Abandoned at Birth, Freddie Figgers is Now a Tech Millionaire

 

Not only was Freddie Figgers abandoned at birth, but he was also mocked for it in school. “Kids used to bully me and call me, ‘Dumpster baby,’ ‘Trash can boy,’” Figgers told BBC News. “I remember getting off the school bus sometimes and kids used to just come behind and grab me and throw me in a trash can and laugh at me.”

Figgers had, in fact, been left by a dumpster when he was just days old. He was discovered by Nathan and Betty Mae Figgers, a couple in their 50s who had fostered many children and whose own kids were just about ready to move out. Nathan and Betty Mae decided that Freddie deserved a permanent home, and decided to adopt him.

They were loving parents. And Nathan, in particular, was keen to encourage Freddie’s interest in electronics. So while the family couldn’t afford a new computer, Nathan managed to secure an old – and, it turned out, non-functioning – Macintosh Classic from Goodwill.

 

 

Freddie was just 8 at the time. But he took the Mac apart, swapped out some broken capacitors, and managed to get the computer working again. Granted, it took about fifty tries to get it working. But Figgers says he still remembers the moment that the Mac sprung to life. “That computer took away all of the pain of getting bullied.”

It also led to his first part-time job. In Quincy (the small, north Florida city where Freddie grew up), the mayor was also the director of the after-school program. And it wasn’t long before she noticed Freddie’s knack for tinkering with – and successfully fixing – the school’s computers. She invited Freddie to city hall, and eventually arranged for him to spend a couple of hours each week fixing the city’s computers.

He was more than just tech support. At 15, he learned that the city was in touch with a software company; they wanted a program built that would monitor the city’s water pressure gauges. Freddie went to the city manager. “I said, ‘Sir, listen, if you give me an opportunity, I could build the same program.’ So he gave me that opportunity and I built that program exactly to the specifications that they needed.”

He saved the city hundreds of thousands of dollars. But more importantly, the project jump-started his desire to innovate. When his father began wandering off at night (a symptom of his Alzheimer’s), Figgers developed a GPS tracker/two-way radio that fits into the sole of his father’s shoe. Years later he designed a smart glucometer, one that can transmit a user’s blood sugar readings and alert close relatives to crashes and spikes.

Now, Figgers is the CEO of Figgers Communication, the only Black-owned telecom company in the country. He is a self-made millionaire. But he is also determined to give back to the community; to give others the chance that his mother and father gave him. That includes running a foundation that invests in education and healthcare initiatives, like providing bikes to children in foster care.

“Knowing my father, he wasn’t a rich man at all,” explains Figgers, “but he [made an impact on] so many people’s lives and I want to just do right by everyone I meet and help everyone I can.”

How Meditation Transformed Shawn Mendes’ Relationship and Built Self-Love and Gratitude

 

In 2019, after Canadian singer Shawn Mendes finally had some time for himself, he found himself going through a rough time with his mental health. His girlfriend Camila Cabello recommended he download the Calm app, to help him through this tough time, especially with his anxiety.

Mendes told Vogue he sat down a couple of times before using the app and tried meditation on YouTube. But it wasn’t until about two and a half years ago, when he went through a “really tough time,” that he began meditating regularly. After he took 30 days of guided meditations with one of the most popular instructors off the Calm app, Jeff Warren, he was hooked. “It took me from a place of fear and anxiety to a place where I realized you can’t get anywhere if you don’t start with compassion for yourself.”

Now, both he and his girlfriend Cabello have released a series for Calm. It’s titled “Breathe Into It,” and it dives into their experiences in building a sense of self-love and gratitude, as well as overcoming anxiety. The two have also announced a multi-year partnership providing thousands of free memberships to youth activists and leaders through the Movement Voter Fund and the Shawn Mendes Foundation.

“People are willing to try something when it’s made accessible to them, so I’m hoping that we can just keep pushing this project forward and keep giving away more memberships. It’s just being able to kickstart a couple of people’s journeys into self-healing and wellness.”

 

Mendes told Vogue during an interview that he was drawn to Calm as a platform because he believes this app was created for everyone. “People who have just started meditating, people who haven’t meditated in a while, people who have meditated for a long time. You can go there and find the right teacher for you, as there are many different styles. It’s a very personal thing,” he said.

