Craig Clark of Tara, Fl is known as the Tech Fairy. Clark uses his skills to give new life to old computers. He puts out a call on the Nextdoor website for laptops and desktop computers in need of repair. Once he’s done fixing them, Clark gives the computers away to people who need them, with the goal of “hopefully improving their lives.”
His days as the Tech Fairy began five years ago when he came across an employee at a 7-Eleven. Clark complimented her on how she dealt with a complaining customer. During their conversation, Clark learned the employee had dropped out of college because someone had stolen her laptop when she was taking online classes. The two met at a McDonald’s when the employee wasn’t working, and Clark gave her a refurbished laptop for free. She went on to get her associate’s degree in business.
Clark has distributed more than 430 repaired computers since. He has given devices to a Vietnam veteran who wasn’t able to afford a desktop computer, a Wawa employee who has two sons and needed a laptop, and a McDonald’s employee who had to study online by using her phone. Clark, 74, fixes about 6 devices per month and most of the people he’s helped he’s met by happenstance while out running errands.
“I’ve got the skill; I’ve got the time; I’ve got the resources. So who wouldn’t do it?” he said. “For me to spend my time productively to the benefit of others is my reward. I have to be doing something, and this filled a huge need in my personal psyche,” Clark said. “It keeps me busy, keeps me challenged. This is a 50-50 reward because I help others, but I’m also keeping my brain alert and keeping up to date with current technology. If I didn’t do this, I don’t know what I would do.”
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Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov, auctioned his Nobel Peace Prize to raise money for Ukrainian child refugees. The prize sold for $103.5 million, shattering the old record for a Nobel. Muratov also donated his $500,000 cash award. The proceeds will go directly to UNICEF in its efforts to help children displaced by the war in Ukraine.
Muratov said the idea of the donation, he said, “is to give the children refugees a chance for a future.” In an interview with The Associated Press, Muratov said he was particularly concerned about children who have been orphaned because of the conflict in Ukraine. “We want to return their future,” he said. The auction was held by Heritage Auction, who is not taking any share of the proceeds.
Muratov started out as a journalist for Soviet newspapers. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, he and other journalists co-founded the newspaper Novaya Gazeta, which soon became a leading advocate for democracy and freedom of expression in Russia. Muratov was co-awarded the peace prize in 2021 for defending freedom of expression in Russia. He was the publication’s editor-in-chief when it shut down in March amid the Kremlin’s clampdown on journalists and public dissent in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Under Mr Muratov’s leadership, Novaya Gazeta has criticised the Russian authorities for corruption, electoral fraud and human rights violations. Six of the newspaper’s journalists have been murdered because they wrote critical articles on Russian military operations in Chechnya and the Caucasus. The best known of them is Anna Politkovskaya.
The sale of the gold medal in New York will benefit Unicef’s humanitarian response for Ukraine’s displaced children, Heritage Auctions said in a statement. “The most important message today is for people to understand that there’s a war going on and we need to help people who are suffering the most,” Muratov said in a video released by Heritage Auctions.
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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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Two Ohio women, who refer to themselves as “split-liver sisters,” received a liver transplant on July 1, 2020. Both were part of a rare transplant surgery called a split-liver transplantation, in which a donor’s liver is divided into two distinct portions, which are then implanted into each patient. The procedure is risky because blood clotting and other complications are more likely with split-liver transplantation, though the long-term survival rate is the same.
Koji Hashimoto, a surgeon at Cleveland Clinic, who performed the operation said it’s an extremely rare procedure for adults. The size of the patient determines the size of the liver needed,” Hashimoto said. “It’s also very important to take into consideration how sick the patient is. If you have a really sick patient, you need a bigger liver. The health of the donated liver, which grows to be a standard size about six to eight weeks after the transplant, is also crucial to consider.”
The women shared the same diagnosis of cirrhosis of the liver and had been on the transplant list. An average of 17 people die every day while awaiting their turn to receive an organ. Both women, Maria Contreras and Monica Davis, knew their odds and didn’t hesitate when they received the call that if they agreed-would be in surgery within hours.
Contreras’s operation used 40 percent of the donor liver while the remaining 60 percent went to Davis, whose surgery was performed simultaneously by a different surgeon. Both surgeries were successful and the two women were eager to meet after their operations. Contreras recalled “I was asking my nurse, ‘Do you know about my liver sister?’” “I was so excited to see her. When we met, I cried, I hugged her, I was jumping with her. I could feel the connection.”
Both women say the closeness they have with each other is hard to describe. Contreras said “I was so happy, and I said, ‘Thank you God,’ because He didn’t only give me a new life, but He gave me a new sister, too. We’re going to be friends, she’s a part of me.”
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A heartwarming video went viral of a Louisiana man surprised to find a stray kitten in the middle of the road, then being swarmed by a dozen more kittens. The 43-second-long video starts as a person steps out of their car and points the camera at a small kitten that was wandering on the side of the road. As the man proceeds to pick up the kitten, the camera turns to reveal a stampede of adorable kittens running out of the grass. “Oh my gosh, I can’t take y’all,” the person on the video said.
Robert Brantley decided to record as he approached a small kitchen he saw in the road and said he was not prepared for what happened. The video shows the kittens swarmed Brantley’s feet, clearly all wanting the attention their sibling was getting. Brantley can be heard expressing his shock over the ambush.
