In July 2016, just days after two brothers helped their mother and sister escape their abusive father, Lance Hart fatally shot his wife Claire and their 19-year-old daughter Charlotte outside a leisure center in Spalding, Lincolnshire, before turning the gun on himself. The brothers Luke and Ryan, then aged 26 and 25, were working abroad at the time and had finally raised enough money from their engineering jobs to rent a small house for their mother and younger sister.
After the tragedy, the brothers found themselves in the waiting room of the local police station in total shock. Lance Hart had always been a bully who maintained a rule of terror in his household. He monopolized the household finances, taking Claire’s wages and gambling them away. He used the scarcity of money to isolate his family, telling them they could not afford fuel to leave the house or for Claire to meet friends for coffee. Luke and Ryan said he forced them to obey arbitrary rules throughout their childhood. “We had to fill the kettle up to exactly the same level, and if it wasn’t he’d absolutely lose it and yell at us for days” they said.
The ensuing media frenzy compelled Luke and Ryan to dedicate their lives to bring awareness to this type of abuse and help others who face controlling relationships. Posters raising awareness of coercive control, which had become a criminal offense six months earlier, led the brothers to recognize that their father had always been abusive.
They have since collaborated with the charity Level Up, to create media guidelines for domestic violence that “give people’s lives the status they deserve”. They’ve shared their experience with more than 10,000 people in more than 130 speaking engagements. They say helping teachers, the police, social services and NHS staff to gain awareness of coercive control has been heartwarming.
The brothers also give talks to members of the public, and have written a book about their experience, titled Remembered Forever. “Straightforward education of the public can make a massive difference, because domestic abuse victims themselves sometimes don’t recognize what’s happening to them, Luke said “Many safeguarding professionals have told us that they didn’t understand coercive control before, but now they see the dynamics of it, and it’s helped them intervene in many cases that they probably would have passed over otherwise” Luke said.
He and Ryan receive scores of messages from people who want to escape an abusive partner. To address this challenge more effectively, the brothers are developing an e-learning course in collaboration with the US organization Safe and Together. It will launch later this year. “It’s essentially a tool to help victims articulate what they’re going through, so that domestic abuse services can give them the support they need,” Luke says. Above all, the Hart brothers want to create a legacy for their mother and sister, who were devoted to helping others.
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David Rush started breaking Guinness World Records in 2015 before challenging himself to an amazing one-year feat. Rush is in a hurry to set more Guinness World Records, all in the name of promoting STEM education to students. The man who holds 200 Guinness records set out on a mission to set 52 records in 52 weeks last year, and now all that’s left for a handful of them is to be verified by Guinness World Records.
The father of two boys from Idaho has been turning the Guinness World Records into his autobiography for the past seven years as a way to promote STEM education. He has an electrical engineering degree from MIT and works as a senior product manager at Cradlepoint, a technology company in Idaho. He recalled being rejected from a gifted and talented program as a young student, but persevering to get accepted to MIT by pursuing a STEM education.
Rush said “A student will struggle with math or fail a science test and say, ‘I can never become an engineer, it’s too hard, they have this fixed mindset. I wanted to give students this tangible example that if you set your mind to a goal, believe in yourself and pursue it with a passion, you can accomplish virtually anything and that’s when I started breaking records as that tangible example.”
Despite working a full time job and raising two children with his wife Jennifer, who is also an engineer, he has found time to break one Guinness World Record after another. Rush said the hardest of them all was achieving the fastest 100-meter run while juggling blindfolded. The easiest was popping 10 balloons between two people in 15.25 seconds.
Rush has a total of 49 world records recognized by the Guinness World Record with four other records still pending to be verified. “You can develop any skill, talent or ability. You can become better at math, you can become better at science, you can become a better friend, a better conversationalist, or better at breaking Guinness World Records, which is just the example I’m using to make it real for students” Rush said
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A college football player and NFL prospect’s touching act of kindness to a homeless pregnant woman has gone viral. Malik Willis, 22, a senior at Liberty University and a quarterback for the Liberty Flames, was in Indianapolis, Indiana for the 2022 NFL scouting combine when his deed was caught on video by a passerby.
Willis had just left a Nike event where the sportswear brand gifted him a suitcase full of new clothes when he saw a homeless woman and her son sitting on the sidewalk. He stopped and gave her some new shirts — completely unaware that an admirer was capturing the moment on camera from across the street.
The video was shared on Twitter by user Ryan Lacey, who recorded it while Willis’ kind act was already in progress. Willis was spotted on the sidewalk of Indianapolis talking to a person who was sitting on a milk crate and asking passers by for money. The Liberty QB opened his suitcase to hand over clothes to help. The video quickly went viral, and in just a day, it had been viewed over 3.1 million times on Twitter and shared with many commenters praising him for being a good person even when no one is looking.
