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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A community in New York has adopted a senior pit bull with a grim prognosis. Lloyd, a 12-year-old pit bull, was brought to the Niagara SPCA after police found him wandering the streets. Lloyd has a cancerous tumor and is in end stage kidney failure but despite these ailments, he has a love of life and people that Amy Lewis, the director of the shelter admired.
So, Lewis decided Lloyd should live out his last days — which could be anywhere from three weeks to three months — with a bucket list. She posted about it on the SPCA’s Facebook page and community members have been jumping at the opportunity to get Lloyd out of the shelter so he can just be a dog.
For the last two weeks, Lloyd has been treated to a barrage of bucket list items, including eating at Lloyd’s Tacos in Buffalo, hanging out with penguins at the Aquarium at Niagara, visiting Lilly Dale and taking in Jaguar Land Rover Buffalo. He’s also visited local parks, beaches and pools. The Lockport Fire Department even swore Lloyd in as an honorary firefighter.
According to Lewis, Lloyd is completely booked up through August. “I’m super grateful to our community for showing Lloyd so much love. “We want to make whatever time he has left amazing” Lewis said. Lewis said that because of how many people are trying to make a difference in Lloyd’s life, the Niagara SPCA is thinking about making it permanent. “We anticipate that this will be a pilot for a program where the public gets to do this with many of our shelter animals,” Lewis said.
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A 90-year-old owner of multiple McDonald’s franchises did an extraordinary good deed for his employees, who were at risk of losing their livelihoods. Tony Philiou, needed to shut down the Mayfield Heights, OH location for renovations in March. His employees, however, had nothing to worry about.
Philiou had a meeting with his employees where he told them his plans to close, remodel and build the brand-new store. “As I’ve been in their shoes, I could sense their concern,” he said. “You’re going to sit home. You’re going to get paid,” said Philiou, recalling his words in the speech he delivered to workers. He said that he knew about a month before he closed for renovations that he would make the move to keep his workers’ jobs — and their wallets — safe under his umbrella.
Philiou flipped his first burger as an employee at this exact location 60 years ago; now he’s the boss who chose to continue paying all 90 employees, even though they would not be able to work for him during renovations.
He said of the decision “”I have people here that make a living here and go from week-to-week pay. How can I tolerate for them to not have a paycheck? “That was the thing to do.” Over his 60 years in the business he’s helped four employees become franchise owners, and some managers and employees have been around for decades.
Philiou says he values hard work and this has been the hardest time to retain employees but if you do the right thing, word gets out, and people stick around. The new building with the same old values of hard work and respect, reopened with a ribbon cutting ceremony on July 6th.
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A Detroit community saved a local bookstore after it was scammed out of $35,000. 27th Letter Books opened just over a year ago and is owned by two couples-Drew and Erin Pineda and Jazmine Cooper and Jake Spease. The little store offers a diverse selection of books and hosts events aimed to bring the community together.
They run story-time sessions for children, book club meetings, open mic nights and many local authors and artists showcase their work at the brick and mortar store. The owners were happy when they started receiving large online orders for textbooks. The customer, who used the name of a professor, placed several orders of medical and engineering textbooks.
In May, the store’s merchant service provider flagged one of the credit cards used as stolen.
The owners quickly realized the previous orders had also been paid for with stolen cards. After contacting law enforcement, their insurance company and several banks-they were told the financial loss would fall on them. Cooper said the loss left them with two options, close their doors or ask for support. They started a GoFundMe campaign in hopes of saving the store.
News of the GoFundMe campaign spread among their customers and they were able to surpass their $35,000 goal in just 10 days. Over 400 of the contributors were local customers, leaving the owners stunned by the generosity and the outpouring of messages they received. One local artist, Nicole Miazgowicz, who showcased her artwork at the store raised funds selling her work to help, saying the decision was a no-brainer considering what they bring to the community.
Pineda said “It’s wonderful that people are willing to pay it forward because of what they’ve seen us provide to the community. It creates a beautiful reciprocity of gratitude between the people in our community and us as a business who care deeply about southwest Detroit”. The owners were able to cover the loss and say they are motivated now more than ever to keep their doors open.