There were 13 in all and Brantley loaded them up into his car and took them all home for a bath and some milk. Shortly after, he posted another video when all 13 kittens were loaded up in his car—he noted that “the tactical Honda was not prepared for this.” He posted an update on Instagram that also went viral “Anyone wanting a kitten at a screaming price? I’ll cut you a deal.” He soon received hundreds of adoption offers for the little ones.
Brantley said he believes the kittens were dumped and believes he pulled up right behind whoever had dumped them. He recalls seeing a car pull off to the side of the road and pull away not long after he arrived. He took them to a vet who commented they were in exceptional shape considering they had been abandoned. His wife Courtney set up an Amazon wish list and packages were being sent in from all over to help with things the kittens might need. All the kittens have been adopted.
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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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A Tennessee family opened their home in 2018 to Andrew, a 12-year-old foster child who had lived in foster care for about six years. Kevin and Dominique Gill explained that when Andrew’s parents’ parental rights were terminated, the young boy’s four siblings were adopted. Andrew was left alone to wait for his forever home.
After spending several years in foster care, the little boy finally had a chance at happiness, as Kevin and Dominique fostered the child. The couple, who have a son Joc the same age as Andrew, quickly realized the boy was reclusive and would always sit in his room with the door closed. He would push the couple away but after a few days he did bond with their son, having alot in common with him.
They knew what he had been through and decided not to give up on him so they showed him all the love and care he needed to be comfortable. After spending more than a year with the Gills family, Andrew left, but he and Joc remained friends. Dominique and Kevin did not have plans of adopting a child, so they decided on helping Andrew find his new family.
However, when the boy’s second adoption did not work out, Kevin and Dominique knew Andrew belonged with them. Dominique said that people often got scared away when they read Andrew’s file, but she knew he was a good child who had experienced a lot of trauma. One day, Andrew got the surprise of his life while walking through the park with Youth Villages Counselor Molly Parker.
He turned around and saw familiar faces holding signs and balloons. The Gills family asked him if he wanted to become part of the family and without hesitation, Andrew said yes. Dominique said though they never thought about adopting before, Andrew was their son just like Joc was theirs. He had become a full member of the family so a decision they never envisioned making became the only one to make.
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A Minneapolis community rallied around a 70 year old woman, known as the “Bright Star” in her neighborhood, when she was facing eviction after her landlord of 19 years decided to sell the property she lives in. Linda Taylor, a beloved neighbor in her community has been known for her heart of gold and her green thumbs for nearly two decades. When she was beside herself after being given two months to vacate, her neighbors stepped in.
Linda had previously owned the house she lived in but sold it when she fell prey to a real estate deal she didn’t understand. She has rented the home for about 15 years and when her landlord notified her the house would be sold, Linda knew she couldn’t afford the $299,000 selling price. After she told one neighbor in her tight knit community, word of her predicament spread fast and the greater part of Powderhorn rallied around her.
She decided to share her struggle with Andrew Fahlstrom, 41, who lives across the street and works professionally as a housing rights organizer. Since he moved to the neighborhood six years ago with his partner, he and Taylor have built a strong rapport. He contacted neighbors to see what they could do to help Taylor.
Given his line of work, Fahlstrom knows Taylor’s story isn’t unique, particularly as the local housing market has skyrocketed in recent years. “So many people are losing housing right now,” he said. “If we actually believe housing is a right, then we need to act like it, because the next stop is homelessness” Fahlstrom said.
After months of demonstrations, the 70-year-old was given the option to buy her home before the end of June. There was no one-size-fits-all approach to the fundraising efforts as the community worked together.. They held an art show, bake sale, there were countless small donations and other community-fund drives to come up with the funds needed along with some pro-bono work by a real-estate agent. The raised the money a full month ahead of the June 30th deadline.
Linda said “Yesterday I went and did the closing for the house, it makes me feel so good, everything that I have given, it’s coming back to me and I want to continue to give. I love this neighborhood.” Taylor said this marks the start of a new chapter and another opportunity to stick around and give back. “When we are sticking together, we are going to be successful in our neighborhood. We’re going to take care of each other.”
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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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Shahzeb Anwer left his home in Pakistan for surgery in the U.S. and says he found more than medical help in Birmingham, Alabama. The 31-year-old found his ‘home away from home’ in the southern city, and now considers it—and all its 211,000 residents—part of his family. He was so enamored by how welcoming people were he invited the entire city to his wedding.
Anwer, who suffered from kidney stones every year or two, needed a surgery that he found could be done effectively and affordable at UAB Hospital in Birmingham. He decided to do his homework on the city he had never heard of before. He posted on a small Reddit group for the Magic City asking things like what to wear and the best way to get around. He was taken back by the southern hospitality he received.
He said “People responded in a way that I wouldn’t even expect from my own people in Pakistan, it was very unexpected.” People in the group made recommendations, helped to facilitate his trip/stay by making sure he had rides to places and were cheering him on. One Birminghamer, Andrew Harris would drive him around, take him out to dinner, and ensure he got to try as many foods from other countries as possible.
He said Anwer always tried to pay him, but that he never accepted because it was like he was making a great friend out of the South Asian visitor. After the surgery was a complete success, Anwer was set to return to Pakistan. After returning to Pakistan, Anwer felt that since Harris and the rest of Birmingham had become such a positive part of his life, he wanted to invite them to his upcoming wedding.
He posted in the same Reddit group that all the members to the thread were invited, and they could bring anyone from the city. Days after his wedding he posted an update- “Hello home city and its people. I hope you’re all fine. Just a glimpse of one of my days though marriage is a multi day celebration here.” Once again he saw the southern hospitality as the group rained well-wishes on him and his fiancee.
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