Willis quickly became the darling of the 2022 NFL scouting combine and was asked about the act later that day on an NFL Network broadcast. ‘I walked past her on the way to the Nike suite and I chopped it up with them and I walked out with a suitcase and whatnot and I felt bad because I saw her son. It was a pregnant lady and she was homeless. And I was just like, “Shoot, I don’t have money, but I can give you a couple of shirts. I just felt like I had to do that. I mean, I’m at a position right now where I’m not worried about much of anything except getting better. So, if I can help her out in any way, I felt like I had to” Willis said.
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A London hairstylist, Joshua Coombes, decided to do a good deed one day in 2015 and sparked a movement across the world. Coombes stopped to speak to a homeless man nearby and ended up giving him a free haircut while they chatted. He decided to keep giving free haircuts and post about it on social media. His social media posts about the people he met began to reach a large audience and the movement that would eventually become #DoSomethingForNothing was born.
Coombes has been telling the stories of homeless people, via offering them haircuts, ever since.
“I started by writing the captions for my photos on Instagram. I was posting before and after photos of the people I met, and the words became important,” he explained. As his posts began to reach more people, Coombes was approached to write the book.
His work caught the attention of Hollywood actor and director Morgan Freeman. National Geographic’s 2017 six-part documentary series The Story of Us, which was presented by Freeman, featured Coombes. In an episode called Love, filmed in south London, Freeman unpicks how love runs through what Coombes does. “Small acts of love can make a big impact,” notes Freeman in the film.
Coombes’ recently published book, Do Something for Nothing, shares tales that cover loss, addiction and abandonment, but also hope, resilience and tenacity. He is now a firm believer in storytelling as a means of creating change. His photos and captions help delve beneath the surface of homelessness, whether by unpicking the reasons why people have ended up in that situation, or simply by telling small details about them.
Coombes has now traveled the world, spreading a message of kindness and inspiring people to use their gifts to help others. The movement encourages people to connect their skills and time to those who need them. Stylists and barbers across the world were inspired to give free haircuts in their community with the goal of using their gift to share a message of kindness. Across the world, people of all skill sets have joined in with Do Something For Nothing as a way to express their humanity; yoga instructors volunteering in rehabilitation centers, students spending time to have lunch with senior citizens, veterinarians offering free veterinary care to the pets of homeless people-even a physiotherapist now offering free back pain consultations.
The Do Something For Nothing movement’s message is simple- If everyone, in every city, did one thing for nothing, we could change the world. This isn’t about raising awareness, it’s about raising compassion. Some issues in this world require donations and financial aid, but others are greatly improved by our sharing time.
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HOPE Chicago has committed to raising $1 billion in support and funding over the next decade for scholarships for students at five Chicago Public Schools. The unprecedented scholarship program in Chicago will award 4,000 students across five high schools — and their parents — college scholarships at about 20 Illinois state universities and city colleges.
The multi-generation scholarship program is being launched by Hope Chicago, the nonprofit led by former Chicago Public Schools CEO Dr. Janice Jackson. They have raised $40 million already with funding partners that include several corporations, financial institutions, and private family foundations. 4,000 students at Benito Juarez, Al Raby, Morgan Park, Noble-Johnson College Prep, and Farragut Career Academy will get their post secondary education fully funded.
The scholarship will go toward tuition, room and board, books, and fees — making it easier to pursue a higher education without the financial burden often associated with a college degree. Unlike free scholarship programs, there’s no minimum GPA requirement to qualify.
“As a life-long educator, I understand the barriers that college students face as they enter the higher education system. Many of those — financial, social, psychological and emotional — have been further exaggerated by the COVID-19 pandemic hindering student success. By working with community, civic, and business leaders, this is an opportunity to redefine the education landscape in our city,” Jackson said. Jackson made the life changing announcement inside the auditorium at Benito Juarez Community Academy and students erupted into applause, some of them cried as they embraced each other.
National data recently emerged showing plummeting numbers of students enrolling in college amid the pandemic. Despite the pandemic’s disruption, Chicago Public Schools saw an increase in students graduating compared to the previous year. And while more of the district’s students are enrolling in college, there have been dips in college persistence as students don’t stay enrolled.
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Last year, “Humans of Bombay” shared a story about an auto rickshaw driver who sold his house to pay for granddaughter’s education. In his interview with Humans of Bombay (HOB), Desraj Ji, 74, revealed that after losing both of his sons, it was the responsibility of providing for his grandchildren and daughters-in-law that gave him the strength to keep going.
Six years ago, his oldest son left for work as usual but never returned. His body was found a week later. Two years later, he lost his other son to suicide. When his granddaughter asked if she would have to quit school, Desraj assured her that she would be able to continue her education. He started working longer hours, leaving home at 6 a.m., driving his auto rickshaw until midnight.
