Naomi Osaka Donates Tournament Winnings to Earthquake Relief in Haiti

 

Following a tragic earthquake in Haiti, tennis Olympian Naomi Osaka announced she will donate the prize winnings from her next tournament to fund relief efforts for the country.

The tennis star who is of is Haitian and Japanese descent, announced via Twitter, the donations. She wrote, “Really hurts to see all the devastation that’s going on in Haiti, and I feel like we really can’t catch a break. I’m about to play a tournament this week and I’ll give all the prize money to relief efforts for Haiti. I know our ancestors blood is strong we’ll keep rising.”

 

 

Osaka has used her platform in the past to bring attention to issues like mental health, racial justice, as well as police violence, and continues to commit to her advocacy.

If Osaka wins the current tournament she’ll be playing at the Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati, she’ll win a total of $255,220 for the women’s singles winner, or $188,945 for the runner up.

 

Julie Bowen of ‘Modern Family’ and Sister Help Injured Woman

 

Actor Julie Bowen of ‘Modern Family’ and her sister was on a hike last week at Utah’s Arches National Park when they saw a woman who fainted and hit her head on a rock after stopping to rest.

‘They could have just ignored me, passed on, but they didn’t,” Minnie John told CNN News. “She could have gone on – she must have had a busy agenda that was disturbed because of me. They treated me, a stranger, with love and respect.”

John and her family were on a trip in Arches, to cross hiking and seeing the Delicate Arch off her “bucket list.” The arch is a four-story sandstone perched on the rim of a deep red rock canyon. John stopped after an hour and a half to take a rest, telling her husband and son to go ahead so she could take a rest, as she couldn’t go any farther.

John shared the events in a three-part Facebook post, along with photos of her experience. She wrote in one of the posts, “All I remember is sitting there with my head in my hands secure on the rock,” she continued. “Next thing I hear someone with a familiar voice kept asking me questions.”

She told CNN that Bowen, her sister, Dr. Annie Luetkemeyer, and a guide were also hiking along with the Delicate Arch, that’s when “the guide saw [her] fall forward.”

The three of them ran to John and found that she broke her nose, as well as the skin around her nose. They cleaned her up, and gave her electrolytes, as John was severely dehydrated from not having any food since breakfast. Bowen, who played “Claire” in ‘Modern Family’ assured John was going to be OK and then used her phone to call her son.

 

 

As they waited for John’s son and husband, she took advantage of the moment and asked if she could take a picture.

“They were so down to earth, so genuine, so sweet: Not at all how you might expect a big actor or a big doctor to be – which they are. They were just so humble, so loving.”

“I knew I’d never meet them again but I appreciated and admired the human part of what they did — selfless, not selfish,” she expressed. “We tend to forget the daily kindnesses we encounter. We’re blind to everything around us and don’t imagine that people will be so good, kind, and caring.”

 

Woman Pays for Athlete’s Taxi to Get to His Race, Helping Him Win Gold

 

When this Olympian took the wrong bus to get to his race, a kind volunteer helped him get to the right path.

Jamaican hurdler Hansle Parchment was worried he would miss the 110 hurdles final when he hopped on the wrong bus taking him to what he believes was one of the aquatic venues. That’s when he met a kind Olympics volunteer, Tiana, who helped him get back in time to compete, which then led him to win gold at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

“I saw this volunteer and I had to beg, ‘cause of course she is not allowed to do much, and she actually gave me some money to take one of the taxis. And that’s how I was able to get to the warm-up in time and had enough time to compete,” Parchment said in a video he posted to Instagram, which ends with him meeting Tiana – after the Games.

Parchment thanked the generous volunteer, showed her the gold medal, paid her back the money she had lent him, and also gave her a Jamaican Olympic shirt.

 

 

Now, Jamaica’s minister for tourism is intending to host Tiana on a trip to the Caribbean Island.

“No matter where in the world she is, we want to reciprocate the kindness shown to one of our own,” Edmund Bartlett, Jamaica’s minister for tourism, told the Sunday Gleaner.

 

Former Lifeguard Rescues Family from Drowning

 

Rosa Kouri, a mother, and a former lifeguard who previously resided in Saskatoon were at Thetis Lake, near Victoria, B.C., with her family when she heard a man crying for help in the water.