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A Hanover man is being called a guardian angel for rescuing a missing five-year-old girl with autism who had wandered from her home in Plymouth, MA. Jake Manna, 20, was at work installing solar panels at a home when he learned the neighborhood girl was missing. Manna didn’t know the area but decided to join the search.
A spokesperson for the police department said Manna and one of the girl’s neighbors decided to search an area other searchers hadn’t headed and walked down a rural trail that ended at a stream. There, he noticed a diaper and t-Shirt in the stream. Manna panicked and said his heart dropped when he saw the clothing. He ran down the stream to a marsh area where he spotted the girl waist deep in the water.
He called out to her but she continued wading outward so waded out and put her over his shoulder, carrying her to safety. Officer Vinnie Roth, who responded to the original call, called Jake “a guardian angel” for the young girl. “Jake is not from Plymouth and doesn’t know the area. If he didn’t pick that path and see the missing clothing, we hate to think about what the outcome would have been” Roth said.
Plymouth Police Department said in a Facebook post “If he didn’t pick that path and see the missing clothing, we hate to think about what the outcome would have been.” Manna later met with Plymouth police officers Chief Dana Flynn and Captain LeBretton to receive a certificate and Command Coin for his heroic deed who described him as he’s the nicest, most unassuming young man that one could meet.
The mother of the young girl said it was the worst moment of her life and she’s very grateful for Manna and others involved in her rescue. Manna was humble about his actions, crediting the many people who helped bring the girl home safe. “I wouldn’t call myself a hero. It was just the right time, right place. And I think anyone else would’ve done the same,” Manna said. “It’s good the community came together and everyone helped.”
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After local Oregon news shared a story about a Prineville man who walked 33 miles to work, a Good Samaritan gave him a car. Eric Akers walked 33 miles to his job in Bend after his car broke down. With no transportation and no means to pay for transportation, he began looking for a ride but couldn’t find one.
Akers told the news outlet “I needed to get to work no matter what. So I woke up early — about 9:00 a.m. Started around 10:00 a.m. Left for Bend and it took about 6 1/2 hours, but I made the trek.” He then worked his eight hour shift, getting off around 1:30am and made the 6 ½ hour trek back home. After his story aired the news station said emails started pouring in from people who wanted to give him a hand.
Chris Arsenault and his wife were amongst the people inspired to help Eric. Arsenault said he was on a tractor when the story came across his phone. “We decided we have more cars than we need, so we wanted to give him this little Honda,” Arsenault said. When asked if he’d have walked 33 miles to get to work he said, “There’s no way I would have done it. That’s what inspired us to do this.”
Arsenault reached out to Akers and the two met. “He just handed me the paperwork for the car and told me it’s mine,” Akers said. “The kindness and generosity of the community has been overwhelming.” Arsenault said the car used to be his aunt’s and she took good care of it but it was just sitting on their property unused. He added that he hopes more people will be inspired to help their neighbors.
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A Kentucky woman decided to pay it forward after a lottery win by handing out gift cards to strangers. Earlier this month, Crystal Dunn of Louisville won $146,000 playing the Bank Buster Jackpot Instant Play game online after wagering just $20. A few seconds later, she got a message on her computer screen saying that she had won the progressive jackpot which starts at $100,000 and increases with each ticket purchase.
Dunn said she didn’t believe she had actually won until she received an email from the lottery officials confirming the win. “I saw that and didn’t believe it at first. It’s a pretty exciting feeling. I never thought I would win something like this, but this goes to show it can happen.” Dunn decided to pay it forward after receiving her winnings, which amounted to $103,909.73 after taxes.
After depositing the check in the bank, lottery officials said she immediately made a stop at a local Meijer grocery store where she purchased $2,000 in gift cards. She then walked around the store giving the gift cards to random strangers. Dunn said “A few were taken back, thinking I was wanting something in return. I got an unexpected gift and I believe in paying it forward and wanted to pass it along.”
Dunn told lottery officials she wanted to pay it forward and she also plans to use the remainder of winnings on things she was already working toward, such as buying a car and paying off bills. “I’ve worked hard for everything I’ve had. This is a pretty amazing gift,” she said.
