Teens from the Boys and Girls Club of Boston (BGCB) Ready to Work program were given free laptops as part of a collaboration between AT&T and the Boys and Girls Clubs of Boston. The 250 laptop giveaway was part of BGCB’s Ready-to-Work program, which helps high school club members focus on employment opportunities through personal mentoring, resume design workshops, job fairs, interview training and other opportunities to prepare for employment opportunities.
AT&T has given each member a free laptop Courtesy of Boys and Girls Clubs of Boston. The 10-year-old program consists of nine clubs spanning 22 of Boston’s 23 boroughs. As students received laptops from the school for online classes, Ready to Work began to take shape to provide club members with a way to virtually prepare for employment opportunities.
As students returned to full-time classroom instruction, schools began reclaiming laptops, making it difficult for many high school students to access the Internet and participate in Ready to Work. As in person classes resumed, many teens lost access to many online resources and AT&T wanted to fix that lack in access to technology. The surprise took place at Berkshire Partners Blue Hill Boys & Girls Club, where 140 club members attended a teenage careers fair before receiving their laptops. The remaining 110 members who could not attend also received their laptops after the event.
AT&T Atlantic Region President John Emra said in a statement “Our AT&T employees are committed to giving back to the Boston communities where they live, work and play. These great kids are the future of our city, our economy and our company. We are grateful for the opportunity to spend time with them and for the life changing work of Robert Lewis and everyone else at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston.”
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An Indiana man ordered at a local McDonald’s drive thru got much more than he expected.
On Jan. 16, TikTok user Josiah Vargas, shared a video detailing his trip to a McDonald’s drive-thru in Elkhart, Indiana that resulted in him receiving much more than he ordered. In the now-viral clip, Vargas ordered a Sausage McMuffin and was shocked to find thousands in cash in a second bag handed to him when he was given his order.
Vargas explains that he ordered his food and was handed two bags, one with his order and the other contained their deposit. After showing some of the contents of the bag, which contained stacks of bills and change assorted in individual Ziploc bags, a shellshocked Vargas examines what was erroneously handed to him instead of his breakfast sandwich.
“Why? There’s a couple thousand dollars here,” Vargas says, holding up a baggie full of $20 bills. “Like, why would they do this? Why would they give this to me? What the f—? Now I have to return it because I’m a good person, I guess,” Vargas says, putting the money back in the bag. “How interesting.” Pulling back up to the McDonald’s, Vargas unbuckles his seatbelt and before he heads in, he asks the universe, presumably, “Why would you guys do this to me? You know how bad I want this money? Why put me in this situation?”
He walked into the store with his phone’s camera still recording but pointed toward the ground and approached the counter with a joke. “You guys laundering money around here?” Vargas says to a worker at the register who realizes he’s returning the cash they had been looking for. Amid all the relieved reactions from staff that can be heard from McDonald’s staff, one employee asks if they could give him a hug — which he accepts.
Back in the car, Vargas reflects on his good deed. “I cut that short, but they were just all hugging me and thanking me, some were crying. Free McDonald’s for a month, I guess. When I was driving away. They called me back in. They gave me $200,” he says, smiling. The TikTok ends with Vargas sharing what he believes to be the moral of the story. “Do good, people. Return $5000, got $200 and free McDonald’s for a month,good trade value and maybe a viral TikTok” he says.
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Tiktok food reviewer Keith Lee has blessed another struggling business. On Jan. 19, Lee posted a video recounting the story about a food truck owner parked on a lonely street in Las Vegas. The video, which has since gone viral, describes how the life of Gary Shanks, owner and chef of Southern Taste Seafood, changed for the better, all because of a chance encounter with the influential social media star.
On the way home from the bike ride, Lee says he came across a food truck he hadn’t seen before. As he approached, Shanks asked Lee what he wanted to order, and that’s when the TikToker noticed the menu was seafood-based — and Lee has an allergy to shellfish. Shanks generously offered Lee other items on his menu, like burgers, fries and catfish, and offered to prepare those dishes in separate bowls, with separate dishes and fresh oil to accommodate him, if he showed up the next day. Lee agreed to return.
“He told me he’s just trying to survive right now. It’s very slow. He’s lucky if he gets five to 10 people in,” he recounts. Lee says the next day, Shanks served him a burger and fries made with new oil and separate utensils, just as he said he would. Shanks, surprised that Lee came back, offered to make him his order for free, but Lee wasn’t going to let that happen.
Lee explained to his fans in the Tiktok “I went live the other day with Miss Shirley, passing out food to the less fortunate. During that live, you sent $450 worth of gifts. I took all that money and I sent it directly to his Cash App.” Shanks, clearly shocked in the clip, was overcome with emotion at Lee’s generosity. After Shanks tried to return the gift multiple times, Lee assured him that the donation was not a mistake. “I love moments like that ‘cause I’m so thankful and grateful from the bottom of my heart to be a vessel, and to help people like that,” Lee says.