He was about six meters from the shore, struggling to keep his wife and son afloat.

“I had my four-month-old daughter and I checked to make sure she was safe with my mother and then I immediately bolted down the hill and ran down to the water,” Kouri told CBC’s Afternoon Edition.

About 20 years ago, Kouri had completed lifeguard training, but it didn’t teach her how to rescue a group. However, it taught her that it’s much easier to rescue someone above water than someone who has slipped beneath surface. At the time, she “didn’t even think,” she just dove in.

“I think I just grabbed all the limbs I could, and I tried to remember my lifeguard training — which was a long time ago when I was a teenager — and just tried to tow them in,” she recalled.

As she was dragging the family closer to shore, onlookers began to make a human chain, and reached out to her, grabbing her arm and pulling her as well as the family closer.

Kouri said the family was in shock and gasped for air when they were safe on shore, but they seemed to be okay. The man then thanked her in between gasps of breaths.

Watch the video below

 

 

Dolly Parton Reveals She Invested Royalties from Whitney’s ‘I Will Always Love You’ in a Black Community

 

Before the song ‘I Will Always Love You’ became a great hit, Dolly Parton had written and performed this song in 1973 as a farewell to her then-partner, Porter Wagoner. However, it wasn’t until Whitney Houston’s cover of this song, in 1992, for The Bodyguard that made this song a classic.

According to Forbes, Parton reportedly made over $10 million in royalties, and in a recent interview with Andy Cohen, the “Jolene” singer disclosed she used the profits made from the song to buy a “big office complex” in the “black area of town” in honor of the late Whitney Houston.

 

 

“It was just off the beaten path from 16th Avenue and I thought, ‘Well I am going to buy this place, the whole strip mall.’ And thought, ‘This is the perfect place for me to be,’ considering it was Whitney,” she explained in the interview. “And so I just love the fact that I spent that money on a complex and I think, ‘This is the house that Whitney built.’”

 

 

During the interview, Parton also addressed that she never sang a duet with Houston, as she was never asked to, but she “would’ve loved that.”

Watch Dolly Parton’s original version of ‘I Will Always Love You.’

 

 

This Mom is Bringing Back the Past by Creating Toys Using Cardboard Boxes for Kids

 

Remember when you would sit in a box and imagine it being a rocket that would be blasting off into space? Well, this mom is bringing back the joy and imagination for children by thinking outside of the box and creating toys using cardboard boxes.

Nazdar Tayib, a mother-of-two and an engineer is building many toys for her kids like pirate ships, school buses, cars, grills, and more using everything in her kitchen for her five-year-old son and two-year-old daughter.

“I know some parents can’t buy things for their kids, like a playhouse or play kitchens because they’re expensive, so why not make it from cardboard?” said Tayib.

Tayib, who lives in Tennessee, has since been making tutorials for parents so they can learn how creatively to make these toys. The videos are being posted on her YouTube channel, Boxy World, where she’s been making her no-budget creations for the past two years.

“They said, ‘can you make a food truck for me?’ So, I make a food truck.”

The best thing about each toy? It’s cleverly designed to be taken apart and to fold up to save them for later.

“Kids get bored very quickly, they play with them for a while and then they get bored,” Tayib says. “So cardboard is great because it’s free or inexpensive and really easy to find.”

Tayib hopes to encourage other parents to try this out, especially if they can find some spare time.

“My kids really enjoy playing with them, and my son even helps me paint sometimes.”

Watch below a video of Tayib creatively making her cardboard box school bus.

 

Police Officer’s Act of Kindness Goes Viral

 

An act of kindness of an Atlanta police officer has gone viral on social media after a video of her giving shoes to a barefoot man was posted.

According to the Atlanta Police Department, Officer S. Thomas said she noticed a man walking barefoot out in the rain. When she approached the man and asked if he needed socks and shoes, he replied, “yes.”

That’s when Thomas reportedly ran to get some shoes, but when she returned back, the man was gone. She kept the shoes in her truck in case she happened to see him again, and one day, while working an extra job at the grocery store, that’s when she noticed the man outside.