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Brody Ridder, 12, of Westminster, Colorado made headlines after his mother Cassandra posted a photo to Facebook, revealing that his classmates refused to sign his yearbook. She also shared a note her son wrote to himself on the blank pages, “Hope you make some more friends — Brody Ridder.” People around the world have been sending him encouraging notes in the weeks following the heartbreaking post.
Over the past several weeks, Brody has received hundreds of letters written in various languages. People are not only offering advice and words of encouragement but also sharing their own personal experiences with bullying. “I cry with the majority of them I read because these people are just … they relate,” she said. “They’ve been through it, too: Cassandra said.
Cassandra said her son struggled to make friends this past year while attending The Academy of Charter Schools in Westminster which consists of students from kindergarten through 12th grade. “He was just bullied, teased … you name it, it’s happened to him,” Cassandra said. “He’s tried to put himself out there to make friends … he’ll get kids’ phone numbers, and he will try to text them, but they will never respond to him. Or they’re like, ‘I don’t want to talk to you’. I don’t know if the kids are just struggling socially from returning to in-person learning,” she said. “I don’t know what’s going on” she said.
She said when her son came home one day during the last week of school, he teared up. His classmates told him they were too busy and that he wasn’t important when he asked them to sign his yearbook, she said. When she looked through the book, she recalled seeing two names. There were no notes beside them, either. When she saw that he had signed it himself she felt her heart break.
Shortly after, Cassandra posted about the incident in a Facebook group filled with other parents at the school. She also reminded the parents to teach their kids how to be kind. What she didn’t expect was for several parents to message her back. They asked her what class Brody was in, so their kids could stop by and say hello on the last day of school.
Before Brody left for the last day of school, Cassandra reminded him that “Ridders aren’t quitters” and handed him his yearbook. On May 24, during the school’s end-of-year celebration, dozens of students from other grades lined up to sign Brody’s yearbook and send him off with warm messages for the summer. He had over 100 signatures and notes by the end of the day.
His story even caught the attention of Paul Rudd, who plays the title character in Marvel’s Ant-Man, who also contacted Brody. Rudd sent him an Ant-Man Helmet signed with a special note to encourage him. Cassandra plans to make a book out of all the letters one day so whenever Brody is having a tough day, he can pull out it out for some encouragement.
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A Mississippi teen is being hailed a hero after saving three girls and a police officer from a river. Moss Point city officials presented Corion Evans with a certificate of commendation for his heroism and bravery in rescuing four people. One of the teens rescued said the GPS thought they were on the interstate and because the area was pitch black, they had no idea they were even near water until their car plunged in. She said she’s very grateful Corion was in the right place at the right time.
Evans was at a boat ramp in Moss Point, MS at 2:30am when the three girls, who were following their GPS, drove into the Pascagoula River. The girls managed to get on the roof of the car as it started to sink and dial 911. Evans heard them crying for help and immediately jumped into the water. The car had sunk quickly and only the roof of the vehicle with the girls on top was visible. Moss Point Police Officer Gary Mercer arrived on the scene, and he too swam out to aid in the rescue. During the rescue, Officer Mercer was pushed under water by a struggling victim and swallowed water. Mercer called out for help and Evans immediately went back to save him.
Evans said “‘They need to get out the water’. So, I just started getting them, I wasn’t even thinking about nothing else. I turned around. I see the police officer, he’s drowning. He’s going underwater, drowning, saying, ‘Help!” So, I went over there. I went and I grabbed the police officer and I’m like swimming him back until I feel I can walk. I was just like, ‘I can’t let none of these folks die.”
Evans has been a strong swimmer since the age of 3 and didn’t hesitate to jump in the river. The car had floated 25 yards from shore when Evans dove in the water but his thoughts were only on rescuing everyone. “Twenty-five yards out, it was a lot of swimming. My legs were so tired after. Anything could’ve been in that water, though. But I wasn’t thinking about it” Evans said.
Evans’ mother, Marquita, expressed relief and spoke proudly of her son in the wake of the rescue. “I’m glad nothing happened to him while he was trying to save other people’s lives. I was really proud of Corion because he wasn’t just thinking about himself. He was trying to really get all those people out of the water.”
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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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