Good News Thread

[MaxJoker]

Earlier this month, New Jersey became the first American state to ban the use of any wild animals from being used in circus performances. Just a week later, Hawaiians passed a similar piece of legislation, making them the second.

While there is already legislation in 145 US localities that offer certain limitations and restrictions on animal performances, New Jersey and Hawaii’s trail-blazing measures ban the use of any wild animal species, including elephants, tigers, lions, bears, and primates, in circuses and traveling shows.

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed “Nosey’s Law” into effect in mid-December after it was unanimously approved by the Senate in June.

Hawaii Governor David Ige approved his state’s groundbreaking piece of reform after he signed a proposal to amend Chapter 4-71, Hawaii Administrative Rules, entitled “Plant and Non-Domestic Animal Quarantine Non-Domestic Animal Import Rules.”

The proposal was previously approved in September by the Executive Board of the Hawaii Board of Agriculture with a vote of 6 to 3 in response to a legal petition that was filed by the Humane Society of the United States in 2014.

“These reforms in Hawaii and New Jersey have been a long time coming,” said Kitty Block, acting president and CEO of the Humane Society. “Thank you to Hawaii Governor Ige and New Jersey Governor Murphy for ending the year with these sweeping measures.”

[MaxJoker]

For the last 21 years, Jeffrey Knight has made something of a name for himself in the city center of Bristol.

The Jamaican-born man is known for handing out copies of Big Issue, an independent magazine that is sold on the streets by homeless, marginalized and disadvantaged people.

Despite being homeless, however, he is one of the happiest people on the city’s streets, giving fist-bumps, compliments and hugs to passers-by.

Knight first moved to Bristol from Jamaica in 1998 after he lost a number of his closest friends during a period of prolonged violence in the country. Speaking last year, as he celebrated 20 years in the English city, he said: “I love it here. I love to be around people and I feel free like a bird in the trees when I’m doing it.


“Making other people happy makes me happy, that’s why I’ve been doing this for so long and why I couldn’t imagine doing anything else,” he added. “If someone hasn’t seen me for a few days they’ll say ‘Jeff, we were worried about you, where have you been!?’ and it makes me feel special knowing they’re looking out for me.”

In fact, the street seller is so beloved by the locals, over 500 people recently chipped in to help buy Knight his own van.

Local resident Deasy Bamford launched a crowdfunding page for the van after she was cycling home one night and saw Knight sleeping on the sidewalk.


“I guess I’d never thought about his living situation before and I thought there’s no way that he should be sleeping on the streets,” said Bamford. “So I set up the page and thought it might raise about £2,000 at most. But when I returned from Gambia after Christmas it had raised over £5,000, which was amazing to see.”



The campaign ended up raising over £7,000 ($8,900) in just two months – which was more than enough to buy Knight a plush VW van. A local camper van dealer even sold the vehicle at a discounted rate upon hearing about Knight’s story.


The rest of the donated funds will be used to finance the taxes, insurance, and inspections on the van during the coming years.

Knight, who was handed the keys to his van on Saturday, offered an emotional thank-you to the people of Bristol for their compassion.



“I want to say thank you to everyone and I mean it from the bottom of my heart,” said Knight. “I love you, Bristol. Thank you for being there for me in the good times and bad times. I’ve been here so long I know the lovely faces of everyone who walks past me and they know me.

“Money is important, but this is more than money – this is love, and there isn’t anything more important than that.”

Jeff spent his first night in his van, on Saturday, watching television – mainly the History Channel – and he says he is looking forward to watching more at the end of his shifts.

“It just makes me feel good having somewhere warm to go at the end of the day,” he said. “Now every morning I get up and say ‘Yes! I’m indoors and I’m safe’. Sometimes when you’re sleeping rough, people aren’t very nice when they walk past.


“A few months back, someone threw some booze on my sleeping bag at night … but now I’m in the van, nobody can do that to me.”

Bamford celebrated the crowdfunding success by simply saying:
“The whole thing just shows that people want good things to happen to others and they want to come together to make a difference, despite the tough times we live in.
“It’s been a real honor to part of this Bristol buzz and it’s so nice to see Jeff in his van, he absolutely loves it.”

[MaxJoker]

This 26-year-old engineer could not bear to see his country’s rivers and lakes plagued by drought and pollution – so he decided to do something about it.



Ramveer Tanwar had just been finishing up with his final year of university in 2013 when he became concerned over the state of his home village in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh. The region had experienced 13 droughts in just 15 years, and the local communities were suffering as a result.

Even though many of the older villagers were oblivious to the seriousness of the situation, Tanwar felt compelled to take action and galvanized his younger peers to make a change.

“I had been talking to the kids in the village back then and even they felt that they had to do something about the dying water resources,” Tanwar told NDTV. “When they tried talking to their parents, the adults refused to believe that there could be any such thing as ‘lack of water.’”

Tanwar began traveling from house to house in order to teach the residents about the critical condition of local water supplies. He recruited his fellow students to gather villagers together for weekly classes so they could discuss how to resuscitate their lakes and rivers.



As Tanwar’s teachings began to inspire more and more people, they collectively started hauling all of the trash out of their water supplies and planting tree saplings around the water’s perimeter in order to protect the shoreline – and the trees are apparently still flourishing today.