Officer Thomas went to her car and go the shoes, giving them to the man. According to a Facebook post from the police department, she was “not aware that she was being filmed during her act of kindness. She simply saw a person with a need that she could fill and she did so.”

“We thank the person who filmed this kind act and who took the time to share with others on social media. It is nice when the good deeds of officers can also be shared publicly, whether that was the intent or not.”

Watch below the moment when Officer S. Thomas gives the man a pair of shoes.

 

Target is Offering Debt-Free Education Assistance Benefits for Target Employees

 

Starting this fall, Target has announced it will help students pay for their education with its new debt-free education assistance program.

This will benefit more than 340,000 target employees, both full-time and part-time who work at the stores, distribution centers, and headquarters locations. The program will have access to free undergraduate and associate degrees, certificates, boot camp programs, textbooks, and fees.

The company is partnering with Guild Education, an upskilling platform that provides easy access to over 250 programs from over 40 schools, universities, and colleges.

Direct payments to direct institutions will be provided for non-master’s degrees, of up to $5,250, and $10,000 will be funded annually for master’s programs.

The chief human resources officer of Target, Melissa Kremer, said in a statement “A significant number of our hourly team members build their careers at Target, and we know many would like to pursue additional education opportunities.”

“We don’t want the cost to be a barrier for anyone, and that’s where Target can step in to make education accessible for everyone.”

Target is investing $200 million in the Target Forward strategy commitment over the next four years, it aims to eliminate student debt for its team.

With partnerships from schools, colleges, and universities like Oregon State University, Morehouse College, and others to choose from, it will give opportunities to fit the staffs’ interests, career goals, and schedules – making it flexible for them to continue working while continuing their education.

 

A Man’s Free Lawn-Mowing Service Has Expanded Rapidly to 16 States

 

In June 2020, Brian Schwartz of Wayne, a man from New Jersey was laid off from his job due to the pandemic. Unable to find employment, and wanting to stay busy, Schwartz decided to start mowing lawns for the veterans and elderly in the community for free.

After building the website, and starting in Jersey, his free lawn-mowing service expanded, at an overwhelming pace. He’s now expanded to 16 states, including Colorado, the Carolinas, and California.

 

 

“It’s a little overwhelming, but it’s inspiring,” Schwartz said, “just to know that I’m making a difference.”

To find volunteers around the area, Schwartz built the website IWantToMowYourLawn.com, allowing users to type in their ZIP Code and search anywhere across the country. It also allows you to sign up as a volunteer.

In fact, the number of clients requesting service is outpacing the number of volunteers, said Schwartz. He told NorthJersey.com he has a backlog of some 350 inquiries from people who saw his ads and requested courtesy yard service.

 

 

To take some pressure off the services, Schwartz has partnered up with professional landscapers who agree to take on other jobs without being paid.

Jazz Samad, the owner of Jazz Samad Landscaping, met Schwartz through social media and said their partnership has paid off, noting two or three of her newest customers have derived from it.

“I always worked for other people,” said Samad.

 

 

For Schwartz, making long-lasting connections through this service is worth it.

More than $230,000 Raised for Mother and Three Kids Facing Evictions

 

A family from Las Vegas was facing eviction and didn’t know how they would make up enough money to pay back rent.

Dasha Kelly, a mother of three, previously lost her job as a card dealer when the pandemic forced casinos to shut down. She is one of the more than 11 million Americans that are behind on their rent, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

“I had no idea what we were going to do,” Kelly told CNN News in an interview.

She started a GoFundMe on Monday, hoping to cover her rent to avoid eviction. “We owe $1,900 for rent alone not including utilities. I will figure out utilities by pawning a few things. As you all know it is entirely still too hot to be homeless. My daughters are aged 5, 6, and 8. Please help with anything you can” she wrote on her page.

Within 24 hours, Kelly saw she raised more than $172,000 from more than 2,700 donors. She’s now raised over $230,000 from more than 3,900 donors. Most donations received were $10 and $20, however, she’s also received donations of $1,000, $2,000, and the highest donation from a single donor of $15,000.

It’s been reported that she plans to deposit the money into savings accounts for each of her three daughters, as well as pay the remainder of her apartment’s lease, and pay it forward to others.

“I just want to make sure I do the best that I can to help the next person that is in the same situation.