Lee went home and sampled Shanks’ food in the now viral TikTok, giving high scores for the burger and fries. “Delicious. It was juicy, it was cheesy … immaculate,” Lee says. “Especially to be a place that don’t specialize in burgers. He makes seafood!” Now Shanks and his business are feeling the love. In a follow-up TikTok, Lee shares that so many people were sending Shanks money that within 24 hours he had received $30,000 without even selling a thing. He’s also had to enlist help to keep up with the uptick in business. Shanks says he was making $50 to $200 dollars depending on the day, but he’s seen about a 900% increase in revenue since the review.
Keith Lee is now known for his ability to change the fortunes of businesses big and small. His viral TikTok review of a Chipotle quesadilla hack in December caused it to go so viral, it ended up being added to the national chain’s menu. Then, earlier this month, Lee’s sterling review of Frankensons, a once-struggling pizza shop in Las Vegas, led to lines down the block overnight. Shanks said Lee showing up at his food truck was God-sent.
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Buffalo, NY experienced a catastrophic blizzard over the Christmas weekend that left many stranded with over 4 ft of snow and winds of up to 70 mph. While the area is no stranger to snow, getting that much snow and high winds together is unusual. A group of South Korean tourists narrowly avoided a ruined vacation because of the kindness of strangers.
On the morning of Dec. 23, the winds went within minutes from 10 miles per hour up to 70. The storm lasted four days, but the vast majority of the snow — about 36 inches out of the total 51.9 inches recorded in the region — fell Friday into Saturday morning. Traveling from Niagara Falls to Washington DC, the tour group of 10 South Koreans got stuck in the blizzard on Christmas Eve.
Two of the group went to a local house to ask for a shovel to dislodge their vehicle. Alex Campagna heard their frantic knocking on his door. Knowing it was the worst blizzard he had ever seen, he thought it would be a better idea for them to wait out the storm. He invited them all inside, putting them up on couches, air mattresses, and sleeping bags.
Eager to repay his kindness, the guests cooked several South Korean meals like jeyuk bokkeum, stir-fried pork, and dakdori tang, a spicy chicken stew. As it turns out, Campagna and his wife really like Korean food and actually happened to have some of the more extravagant ingredients on hand.
The stranded travelers stayed the night Friday and Saturday, swapping stories and watching football. On Christmas day drivers came to pick up the tour group and took them to New York for some impromptu flights. A member of the group, Choi Yoseob said “It was kind of like fate, the luck of arriving at the Campagnas’ doorstep with their fully stocked kitchen and unhesitating hospitality. He said the hosts were “the kindest people I have ever met. We have enjoyed this so much.”
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Makayla Burns, 24, and her dad run a small business called Horrornaments, which makes creepy-themed ornaments such as evil pickles and violent clowns. The Michigan business was struggling so as a last ditch effort, she posted a TiktTok video asking for help-and help came. The video went viral with over 1.1 million likes, and sales lit up like a Christmas Tree.
The video shows her dad pacing aimlessly around their warehouse, clearly stressed out.”It’s the middle of December, and my dad is currently walking around the warehouse wondering why we aren’t busy with orders,” Burns wrote in the video. “I’ve been trying so hard to promote his ornaments, but I don’t know what to do anymore. And honestly it makes me so sad. Like…this is his livelihood.”
Burns said they received more orders in the last two days than they have in the previous 11 months. To date, the Burns team has 5,000 orders of ornaments and both are very thankful for the support. In another video, MaKayla’s dad gets choked up talking about it. “You just saved this business,” he tells her with tears in his eyes. “You have no idea how tickled I am.”
She said her dad was worried he might not even be able to pay his rent before the windfall. “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I don’t know what else to say other than thank you.” Hopefully now that the company is on the radar of horror lovers, they will thrive in the new year.
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After Renee Story’s daughter’s flight was canceled, the determined mother’s positive thinking got her daughter home. Alanah Story was set for a 7PM flight from Orlando to Knoxville when her flight was delayed and ultimately canceled. Frontier Airlines was unable to give stranded passengers assurances that they would be able to fly out that night.
While at the help desk, Renee met Carlos, a police officer who was also heading to Knoxville for a 10:00 AM appointment with his daughter the next morning at a university. The two agreed that they could rent a van to drive there. They then suggested the idea to several passengers and they were able to gather a group of 13.
Alanah said “I was off to one side because I didn’t want to be involved, my mom just turned to me and said ‘we’re headed downstairs to get a van, come on people! Like 13 people followed her, I was just wondering what was happening.” Among the rest of the group were Johan and Adolf, from Mexico, Michelle, who was headed to a farming convention in Knoxville as a keynote speaker, and Q, who was simply trying to get home.
The strangers each chipped in $60 to rent a 15 passenger van and headed out on a road trip.
In the end, all the passengers managed to keep their appointments, Carlos’ daughter made it to the university appointment and Michelle was able to deliver her speech as the keynote speaker. Carlos posted a video to tiktok explaining “We made our 10:00 AM appointment, all because of a community that came together.”
