universal acclaim. The ongoing series holds the Guinness World Record as the best-selling games of their kind. In 2009, the game’s publisher Activision Blizzard launched Call of Duty Endowment, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to getting unemployed veterans back to work. They have intensely supported veteran employment efforts and committed to funding the placement of 100,000 vets into high-quality jobs by 2024 through the Call of Duty Endowment.

The Endowment also expanded its support internationally to the United Kingdom in 2017, attempting to help more of those who have served their nation in uniform to find meaningful careers. In addition to supporting its grantees, they committed to highlighting high performance in the veteran employment through its Seal of Distinction program, which provides both a $30,000 prize and national recognition to winners of the award.

Last month the nonprofit reached its goal of placing 100,000 vets two years ahead of schedule. To mark the occasion—and the start of Military Appreciation Month—Activision Blizzard has committed an additional $30 million in funding to support the program moving forward. Over the last twelve years, the Call of Duty Endowment says it has partnered with the most effective nonprofit veterans organizations in both the US and UK to deliver high value job placements, a service most requested by veterans.

They use a performance-driven approach to fund organizations delivering the highest standards of quality and cost-efficient veteran job placement services. Activision Blizzard pays for all the Endowment’s overhead costs and 100% of all donations received go directly to Endowment grantees. Co-chairman General James Jones, a former National Security Advisor and retired US Marine Corps commander said “To put 100,000 placements in perspective, the entire active-duty Marine Corps is made up of more than 178,000 people. While reaching 100,000 placements two years earlier than our goal is an accomplishment to be proud of, there is much more we can and should be doing to support our veterans as they transition to civilian employment.”

Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard and Co-Founder of the Endowment said “To date, we have invested over $60 million in support of veterans employment initiatives. With our even more efficient programs we expect to generate another 50,000 job placements through Call of Duty Endowment grants.” One of the leading charities supported by the grants is VetJobs. Their mission has received funding that led to more than 48,000 of its 77,000 placements. VetJobs CEO Rear Admiral Dan Kloeppel, U.S. Navy (retired) said “There is no better, more supportive resource for veteran job placement than the Call of Duty Endowment,”

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