Community outreach
This Week’s Good News!
Last week I posted an article that focused on the impact children can have on adult lives. This week’s article shines a spotlight on the doggies in our lives.
This Week’s Good News!
Children can have an extraordinary impact on adult behavior, as is seen in this recent article that really got me excited the other day. Enjoy!
This Week’s Good News!
It is difficult to have a well-rounded quality of life when one is hungry. Oftentimes, the senior citizens among us cannot get out to fill their cupboards and their tummies – they rely on those who can do that for them. What you’ll see in this article is how more than one need is met by our women and men in uniform.
This Week’s Good News!
What do Mr. & Mrs. Potato Heads, 4th-grade children, and a night janitor have in common? Read here to read this absolutely delightful story.
This Week’s Good News!
Heroes come in all shapes, sizes, and ages. Wait until you see how an Ohio 8 year old’s quick thinking put an end to an incident that certainly would have ended in tragedy.
This Week’s Good News!
We go about our day, rushing from one place to another, hoping beyond all hope traffic will accommodate that day’s To Do List. What about if you were an overworked delivery driver, knowing your workday’s ending would depend on you delivering every package in your truck or van, and you witness a person struggling on a very busy city street? You have to decide whether to turn a blind eye (surely someone else will intervene and offer help, perhaps someone far less busy than I) or take time out from your duties and be one person’s Good Samaritan for the day. This story illustrates what happened when a generous choice was made.
This Week’s Good News!
When on the receiving end of a generous act of kindness that saved a loved one’s life, not everyone is given the opportunity to pay it forward in a meaningful way. Oftentimes, such heroic acts fall into the category of a chance encounter so there would be no opportunity to reconnect with that lifesaver again, right? Fortunately, another chance encounter happened for Becca Bundy, the mother of the young girl who received optimal medical treatment by a first responder on the scene three years earlier. Who would have guessed this mother would be able to return a life-saving favor to that same, first responder, years later?
This Week’s Good News!
I’m a writer and a published author so when independent bookstores can thrive in this 21st century, Amazonian world, I enjoy celebrating with them. This local bookstore proves you can be small but still make a grand impression. I love this type of good news! And by the way, I recently published the 2nd edition of my novel, Requiem for the status quo, a book I wrote to honor my father’s Alzheimer’s journey. Yes, it’s available on Amazon, but it’s also available at the independent bookstore featured in this week’s edition of Good News!
Sustenance for the family caregiver
In a recent interview with Oprah Winfrey, New York Times columnist and author, David Brooks, eloquently responded to Oprah’s statement where she said, “I hear that authors write the books they need to read.” Mr. Brooks’ response:
We writers are beggars who tell other beggars where we found bread.
He further explained that statement by saying:
We found it here, we want to share it with you.
That is what the more than 200 AlzAuthors have in common. Each author may describe their quest or mission somewhat differently, but no doubt many of them would agree that the impetus to write about their personal experiences was a call to action they could not ignore.
As a member of the AlzAuthors community, I personally feel that the more mainstream the conversation surrounding the Alzheimer’s and dementia experience becomes, the more the AlzAuthors’ vision will be realized:
Our vision is to lift the silence and stigma of Alzheimer’s and other dementias.
May you find sustenance within the AlzAuthors community.
This Week’s Good News!
Like so many of us, Solen Aref may have forgotten some of what she learned through her younger school days, but she remembered something extraordinarily important that helped save a person’s life. Wait until you read Solen’s story.
This Week’s Good News!
Robert Smiley walked many miles in the shoes of those who are currently fighting homelessness and addiction. This story will warm your heart: once Robert turned his life around, he set out to help others still traveling on the path of addiction.
This Week’s Good News!
A New Jersey mom took her son to a skate park on his fifth birthday as recommended by her son’s behavior therapist who is treating the youngster’s autism and ADHD. You will perhaps be surprised by how her son was treated by some older boys who frequented this same skate park. Read all about it here.
A book for family caregivers
Although my novel, based on my own caregiving experiences for my father, focuses on the challenges faced by those caring for someone with Alzheimer’s disease or other dementia, it also benefits Every Caregiver – that universal person who finds her or himself as the primary individual caring for a loved one with a debilitating illness.
My prayer is that Requiem for the status quo helps everyone struggling to balance their own needs with that of their loved one.
This Week’s Good News!
This story from The Week really made my day when I read it. I hope you feel the same way!