But when his granddaughter said that she wanted to travel to Delhi for a B.Ed course, Desraj knew he wouldn’t be able to afford it on his current income. “But I had to fulfill her dreams… at any cost. So, I sold our house and paid her fee,” he said. His wife, daughter-in-law and grandkids stayed with a relative in their village while Desraj stayed in Mumbai to work and slept in his car.
It was a sacrifice he was happy to make for his granddaughter’s future. “I can’t wait for her to become a teacher, so that I can hug her and say, ‘You’ve made me so proud.’ She’s going to be the first graduate in our family,” he said. The story of Mr Desraj’s selfless deed touched thousands of hearts after it was shared online. Offers of help poured in and his story was also posted on Twitter by the Congress’s Archana Dalmia with an appeal to Mumbai residents to help the auto driver.
A Facebook user named Gunjan Ratti started a fundraiser for Mr Desraj, which exceeded its goal, raising a total of 24 Lahk ($32,000 USD) for him. Thanks to the love and support of internet strangers, the grieving elderly father has a roof over his head and can pay for his granddaughter’s education. The Humans of Bombay page shared a video of Mr Desraj receiving his cheque and thanking his supporters for the love they showered on him.
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Rihanna’s Clara Lionel Foundation (CLF) and former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey joined forces to donate a combined $15 million to 18 different climate justice groups in the U.S. and Caribbean. The recipients of the grants are 18 grassroots organizations within the US and Caribbean that are centered and led by minoritized communities.
Some of the organizations include the Solutions Project, which supports grassroots-level solutions, the Indigenous Environmental Network, which supports Indigenous tribes and communities in protecting sacred sites and natural resources, and the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice, which focuses on tracking and improving environmental threats at the neighborhood level.
Rihanna founded CLF to “support and fund groundbreaking education and climate resilience initiatives” in 2012. One of its first initiatives, which launched a year after the foundation began, raised $60 million for women and children affected by HIV/AIDS through sales from the singer’s lipstick line with MAC Cosmetics. In 2020, it raised $36 million for organizations on the frontlines of the Covid-19 pandemic and another $11 million for programs trying to reform the police and criminal justice systems.
Dorsey started #StartSmall LLC in April 2020 to “fund global Covid-19 relief” and “girl’s health and education, and universal basic income.” He funded the initiative with $1 billion in shares from his fintech company Block, formerly known as Square, which he founded in 2009. At the time, that amount accounted for 28% of the tech giant’s net worth. His initiative has donated over $448 million to more than 250 organizations, including NYU’s Cash Transfer Lab, Water.org and the Malala Fund.
This isn’t the unlikely pair’s first collaboration. Since the beginning of the pandemic, #StartSmall and CLF have donated roughly $57 million to similar causes, as well as natural disaster preparedness resources, rental assistance for low-income families and services for domestic violence victims and survivors. The two entrepreneurs have found common ground in philanthropy, using their wealth to support people left vulnerable by climate change. Their most recent charitable act is in part a response to the devastating hurricanes that have ravaged the home region of the Caribbean in recent years.
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Mark Cuban has officially launched his newest venture—the online pharmacy Cost Plus Drugs. The new online pharmacy backed by the Dallas Mavericks owner promises to make prescriptions more affordable. Cuban says Cost Plus Drugs will buy more than 100 medications directly from their manufacturers and then sell them at lower prices, cutting out the middleman.
Many of these are commonly prescribed generic medicines with prices just a few dollars lower than at the local pharmacy. But a handful are offered at savings of hundreds to thousands of dollars. Notable medications that epitomize the pharmacy’s savings include Imatinib, a life saving leukemia treatment that has a retail price of $9,657 per month but with MCCPDC costs $47 per month; Mesalamine, an ulcerative colitis treatment that retails at $940 per month costs $32.40 per month with MCCPDC; the gout treatment Colchicine retails at $182 month, the lowest price with a common voucher is $32 per month, and with MCCPDC it costs $8.70 per month.
As a registered pharmaceutical wholesaler, MCCPDC can bypass inflated markups. The pharmacy’s prices reflect actual manufacturer prices plus a flat 15% margin and pharmacist fee. Cost Plus Drugs does not accept insurance and asks customers to pay out of pocket. According to a September 2021 poll, 18 million Americans were recently unable to pay for at least one prescription medication for their household due to ever-rising costs. The pharmacy’s launch represents the first milestone in bringing affordable medications to millions.