But what started as a 650 mile journey of convenience, paced over 10 hours, ended with some brand new friendships. Alanah made friends with Q, who lives in Knoxville, and the two are planning on going out for karaoke soon. Carlos’ wife Lauren and Alanah’s mother Renee have also kept in touch.
Alanah said “It was not a quiet ride, no one was getting any sleep on that drive, I think I slept around 20 minutes. I really couldn’t have picked a better group of people to make the trip with. The whole experience really confirmed my faith in humanity for a little bit, in the States right now we’re going through a period of division, so it was nice to see.”
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Aero Angel is a charity organization that provides free flights for chronically ill children. The national aviation charity provides free flights using private jets flown by a crew of volunteer, professional pilots. Commercial airline travel is sometimes not a safe option because of a child’s illness and if specialists aren’t available in an ill child’s area, that can mean repeated trips farther away to seek expert care.
Aero Angel fills that gap, allowing children to get treatment they may not have had the option for without the transportation. They offer unlimited free flights to children in need of private transportation to appointments at specialist medical centers. The service is nationwide, and last year alone made about 70 flights. Aero Angel is not an air ambulance service and limits its flights to children whose fragile medical conditions mean commercial flying is not an option.
Brittany Baillargeon, Aero Angel’s Special Projects Director said families that need long distance transportation can just go to the website aeroangel.org, and fill out a flight request form and upload a letter of medical necessity. It’s free to all families whose children can’t fly commercial and all of the costs are covered through donors. The flights are provided to families until the service is no longer needed. While there is no set minimum mileage requirement, most of the flights are at least 500 miles long from the child’s home to their destination. The business jets flown have a non-stop range of 4 hours or about 2,000 miles.
Based in Denver, Colorado, AeroAngel was founded by Denver attorney and commercial pilot Mark Pestal. His passion for aviation and a desire to help others led him to create a unique model of using volunteer professional pilots to families who desperately need it. Operating a high performance jet aircraft is expensive and requires a huge amount of resources. Through sponsors, donations and volunteers-these angels in the sky have been serving communities across the US for more than 11 years.
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Girl Scouts of the USA announced that MacKenzie Scott donated $84.5 million—their largest gift ever from one person. The generous grant will help make up for the absence of funds raised from cookie sales and membership during the pandemic. The donation, awarded to GSUSA and 29 local councils including $4.2 million to the Girl Scouts of Minnesota and Wisconsin River Valleys and $4.9 million to Girl Scouts of Greater Los Angeles.
The donation will accelerate GSUSA’s initiatives that give girls the tools to become the next generation of powerful women leaders. The group says the grant will also foster an expanded focus on career readiness and mental wellness. The money will also bolster staff and volunteer training and future-proof its facilities, including the iconic Girl Scout camp properties, including expanding both accessibility and high adventure elements at camp.
“We are so appreciative of MacKenzie Scott’s gift to Girl Scouts. This is a great accelerator for our ongoing efforts to help girls cultivate the skills and connections needed to lead in their own communities and globally,” said Girl Scouts of the USA CEO Sofia Chang. “The support from all our donors, including this generous donation from Ms. Scott, is critical in delivering on our work of reimagination and transformation. We’re excited to prove how Ms. Scott’s investment in girls will change the world—because when one girl succeeds, we all succeed.”
Since the pandemic began, the youth organization’s membership has dropped by 30%: It was a little more than 1 million in 2021-2022, down from roughly 1.4 million in 2019-2020, according to figures the group released last year. Philanthropic contributions are increasingly important, as many people incorrectly assume the Girl Scouts raise enough money to fund itself from cookie sales alone but the organization says the majority of those proceeds stays with local councils and troops.
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What began as a single life jacket loaner booth for boaters to borrow any size preserver before going on the water, has turned into the world’s largest life jacket loaner program. The program, which started in 2008, now operates loaner stations in all 50 states, plus Washington, D.C., American Samoa, and the Virgin Islands—all thanks to a Long Island, New York captain.
Capt. Joe Frohnhoefer kept seeing boating accidents and tragedies that could have been prevented, so he decided to start the nonprofit Sea Tow Foundation in 2007 to provide the education and resources to eliminate them. By the following year, the Life Jacket Loaner program was started to help prevent drownings by providing free life jackets to boaters of any size, that they can borrow and return at the end of their outing.
While Frohnhoefer passed away in 2015, his legacy lives on through the efforts of the foundation and his daughter Kristen, who is now president of the board. The Life Jacket Loaner program reached a huge milestone last month, setting up its 1,000th location at the beach in Clearwater, Florida. Executive Director Gail Kulp said “Since 2008, we’ve distributed over 90,000 life jackets. We believe that financial struggles or lack of access to resources should never be an obstacle to safety.”
Anyone needing a life jacket can check their map of every loaner location, here. Capt. Kahle, the Commander of US Coast Guard in St. Petersburg said “It’s truly game-changing when someone puts on a life jacket. The statistics don’t lie—life jackets save lives.” The foundation website also explains how people can donate life jackets to the program.
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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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