Dan Laguardia went to a California dealership with plans to trade in his 2005 Toyota Scion and buy a new auto. Then he saw another customer walk out crying and asked a salesman what had happened. Laguardia, 49, discovered that Kayla Cooper – a struggling 22-year-old nursing student with two jobs – was upset because she couldn’t afford a down payment and didn’t know how she was going to get to work. Knowing he had to do something, Laguardia asked the salesman to call Cooper and then offered her his old Scion for free, no strings attached. The delighted Cooper called the gift “the biggest blessing of my life.”
A wealth of books about Alzheimer’s disease
AlzAuthors is a community of more than 200 extraordinary authors who have written about Alzheimer’s disease and other dementia. Today I am spotlighting those books written by the community’s supportive management team, of which I am a member. Please take time to visit the six books spotlighted below. I truly believe you will be glad you did. Let AlzAuthors light your way through Alzheimer’s and dementia.
Alzheimer’s Daughter – a memoir by Jean Lee. A poignant accounting of a family’s life after both parents were diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease on the same day.
Blue Hydrangeas – an Alzheimer’s love story by Marianne Sciucco. A touching account of a couple’s journey into Alzheimer’s and of the love that never succumbed to the disease.
Somebody Stole My Iron: A Family Memoir of Dementia by Vicki Tapia. This engaging memoir offers useful information from experts within the field of Alzheimer’s research, personal lessons the author learned along the way, and ideas and tips for managing the day-to-day ups and downs of dementia.
Weeds in Nana’s Garden by Kathryn Harrison. A heartfelt story of love that helps explain Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias geared toward the children in our lives.
Motherhood: Lost and Found – a memoir by Ann Campanella. A memoir of the ordinary and extraordinary courage of those who endure debilitating and even crushing illness, and those who suffer with them when they do so.
Requiem for the Status Quo by Irene Frances Olson. A novel that explores the delicate balance of families upended by Alzheimer’s disease and how they manage their loved one’s needs with their own.
This Week’s Good News!
This week’s story comes to us from the UK where a supermarket chain pulled out all the stops to keep a woman on staff, regardless of her limitations. It is not often that a person’s company feels like family, but that was definitely the case for Ms. Salomon’s working experience.
This Week’s Good News!
Who doesn’t like a little pampering now and then? A Stanwood, WA retirement community believes everyone should feel a sense of worth and pride when it comes to appearance, knowing that it’s not just how you look that is most important, it’s how you feel. I am quite certain you will love this story that celebrates the gift of volunteerism.
This Week’s Good News!
You know what they say about death and taxes, “Nothing is certain except death and taxes.” What isn’t certain is how the deceased will be honored at their funeral or memorial service. I recently experienced a very touching and affirming memorial for my sister-in-law that was certainly sad, but let me tell you, no one left that service without feeling even more love for an extraordinary person who left this earth, far too early.
This particular story out of Nebraska spotlights the person of honor at her memorial service, Margaret Hubl. Margaret was a quilter all her life and left a legacy reaching near and far. What the family and the community chose to do to honor her legacy will bring a huge smile to your face and make you feel good all over.
This Week’s Good News!
A subscription-only magazine, The Week, provides this week’s good news:
Bill Waldschmidt used to work on classic cars, but now he’s fixing a different mode of transportation. The retired Minnesota engineer contracted polio at age 4 and spent most of his childhood on crutches. He regained enough strength to walk as an adult, but 10 years ago, post-polio syndrome put him in a wheelchair.
With a new sense of purpose, he removed the vintage cars from his garage and began buying and refurbishing power wheelchairs, which he then gifts to people who can’t afford them. “He’s the kindest man on the planet,” said Don Johnson, a disabled Vietnam vet, and owner of Waldschmidt’s chairs.
Thank you, Bill, for contributing so much to so many!
This Week’s Good News!
You will absolutely fall in love with this story about a retiree who improves the lives of numerous children, every school day. He does so much for this school in Washington state that is located in an impoverished area just south of Seattle, he was assigned his very own parking space right at the front of the property. There are school volunteers, and then there’s Mr. Preyer, a man who has something to offer every single child at Tukwila Elementary School.
This Week’s Good News!
A recent post in the subscription-only web magazine, The Week, had the following story to share:
When Seth Marko discovered he needed emergency open-heart surgery, he wasn’t sure what would happen to the Book Catapult, his San Diego bookstore. Then Scott Ehrig-Burgess, manager of a rival bookstore nearby, stepped up.
He offered to run the Catapult while Marko, 43, was in the hospital, and recruited eight volunteers from other bookstores to help. For more than a week, Ehrig-Burgess faithfully opened and closed the Catapult and trained the volunteers while also working at his own shop.