Cuban’s involvement began when Texas radiologist Dr. Alex Oshymansky, who started a public benefit company to provide cheap pharmaceutical drugs, pitched the idea to Cuban while seeking more funding. The idea had already attracted $1 million in funding and Cuban said he was intrigued but encouraged Oshymansky to think bigger. Cuban said “Oshmyansky didn’t sell me. I sold him on doing more and thinking bigger.” Over the course of months, the two hammered out details of the venture.
Alex Oshmyansky, CEO of Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug said “We will do whatever it takes to get affordable pharmaceuticals to patients. The markup on potentially lifesaving drugs that people depend on is a problem that can’t be ignored. It is imperative that we take action and help expand access to these medications for those who need them most.”
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The #BettyWhiteChallenge, launched to honor the passing of the beloved comedic actress, has raised $12.7 million dollars for animal shelters. White died on New Year’s Eve, just weeks before her centennial celebration of January 17th—but because she is so beloved, the campaign took flight to raise millions for animals. Actors & Others For Animals, the charity for which she served on the Board of Directors, launched the campaign asking for donations of $100 for Betty’s 100th birthday.
JoAnne Worley and Loretta Swit were among the celebrities who began a campaign on social media called the #BettyWhiteChallenge in honor of Betty White’s 100th birthday. Almost 400,000 people used Facebook and Instagram to donate to the challenge, raising an incredible $12.7 million dollars for animal shelters and rescuers all over the country—with 100% of the pledges going directly to the organizations. Dozens of other groups also benefited, as the public began sending in money to local shelters in White’s name. Two Philadelphia shelters brought in $100,000; a Los Angeles zoo charity got $70,000; an Arkansas shelter was flooded with over $12,000; and Dubuque, Iowa shelters received $13,000.
Betty White was best known for her roles on “The Golden Girls,” “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and “Hot in Cleveland” but she was a self proclaimed “zoo nut,” spending her life advocating for animal welfare. “My preoccupation with animals is an open secret,” she wrote in her 2011 book “Betty & Friends: My Life at the Zoo.” White’s highest-profile work as an animal advocate was through her longtime relationship with the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association. She was also a trustee of Morris Animal Foundation from 1971-2013. In 2010, she provided the donation that established the Betty White Wildlife Fund in response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and sponsored over 30 animal health studies on behalf of the organization.
Betty had prepared a video to share on her 100th birthday which was recorded just days before her death. Her team posted the video on her Instagram page as a farewell greeting for her fans.
“I just want to thank you all for your love and support over the YEARS. Thank you so much, and stick around!” Her team added an update from the #BettyWhiteChallenge to the posted video.
“Good morning! As we continue to see number coming in from all over the world — it’s just absolutely amazing how much money all of you raised for the animals through #thebettywhitechallenge. She could never have imagined such an outpouring of love and would have been so grateful to everyone. When we recorded her special message to fans who attended the movie, we also recorded one that we had planned to put on social media on her birthday. She was using the occasion of her 100th birthday to celebrate YOU – her fans. She knew how lucky she was; she felt the love, and she never took it for granted. I think it’s appropriate to post today as a thank you from Betty and the animals.
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Ingka Group, the owners of the IKEA furniture chain, just bought 3,264 acres of forest in Florida that had been destroyed by a hurricane in order to restore it with longleaf pine. The land near Florida’s Apalachicola River was damaged by Hurricane Michael. According to the Florida Forest Service via the National Weather Service, Michael’s heavy winds damaged approximately 3 million acres of forested land in Florida worth $1.2 billion dollars.
The land is named Tupelo Honey, and Ingka has plans to treat the new purchase as an afforestation project. The company’s commitment to carbon neutrality has gradually accumulated more than 600,000 forested acres in the U.S., Europe, and New Zealand to offset the CO2 released during its entire value chain.
In a statement, Ingka Group said “The new forests will support increased biodiversity, help ensure sustainable timber production from responsibly managed forests, and recover land damaged by Hurricane Michael in October 2018. The afforestation business… is a long-term investment that consolidates our business while also positively impacting the climate through the absorption of CO2 during the forests’ growth.”
Ingka Group’s goal, set out in 2020, is to eliminate their carbon footprint. Today more than 98% of the wood used for IKEA products is either FSC-certified or recycled. If the retail giant can keep the forests healthy and alive, in 40 years they will pull carbon out of the air equal to a certain percentage of the carbon placed into the atmosphere by IKEA’s operations, while providing valuable habitat to vulnerable species like the red-cockaded woodpecker, gopher tortoise, pine snakes, and dusky gopher frogs.
In 2021, IKEA bought 11,000 acres in Georgia that had been damaged by Hurricane Michael to stop it from being clear-cut and developed. In that instance Ingka teamed up with The Conservation Fund to create working forests that are harvested and regenerated sustainably to save the cost of managing them, while also being placed along important biodiversity corridors, or to stop habitat fragmentation.
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