San Diego Mayor Teams Up With Lady Gaga’s Foundation to Launch #BeKind21

 

San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria has teamed up with Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation to release their new campaign.

This campaign aims to promote kindness across the city of San Diego and is named #BeKind21. It hopes to encourage members of the public to practice an act of kindness each day through September 21, building connections between communities and fostering mental wellness.

The Born This Way foundation is co-founded by Lady Gaga and her mother, Cynthia Germanotta. According to the website, it is encouraging the public to, “Pledge to #BeKind21 and practice kindness toward yourself and others each day from September 1 to September 21.”

More than 200 partners are participating in this campaign, including entire school districts, cities, corporations, and nonprofit organizations.

 

 

“Kindness is encouraged every day of the year. I’m happy to have San Diego partner with the Born This Way Foundation to promote more kindness throughout our city,” Gloria told ABC 10 News San Diego. “We’ve collectively experienced a number of traumatic events and circumstances over the last year. Kindness can help us get through these challenges with a sense that we’re all in this together.”

 

 

“We know the transformative impact kindness has on every aspect of our lives. This September, as we continue to wrestle with the overlapping and ongoing crises in our world, it’s imperative we focus on eliminating the stigma surrounding mental health and prioritizing kindness toward ourselves and others,” said Germanotta, who is the president of Born This Way Foundation.

“Young people know kindness is the way forward to a kinder and braver world that supports our collective wellness. We are proud of all our #BeKind21 movement does to make their hope – and our collective hope – a reality.”

 

Israeli Twins Finally See Each Other After Being Born Conjoined Back-to-Back

 

A year after these twins were born conjoined at the head, and back-to-back, they can finally meet each other face-to-face after undergoing rare separation surgery.

The Israeli twin girls’ surgery lasted more than 12 hours at the Soroka Medical Centre, and took months of preparations, as well as involved dozens of experts from Israel and abroad, the hospital said.

Soroka’s chief pediatric neurosurgeon Mickey Gideon told Reuters “This was a rare and complex surgery that has been conducted only 20 times worldwide and now, for the first time, in Israel.”

As seen in the photo, the twins are facing one another in a cot, with their heads bandaged. According to the hospital’s statement, the surgery involved cranial reconstruction and scalp grafts for both siblings.

“They are recovering nicely. They are breathing and eating on their own,” said the head of Soroka’s plastic surgery department, Edlad Silberstein.

 

 

WWII Veteran Meets the Writer of a Thank-You Letter He Received 12 Years Ago

 

A World War II veteran has finally met the writer of a letter he received 12 years ago.

In 2009, Frank Grasberger received a letter from a third grader thanking him for his service. He told CBS News since he’s received it, he’s carried the letter with him everywhere he goes.

For this 95-year-old, nothing’s more important to him than his wife and the note.

“I’d never be without it,” the veteran said. “Because it’s something that somebody thought of me that much.”

“If it wasn’t for you, we would never have freedom. I’m so happy you made sacrifices. Your friend, Dashauna Priest,” the letter read.

Grasberger says this letter meant so much to him that he wanted to thank the author. “We never could find her. He says, ‘Before I close my eyes, I have to find her,’” said his wife, Delores.

The staff at the long-term care residence then decided to do a little digging. They were well aware of his attachment to the letter and the desire to meet the author of the letter, and luckily, they found her.

Last month, Dashauna Priest, 21, surprised Grasberger, while wearing her National Guard uniform.

“You can’t imagine the feeling I had when she stood next to me. It just took my breath away, it really did,” he said. “There’s love there, deep down in the heart. She’s like my third daughter, she really is.”

“It started with a lot of love and affection,” Delores said. “And it’s ending the same way.”

This Hotel Bellboy’s Life Turned Around After a Wealthy Guest Left Him an Inheritance

 

A Turkish hotel bellboy’s life has completely changed after a British tourist left him the majority of a substantial inheritance.

When Charles George Courtney visited Turkey for his yearly vacation, he always stayed at the Korumar Hotel de Luxe in Aydin.

That’s where Courtney’s and Taskin Dasdan friendship began. Dasdan has now been working as a bellboy at the hotel for 31 years.

“We treat everyone the same. However, Charles George Courtney loved us very much. When he came to the hotel after a meeting, he would even entrust his money to me and ask me what I needed,” Dasdan told Turiz Majansi.

When Courtney died earlier this year, one thing his family and the hotel didn’t expect was for him to leave part of his fortune to some of the hotel staff, including Dasdan.

“He treated us as if we were part of his own family,” Dasdan said. “He even contributed to the education of my children…of course we were emotional.”

As of yet the exact amount of money left to the bellboy is unknown, he says it’s enough for him to “never have to work a day in his life again.”

 

Dolphins Help Rescue a Lost Swimmer Off the Irish Coast

 

After a swimmer was missing for almost 12 hours off the Irish coast, the 24-year-old man has been rescued after a pod of dolphins were spotted swimming around the young man’s head.

This caught the attention of a volunteer lifeboat crew, and Fenit RNLI was able to spot the man near Castlegregory in County Kerry.

After rescuing the young man, the RNLI stated: “At 20:30, the volunteer lifeboat crew with Fenit RNLI spotted a pod of dolphins and a head above the water about two-and-a-half miles off Castlegregory beach.”

It’s been reported that the 24-year-old was conscious and “immediately recovered onto the lifeboat,” with no serious injuries.

According to BBC News, the dolphins have been seen off the Irish coast since 2019, with scientists and conservationists confirming they can identify individual dolphins by the shape and markings on their dorsal fins. In fact, the dolphins seen, have been identified as the same ones from Sunday’s rescue.