In order to prevent any more trash from ending up in the water, Tanwar and his crew installed double water filtration systems made of wood and grass. He also urged local fish farmers to bring in aquatic bottom feeders so they could eat up the smaller bits of particle waste and keep the water clean.

Since Tanwar began his “Jal Chaupal” clean-up efforts in India five years ago, he has helped to revive 10 lakes across the region, and his initiative has sparked conservation efforts in over 50 villages.

Inspired by his success, the government of Uttar Pradesh launched separate “Groundwater Army” conservation groups in each district of the state – and they hired Tanwar as the program’s coordinator.



Since the government doesn’t have much funding, Tanwar admits that he is often forced to pay out of pocket for various expenses and supplies for the program.

He is also works 6 days a week from dusk till nighttime—but he says that he doesn’t mind the long hours or meager salary; he is simply excited to continue his conservation efforts so he can protect India’s water.

Kind of a confusing pisser the Indian government claims not to have sufficient funds. Considering this country alone has given them tens of billions during the last few decades. Also the buggers appear to have money enough to fund a bleeding space program

Still that aside fail play and top marks to Ramveer Tanwar

[MaxJoker]

Thousands of people have come together in order to support a 20-year-old woman who has been supporting her five younger siblings since their parents died.

Samantha Rodriguez is the oldest of her brothers and sisters, ranging in age from 5 to 17. Since both of their parents died from cancer within the last five years, she has taken charge of their family.

The Rodriguez kids moved to Orange County, Florida in order to live with their grandmother, and though it has been tough taking care of her siblings, Sam said that she was not about to let them be sent into the foster care system.

“I knew what I had to do,” Sam told CNN. “I learned so much from my mom. I was like her sidekick. I learned what it meant to raise a family.”

Upon hearing about the Rodriguez family’s circumstances in December, however, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department felt compelled to give the kids a break from their hardships.

The officers orchestrated a surprise Christmas party for the youngsters at the police station. When the kids walked through the doors of the facility, they were shocked to see dozens of gift-wrapped presents waiting for them under a Christmas tree.

The police department posted a video of their heartwarming surprise to social media, and their inbox quickly became flooded with messages from readers who wanted to help the family – and the police lieutenant remembered that the Rodriguez kids had arrived in an Uber because they didn’t have a car.

Four months later, Samantha was invited back to the police station for a “meeting” with the officers she had met at Christmastime. The officers then told her that a group of anonymous donors had contacted the station in order to help Sam and her family – and they had rallied together in order to get Sam a brand new car.

Needless to say, Sam was stunned. The lieutenant even escorted her to the dealership to help her pick up the car and get it insured.

“It really didn’t sink in until a couple of days after,” she told CNN. “Everything I plan now for the kids is so much easier. I don’t have to call for a ride.

“I’m very grateful for it,” she added. All these people reminded me that I’m not alone.”

The kindness hasn’t stopped there, either. Since Sam’s story has been shared across social media throughout the week, a GoFundMe page for the Rodriguez family has already raised over $11,000 in one day.

[MaxJoker]

Me , as didn't kill anyone



Mind you I didn't see anyone , today

[Randy_Mann]

I was waylaid for a while. Still I must admit I have sadly neglected this thread.
Thanks to MaxJoker for breathing some life into it during my absence. So,
here we go again...

Missouri teen pushes wheelchair-bound man to safety during storm

"While other drivers honked and yelled at Beck as he tried to cross the street
and make it up the hill, 16-year-old Seth Phillips and his mother, Amber
Gilleylen, stopped their car so Seth could push him the rest of the way home."




https://www.channel3000.com/news/nat...orm/1080900354

[Randy_Mann]

Imagine your child having a disorder that impacts his motor skills, such as walking. And imagine not knowing if your insurance would cover a basic item he needs to help him walk.




https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/good-...ge=AABWKtf_1|1

[MaxJoker]

Two teenage girls are responsible for providing clean water to thousands of people simply by pursuing their love of origami.



Isabelle and Katherine Adams are the masterminds behind Paper for Water a nonprofit dedicated to funding clean water projects around the world by making and selling their paper creations.
The 15- and 12-year-old girls were first inspired to begin their labor of love in 2012 after they learned about how many young women in developing countries are unable to get an education because they are forced to collect clean water every day.
Though origami ornaments may seem like a small way to fight such a worldwide problem, the teen sisters have managed to raise over $1.5 million in water project funding since they launched their nonprofit seven years ago.
Collectively, the money has helped to fund 170 water projects in 17 countries.
As a means of preparing enough origami ornaments to raise money for the initiative, the siblings regularly host origami workshops and paper-folding events around Dallas, Texas.

[Randy_Mann]

Watch the Moment a Sloth Thanks Its Rescuer for Saving It From Oncoming Traffic

I really liked this one.
Was it a wave? The sloth turns its head around to see its rescuer who is waving at the sloth.
I believe it was a "sloth" wave. What do you think?
Click the link below then scroll down for the video.
It's worth a smile.

https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/watc...rce=30-05-2019

[Randy_Mann]

I don't believe there is any better news than true love. This item fits the bill.

Husband Plants Field of Flowers for Blind Wife to Smell, So Spectacular it Gets Visitors





https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/husb...wife-to-smell/