“It’s pretty incredible,” said Marko.
Rival bookstores combine to be an extraordinary book-selling community!
This Week’s Good News!
The softer side of law-enforcement is front and center in this post. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. What a wonderful way to celebrate the start of the spring season!
This Week’s Good News!
We have all been on flights where, lo’ and behold, walking down the aisle to find their seats is a parent and her or his baby and if you’re like me, you silently prayed, “Please, please, please don’t let that baby be seated anywhere near me!” Okay, maybe you didn’t exactly say that prayer but I know you had those thoughts. Well, a mother boarded a plane for a 10-hour flight with her four-month-old baby and you just know there were passengers thinking about how their extended flight experience may turn out to be. Well, the mother had a contingency plan, which this article spells out. I was amazed by what she did!
This Week’s Good News!
The first Good News Story of March is something I personally witnessed. The greater Seattle area of Washington State experienced a Snowmageddon of sorts the beginning of February resulting in many places, including my neighborhood, receiving two feet or more of snow. One thing we’ve learned living in this neighborhood is that if even 1/4 of an inch of snow falls, our Waste Management service ceases, so much so that we just went three entire weeks without garbage and recycling service because the company’s policy is to protect their drivers from snow and ice incidents in their vehicles.
I get that, but those super heavy vehicles were no match for the rinky dinky mail carrier truck that made it to our mailbox every day of Snowmageddon, not missing a day of mail delivery service. I witnessed our mail carrier (a slightly older gentleman) climb over snow berms in front of neighborhood mailboxes and I also saw him park his truck at a cul-de-sac he couldn’t drive into, haul the mail for those mailboxes on that closed off street, and deliver each and every piece of mail to those residents.
Good News delivered by a dedicated postal carrier. Isn’t that grand?
This Week’s Good News!
Wow! Talk about making lemonade out of lemons! Joe Bahr suffered the loss of his brother, Marty, to Alzheimer’s disease. Joe and Marty made a deal before Marty passed on. Check out here what that deal entailed. What a legacy Marty left for the rest of us!
This Week’s Good News!
Last week’s good news focused on a child’s kind efforts towards vulnerable adults; this week’s news features how an adult in Lafayette, Indiana was able to lighten a young child’s bad day.
A young boy got home from school – it’s not clear whether anyone was at home with him at the time – but he had experienced a bad day at school so he called someone who could help: a 911 dispatcher. This brief article – and the even briefer audio of the call – clearly shows how a little kindness can make the difference in a person’s day. I’m glad the dispatcher chose to help, rather than reprimand, this boy who wasn’t in an emergency situation but needed support nonetheless. Enjoy.
This Week’s Good News!
Good news abounds in Harrison, Arkansas, and a 5th grader is the one who set this story in motion.
Ruby Kate Chitsey spends lots of time in nursing homes because her mother is a nurse practitioner and Ruby Kate loves to join her mother while she’s at work. Ruby noticed something at nursing homes that wasn’t getting the attention she felt it deserved. Wait until you read this brief story about how this young girl took charge of making life in nursing homes better for those who live within.
Weather got you down? Read a book!
Boy do I have a book for you. The paperback of Requiem for the status quo is discounted until the end of February. For only $13.95, you can add this book to your To Be Read (TBR) list!
If the Ebook is more to your liking, it is currently just $4.99 or free to Amazon Unlimited subscribers. It will always be available, but the paperback will not be, at least until later this year.
This Week’s Good News
The more I examine good news, the more I am convinced that it does not take extraordinary efforts to be the producer of such news.
Case in point: recently during a fallen officer procession in Birmingham, Alabama, an officer stood at attention in the pouring rain, drenched to the skin. Her dilemma did not go unnoticed. A perfect stranger rectified the situation showing respect for her, and respect for the fallen officer. You can read all about it right here.
This Week’s Good News
I am so thrilled to offer this local story in a town called Lake Stevens where both of my husband’s daughters live. We take for granted the comfort and warmth of our homes or apartments when some people’s reality is not having any way in which to heat their abodes. This featured family is chopping hundreds and hundreds of cords of wood and giving it away to anyone who needs it. Their good deeds have been featured nationally and in other countries. One of the family members was astounded at the reach of their simple act of kindness. “It’s amazing to see because a lot of people out there don’t believe that good exists, and we’re showing that it still does,” said Henry.
Good news travels fast, yes?
Living: the ultimate team sport 