Mendes believes that being introduced to meditation and mindfulness has significantly helped both his and Cabello’s relationship last. “It allows me to be aware of when I’m not listening, for example, or I’m just replying to [Camila] out of wanting to be right in a conversation. It allows me to check myself and allows her to check me and be like, ‘Hey, you know, this is how you’re treating me right now,’” Mendes said.

“I think that in so many ways, mindfulness and meditation have really helped our relationship to stay in a place of honesty and love and never get too out of control. We’re not perfect, and we have our arguments like any relationship, but it never spins deeper than that, because we’re aware enough to know when our ego is getting involved,” Mendes expressed.

A Toddler with a Genius IQ is the Youngest American to Become Member of Mensa

 

A toddler from California has recently become America’s youngest Mensa member. Kanshe Quest has an IQ of 146, and at only 2 years old, can recognize all 50 of the U.S. states just by looking at the shape and location, as well as name every element on the periodic table just by glancing at the symbols.

The advanced language skills she displays are far beyond the majority of her peers.

Her parents Devin and Sukhjit Quest believed they saw early signs of her daughter being Mensa material, and at 18 months, her pediatrician confirmed their suspicions after doing a checkup. They also decided to have her IQ tested by a psychologist, in order to be able to provide the most productive learning environment for her.

The word “Mensa” means “table” in Latin, according to Mensa International. This organization is open to people who have attained scores within the upper two percent of the general population on an approved intelligence test. It aims to create a society that is non-political and free from all racial or original distinctions.

“She has always shown us, more than anything, the propensity to explore her surroundings and to ask the question ‘Why?’” Devin told CNN. “If she doesn’t know something, she wants to know what it is and how it functions and once she learns it, she applies it.”

 

 

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Devin and Sukhjit told CNN that parenting a genius child has been a real learning experience for them as well. They’ve become more mindful of making the best language choices when speaking with their daughter, and believe their own communication skills have greatly improved as a result.

To continue encouraging Kashe’s progress, The Quests recently opened the Modern Schoolhouse preschool at home, letting Kashe interact with kids in her own age group. The preschool opened in October, with 12 children enrolled in its inaugural class.

“She’s still two at heart, and needs to be with children her age, and not have that pressure put on her to be older than she needs to be or act older than she needs to be,” her mother said.

Even though they want to encourage Kashe to continue learning, they want to make sure all the skills she develops are at her own pace.

7-Year-Old Boy Rescues His Dad and Little Sister

 

A brave young boy saved his father and 4-year-old sister from a boat situation that could have led to a terrible disaster. During the Memorial Day weekend, Chase Poust, 7, his father Steven Poust, and his little sister Abigail went for a boating excursion on Florida’s St. Johns River near Mandarin Point.

As Poust was fishing on deck, his two kids were swimming at the stern of the anchored boat, until a strong current began to sweep Abigail away from the boat. Chase noticed his sister’s grip loosening so he let go of the boat to grab her. Their father immediately jumped into the water and instructed Chase to swim to shore for help.

“I tried to stick with both of them. I wore myself out. She drifted away from me,” Poust told News-4 JAX. At the realization of not being able to keep up with both his kids, he directed Chase to get help, while keeping as close as he could to Abigail. But the life-vest made it harder to reach her: it kept her afloat, but the waves pushed her away from him.

It took Chase an hour to reach the shore. He said he would doggie paddle, then float on his back to make sure he wouldn’t tire himself out. He told JAX, “The current was going the opposite way of going to the boat and shore so it was very hard to swim that way.”

Once Chase arrived on land, he ran to the nearest house and called for help. Members of the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department, Sheriff’s Office, and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission were then dispatched to search for the boy’s father and sister.

“I screamed for help at the top of my lungs and waved my arms and made sure enough someone heard us,” Poust said. “Little man also made it to shore and got help and that’s what saved our lives.”

He says he couldn’t be prouder and more grateful for his son.

Watch the story of the little boy rescuing his family below.

 

The First Female Robotics Team in Afghanistan Have Built Ventilators from Car Parts to Help COVID Patients

 

A female Robotics team in Afghanistan is being awarded for their invention in an international US competition. The group of teenage girls is named the ‘Afghan Dreamers.’ They’ve built a low-cost, lightweight ventilator using old car parts to help COVID patients in Afghanistan.

