Mom and Daughter Grant Over $1 Million in Scholarships to People with Down Syndrome

 

Liz Plachta and her ten-year-old daughter Ruby Plachta have started a scholarship to help people with Down Syndrome go to college. Ruby has Down Syndrome, and when she was born, her mom wanted to do something to help others in the community see their full potential.

When Ruby was just 6 months old, Plachta made a goal to create a $2,000 scholarship. She told CBS News, “I wanted the world to see what I saw in her, which is that she was amazing and capable.”

Plachta created a nonprofit called Ruby’s Rainbow, and in the very first year the family gave out 11 scholarships. Over the course of the last decade, the family has granted $1.2 million in scholarships. “It’s not only for us about the scholarships, but it’s also about the awareness of showing people just how capable people with Down Syndrome are,” said Plachta.

 

 

The organization raises all of its scholarship money through fundraising, and is currently accepting applications from people of all ages with Down Syndrome. Plachta says her favourite part about running Ruby’s Rainbow is meeting the scholarship recipients, as well as parents just like her.

Plachta said that Ruby does have to work harder at some things, but she does it with joy in her heart. She says Ruby plans to go to college to become a doctor, and with encouraging words, Plachta tells her daughter, “You can be anything you want to be, my love.”

 

How Having the Mentality of a Winner Changed the World for Cristiano Ronaldo

 

Professional soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo is an inspiration to many. He’s someone who excels in any competition or circumstance, and is generally considered one of the greatest soccer players to have ever played the game. He’s also the first soccer player to earn over $1 billion dollars.

However, Ronaldo’s life wasn’t always easy. He grew up in one of the poorest areas in Madeira, had a difficult childhood, and his father died when he was only 20. Through it all, Ronaldo believed in himself; believed he was destined for greatness. And now, his accomplishments speak for themselves.

Ronaldo takes pride in having a winning mindset. He is someone who takes hate as motivation – as fuel – to perform better.  And in the process of building one of soccer’s most impressive resumés, he’s motivated people to work hard, be humble, and continue to learn.

Watch Cristiano Ronaldo give some words of inspiration below.

 

 

Ronaldo has won 5 Ballon d’Or awards; he holds the record for most goals in the UEFA Champions League, and in the FIFA World Cup; he’s received the FIFA Player of the Year Award, and has twice won Best FIFA Men’s Player.

There are also hundreds of other national and regional awards. But on the field success aside, Ronaldo has also built a formidable personal brand. He’s the owner of multiple hotels in Portugal, owns gyms throughout Europe, and even founded a hair transplant clinic in Spain.

 

 

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A post shared by Cristiano Ronaldo (@cristiano)

 

It’s true that you can’t build a brand like that without professional success. But you also can’t do it without a strong sense of self, and an understanding of your personal values. Ronaldo’s winning mindset and unmatched confidence are possible because he has a clear vision of who he wants to be, and where he wants to go. He is dedicated to self-improvement and has an insatiable will to continue to win.

Ronaldo is someone that people — and young footballers, in particular — are eager to learn from. And he’s never been shy about sharing his approach to the game.

Here are 7 Ronaldo quotes that are worthy of being put on a locker room wall.

 

“I want to consistently play well and win titles. I’m only at the beginning.”

 

“Talent isn’t everything. You can have it from the cradle, but it is necessary to learn the trade to be the best.”

 

“If we can’t help our family, who are we going to help?”

 

“I don’t mind people hating me, because it pushes me.”

 

“I would be very proud if, one day, I’m held in the same esteem as George Best or Beckham. It’s what I’m working hard towards.”

 

“I prefer other people to make judgments about the way I play and to characterize me, rather me describe myself.”

 

“I don’t have to show anything to anyone. There is nothing to prove.”

 

Two High Schoolers Start a Candy Business to Save up for College

 

Two high school students from Arlington, Virginia decided to start their very own candy company to save for college. That would be impressive in its own right, even before considering that the two girls knew nothing about candy making when they started.

Sithiya Reshmee and Farah Bahr are high school seniors. And while stuck at home during the pandemic, they picked up the skill of making sweets, learning by trial and error.

“Our first batch of chocolate-covered strawberries, it was not good,” said Bahr.

 

Sithiya Reshmee showing the cocoa bomb candies. Photo Credit: Lisa Helfert/Instagram

The two opened up F&R Sweets. If perfecting things like chocolate-covered strawberries took practice, so too did perfecting the finer points of actually selling their sweets. “We watched a lot of TikTok videos on how to package,” Reshmee told CBS News.

The hard work has paid off. Farah and Reshmee are now earning enough to help their families, who lost their jobs because of the pandemic.

Their best-selling item? The cocoa bomb. “We had this huge order and we only had one mold to make it with,” explained Reshmee. “And it was an order for 50 cocoa bombs and we stayed up till like 1 a.m. making [them].”