 

The All-Girls Afghan Robotics Team Offered Scholarships After Being Rescued from Kabul

 

The all-girls robotic team known as the ‘Afghan Dreamers’ have been rescued from the Taliban extremists that retook Afghanistan, and are now safe in Qatar, thanks to the help of an Oklahoma mom.

Allyson Reneau, 60, bonded with the members of Afghanistan’s all-girl robotics team, in 2019, when the ‘Afghan Dreamers’ came to Washington D.C. to attend the Humans to Mars summit.

In the weeks building up to the takeover of Afghanistan, Reneau was very concerned for the girls’ welfare, so she decided to take matters into her own hands. She went to the sanctuary country of Qatar in hopes to use the connection she had to expedite a rescue, and fortunately, Reneau was able to pull some strings with the Qatar Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the organization Digital Citizen Fund, getting the process started.

Soon enough, 10 team members boarded on a commercial flight, and the girls confirmed to say they made it out safely.

“I got a text from one of the girls that just said: ‘We did it.’ All the emotion from two weeks of work and running into a wall constantly, and burying your feelings, and bearing your feelings for the girls, it just hit me all at once,” Reneau told Business Insider.

Since arriving in Qatar, the ‘Afghan Dreamers’ have been offered an ‘abundance of scholarship offers from incredible universities’ in the U.S., giving them an opportunity to “have the freedom to choose and to be the architects of their own destiny and their own future.”

“It’s the freeing feeling to me to know that they will be able to go somewhere and get educated wherever they want.

 

Meet the Table Tennis Champion Who’s Playing at the Paralympics Using His Mouth and Feet

 

Meet Ibrahim Hamadto. He’s an Egyptian Paralympian, and he’s competing in the Paralympic Games for the second time.

When Hamadto was only 10-years-old, he lost his arms in a tragic train accident. However, he didn’t give up on playing table tennis and learned to play using his foot to toss the ball up and use his mouth to hold the paddle.

“In our village, we could only play, at that time, table tennis and soccer – that’s why I played both,” Hamadtou told CNN in 2014. “It was logical to play soccer first due to my case, then I played table tennis as a challenge.”

For this Paralympian, he spoke of his struggle, telling CNN he had to “practice hard for three consecutive years.”
“At the beginning, people were amazed and surprised seeing me playing. They encouraged and supported me a lot and they were very proud of my willing, perseverance and determination,” he said.

Earlier in August, the table tennis player showcased his skills at the World Team Table Tennis Championships in Tokyo, where he played against some of the biggest names in the sport.

In fact, for the audience watching Hamadto play, seeing the way he creatively gets into the game and defends and attacks, shows persistence is key if you want to accomplish your goals.

“I believe that nothing is impossible, as long as you work hard,” said Hamadto. “This is the message I would like to send people.”

Watch some of Ibrahim Hamadto’s memorable Paralympic moments in the video below.

 

 

U.S. Paralympians to Earn Same Prize Money as Olympians for Medals Won

 

The U.S. Paralympians will now earn the same amount of money as Olympians for their medals.

After the 2018 Winter Olympics, The United States Olympic Committee decided to increase the prize money for the Paralympic athletes, making it equal to the Olympic athletes.

Paralympians will now receive $37,500 for a gold medal, when they previously received $7,500, silver medals will receive $22,500, and $15,000 for bronze.

This is the first time all US athletes will have equal pay from the start of the Olympics and Paralympics.

 

Two Sister Raise Thousands to Help Local Refugee Families with School Supplies

 

As the new school year is set to begin, two sisters from Atlanta have made it their mission to help refugee children that are unable to afford school supplies.

Lily Babcock, 17, and her sister Evie Babcock, 14, baked and campaigned to help raise money for backpacks and other supplies.

The inspiration to give back to the local refugee families came after Lily worked at a summer camp with refugee children.

“I’ve always loved going back to school with like, fancy pencils. It’s really helped me love learning,” Lilly told 11 Alive. “I realized if we could help get school supplies for all of these children, that it could help them have that same love for learning and happiness that I’ve experiences.”

Through their campaign, the two raised over $4,000 for approximately 240 stuffed backpacks.

The stuffed backpacks will be distributed with the help of New American Pathways, to refugee children across the Atlanta region. Chief Advancement Officer Nancy Gaddy explained that often, the families they serve don’t have access to these supplies, or money to help out.

“Some are victims of health crises or natural disasters. The last thing you want a parent to be doing is scrambling just to get a book bag and paper and supplies.”

With the help of Lilly and Evie, the backpacks that are stuffed have been sent off to the families before classes begin.

 

 

Nintendo Partners with Non-Profit Bringing Gaming Consoles to Hospitals

 

Nintendo and Starlight Children’s Foundation have partnered to install Nintendo Switch Gaming stations at hospitals and health care facilities across the country for children.

So far, the non-profit and Nintendo have rolled out gaming stations in some hospitals, with each station having a preload of more than 25 games, such as The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the World and Super Mario Party.

The gaming stations have been designed and manufactured by the gaming console company, specifically for hospital settings. The stations are mounted on a playback monitor and can roll anywhere in the hospital, especially in playrooms with a group of other kids. The stations also meet the hospitals’ strict safety infection protocols, with the ability to be completely cleaned with disinfectant.

In fact, the non-profit also states that having gaming stations at the hospital not only provides entertainment, it also distracts the children from stressful situations – providing them with emotional support and reducing anxiety.

“They provide choices for kids, motivate them, and give them the opportunity to have fun when it is needed most,” said child life supervisor at Mary Bridge Julie Hertzog, in a statement.

According to a news release, over the past 28 years, the partnership between Nintendo and Starlight has delivered more than 7,200 gaming stations to over 800 hospitals and healthcare facilities across the country, helping approximately 11.6 million seriously ill children.