“Our machines are built out of a combination of a Toyota Corolla motor, chains from motorcycles as well as separate pressure, heat, and humidity sensors,” said Somaya Faruqui, 17, the Robotics team’s captain.

Although the devices can’t replace medical ventilators, they should bring temporary relief to COVID-19 patients. The five teenagers, aged between 14 and 17, worked on the project for two months straight to complete their prototype — all while wearing masks and gloves.

They’re aiming to finish the device by the middle of June and sell them for 50 times cheaper than a medical ventilator. The hope is that they can be a stopgap for one of Afghanistan’s hospitals in Herat.

 

Members of the Afghan Dreamers: Elham Mansori, Florence Poya, Nahida Khajazadeh and Somaya Farooqi are building a mechanized version of a medical ventilator. Photo Credit: The Digital Citizen Fund

 

Right now, Afghanistan has a maximum of just 400 ventilators for a population of 38.9 million.

“We’ve seen a lot of encouragement from people, but our biggest drive is the current situation: Afghanistan is in crisis and we want to do what we can to help,” Faruqi told Thomson Reuters Foundation.

The initiative has been welcomed by the Afghan government, and the health ministry says that while the devices can’t be used immediately, they’re a promising alternative for ventilating patients.

A Woman’s Recovery Photo is Motivating Others to ‘Stop Selling Yourself Short’

 

An Ohio woman’s recovery photo has gone viral and has been shared by thousands on Facebook. Ginny Burton posted a before-and-after photo on the social media platform, captioning it: “I honestly thought I’d die on a park bench with a needle in my arm or by gunshot to the head. I would’ve never in a million years thought my life would look the way it does today.”

 

 

When Burton was only six years old, she was introduced to marijuana by her mother, she told 10 WBNS.  By the age of 12, she got into methamphetamine and cocaine. She spent time in juvenile hall and was incarcerated three times. Her life was careening toward an early end. That is, until eight years ago when her life took a turn.

“It’s the longest I have ever been clean in my life,” she said.

“If you would have told me that my life would look like it does today eight and a half years ago, I would have called you a liar,” she said. She now wants to motivate others and advises to “Stop selling yourself short. You don’t know what tomorrow might bring so you might consider starting today.”

She’ll now be graduating with a bachelor’s degree in political science. She’s already been accepted to the Evans School of Public Policy in Seattle, where Burton says she wants to change the prison system.

 

This Inuit TikToker Has Become One of the Most Important Indigenous Influencers

 

Shina Novalinga is an Inuk throat singer who’s using TikTok to show her cultural pride. She’s now gained over 2.3 million followers on the app, and uses her platform for charity and to release a throat-singing album later this year.

Born in Nunavik, she is now based in Montreal, studying business management. With the extra time she had during the pandemic, she decided to learn more about her Indigenous roots, and tapped into her mother’s knowledge about their shared Inuit culture.

Novalinga joined TikTok in June 2020, and shares her knowledge about her culture to educate others. Her content varies from throat singing with her mother, to expressing her thoughts about the underrepresentation of Indigenous faces in the media, to correcting myths and biases about her culture.

 

@shinanova

We hope you enjoy it as much as we do @kayuulanova #throatsingers #healing #culture #reclaim

♬ original sound – Shina Nova

 

Inuit throat singing was banned by Christian missionaries in the early 20th century. But that ban was then lifted in the 1980s, and now Novalinga and her mother continue to preserve and celebrate the music by “bringing back what was shamed upon.”

Throat singing usually involves two women facing each other while singing, and is considered to be a competition between the two women to see who can lose their breath first.

 

@shinanova

Would you be able to spot the difference? @kayuulanova ???????? #inuit #inuittiktok #nativetiktoks #indigenous

♬ original sound – Shina Nova

 

The 22-year-old content creator first started throat-singing at the age of seven but didn’t reconnect with the practice until a few years ago.

Novalinga told the Daily Hive over Zoom that at first, she felt shy to post her performances to a wider audience. But when her mom began posting their videos, Novalinga overcame her shyness and received a positive reaction from the public.

“The message I want to send [to my followers] is to not be afraid to reconnect with your identity, roots, and culture. To make the effort,” said Novalinga.

She’s now found her personal niche – educating her audience about Inuit culture. The recognition and respect she’s received from the community has helped her change her priorities with what comes first in her life.

“I want Indigenous youth to know that they are as worthy as everyone else. On billboards, on the cover of magazines, you see all these beautiful ethnicities and backgrounds, but there are not enough Indigenous people represented,” she said.

 

@shinanova

i get this all the time #inuit #culture #cold #igloo #indigenous #nativetiktoks

♬ original sound – ♡︎ᴄʜᴀʀʟɪ ᴅᴀᴍᴇʟɪᴏ♡︎

 

She hopes that she can inspire others to connect with their roots, to not be scared. “They still have their identity; if they are willing to learn, it is still inside.”

Armless Archer Aims to Win Gold this Summer at Paralympics

 

Matt Stutzman has always been passionate about sports. So much so, that he wanted to be a professional athlete.

And despite being born without arms, Stutzman was determined to make that dream a reality. He played basketball for years, using his feet, but realized he wasn’t accomplished enough to make the big leagues. He then took a chance at archery and began competing at the Paralympics.

 

 

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In 2012, Stutzman went to the London Paralympics and won silver for Team U.S.A. Now, he’s aiming to win gold at the upcoming Summer Paralympics in Tokyo.

Watch the video below to see some of Stutzman’s skills.

 

 

Two Young Record Holders with Autism Earns Guinness World Record

 

The Guinness World Records has honored two incredible young record holders on the autism spectrum, Sanaa Hiremath, and Auldin Maxwell.

To celebrate Autism Acceptance Month in April, Guinness World Records wanted to highlight the two talented youngsters, who’ve accomplished so much in such a short period of time.

Sanaa was diagnosed with autism at the age of 2, and at just 11 years old she took home an award for ‘largest arithmetic multiplication problem’. Her mother told Guinness World Records that Sanaa first got interested in math when she was seven.

Now, at the age of 11, Sanaa likes to listen to music, swim, ride her bike, and travel. In fact, her mother shared that her daughter worked very hard to get to the point where she is now. “Sanaa has worked every day of her life to pull herself up to where she is now. Whether it is her speech, gross and fine motor skills, and every little thing we take for granted in our daily lives, she has worked hard for all of those. She is now able to do things which were considered impossible during her early childhood.”

 

 

To achieve the title for ‘largest mental arithmetic multiplication,’ Sanaa was timed as she multiplied 12 randomly selected digits. Without the aid of writing utensils, paper, computer, or calculator, she had only her mind as a tool.

Auldin Maxwell, on the other hand, broke the record for ‘most Jenga blocks stacked on one vertical block’. In November of 2020, Auldin balanced 693 blocks on top of one another; within four months, he broke his own record by stacking more than 1,400 Jenga blocks.

He’s since broken the record for most Jenga GIANT blocks stacked on one vertical Jenga GIANT block, with 500 of them balanced on a single block.

 

 

Since the age of 6, it’s been on Auldin’s mind to earn a Guinness World Record. He explained that earning this title was more about strategy than chance.

For each attempt, he would mentally prepare himself “with an enjoyable activity, like riding my unicycle or playing basketball with my stepdad.”

“I learned to never look away from the stack once it gets close to the number I am trying to get, because if it falls, I won’t be able to save it quickly,” he said.

Although the two received records in different categories, their motives and targets remain the same:  to work to overcome their challenges by tapping into their strengths.

Couple Hides $1000 Cash Inside Baby Supplies at Target to Help Other Families

 

A couple from Los Angeles has been stuffing money into diaper boxes and under canister lids at local Targets to help struggling families.

When Krystal Duhaney and her husband Patrick had their first child, they realized how expensive raising a family would be. Now, she’s a soon-to-be mother of three, a registered nurse, a lactation consultant, and the founder of Milky Mama.

Since the couple is in a better place financially, they decided they wanted to give back to others, and began stuffing $1,000 cash in many baby supplies at Target.

“We recalled how hard it was for us as new parents to afford some of the basics and we could imagine how difficult it must be during this pandemic,” Duhaney told TODAY.

In her Instagram video below, Duhaney shows the initiative the couple has taken and hopes that the parents who purchase the items have a brighter day when finding their gifts. She explains in the video, “When we had our first baby, we struggled to make ends meet. Now that I own a successful business, I want to give back because I know how hard it can be.”