Reshmee says she feels “accomplished, in a way, for an 18-year-old.” She also feels like she’s impressed the people in her life who matter most. “I feel like I made my parents really proud.”

How a Vancouver Resident Rose from Hairstylist to TikTok Comedy Queen

 

At the start of the pandemic in 2020, Kris Collins, now known as KallMeKris on TikTok, started creating content on the app to fill her time while stuck at home.

Kris worked as a hairdresser and a certified lash technician in Abbotsford, British Columbia, but had to close up because of the lockdown.

Her younger brother convinced her to download TikTok and after watching videos for a few days, she decided she’d create content of her own.

Inspired by her own family, she started to pretend to be her mom in videos, which gained her a lot of attention on the app.

Her very first video poked fun at herself for being unemployed and living with her parents. And from then on, she posted a new video every day.

 

@kallmekris

My jobless freeloading ass #costco #freelaoder #tiktok #quarantine #quarentined

♬ original sound – chris.arnaudo

 

Collins has a variety of characters she’s created, characters that now have a following among her many fans. She’s created a whole series on the app called “What I imagine it’s like to have a toddler,” and has curated over 1,000 videos in total.

KallMeKris’ primer on all the characters she’s created: 

 

@kallmekris

Answer to @lasteph2011 The definition of ✨Gong Show✨

♬ original sound – Kris HC

 

Collins has now grown her following to more than 30 million supporters, and her videos have over 1.2 billion likes.

An Uber Passenger Made it Possible for This 44-Year-Old Driver to Graduate College

 

It’s been Latonya Young’s lifelong goal to finish college and earn a degree. Now, because of one of her Uber passengers, she is finally a college graduate.

Young, 44, is a single mother of three. And she credits her Uber passenger, Kevin Esch, with motivating her to go back to school.

Young met Esch three years ago when she pulled over in downtown Atlanta to pick him up. He had just come from an Atlanta United soccer game, and when he got into the car, the two started chatting. Esch shared details about his recent divorce, and Young – whose marriage ended in 2011 – offered him some advice.

During Esch’s ride home, he told the Washington Post, Young told him about wanting to be the first member of her family to graduate from college. She was enrolled at Georgia State University in 2010 but dropped out a year later because she couldn’t pay the tuition. Young had been an Uber driver for three years at the time, and was working late that night because she needed money to pay a utility bill.

That night was the start of an unexpected friendship. Esch tipped Young $150, enough to cover the utility bill, and also gave her his phone number.

“I had my mind made up that I wanted to go back to school,” she told The Washington Post. “He motivated me.”

A few weeks later, when Young tried to re-enroll at Georgia State, she was told that she couldn’t register until her previous balance of $693 was cleared – an amount she couldn’t afford. When she told Esch about the situation, he went to the university and paid off her debt without her knowledge.

“I was in shock,” she said. “This person barely knew me, and yet he wanted to help me.” When she told him she would pay him back, Esch told her: “Pay me back by graduating.”

In December 2019, Young completed her courses, receiving an associate’s degree in criminal justice from Georgia State’s Perimeter College.

Esch attended Young’s graduation ceremony, cheering her on. “It meant everything to me that Kevin was there,” said Young. However, she knew she wasn’t finished, and getting a bachelor’s degree was her ultimate goal.

Young continued her studies while working part-time as a substitute teacher and as a hairstylist. She was supported financially by the Jeanette Rankin Women’s Scholarship Fund, an organization that offers funding for low-income women over the age of 35. (Esch is now a board member of the organization, after its chief operating officer heard about his friendship with Young.)

On May 6, 2021, Young graduated with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Georgia State’s Andrew Young School of Policy Studies. In addition to her family, Esch was once again was there to cheer her on.

“I’m proud that she followed through with what she said she would do for herself,” Esch said. “She’s such an inspiration to me but also to so many people who are in the same position as her.”

Young is now applying for a full-time job in criminal justice. She’s also written a book about her life story; about how one Uber ride changed her entire life. The book is titled “From Broken to Blessed” and is set to release on June 7.

 

Kind Stranger Lays on the Ground to Calm Boy with Autism

 

A simple act of kindness can go a long way.

Natalie Fernando was taking her five-year-old son, Rudy, for a walk by the sea in Essex when Rudy — who is on the autism spectrum — began having a meltdown.

As Fernando explained on her Facebook page, Better to Be Different, Rudy “loves walking, but hates to turn around and walk back, we usually try to walk in a circuit to avoid this but on his favorite walk with the boats, we have no choice but to turn back. This will often lead to a meltdown, one which I can normally handle but on the back of two weeks out of school today was too much for him and me.”

The promenade is a very popular strolling spot, and Fernando knew that Rudy’s outburst would draw a lot of attention, especially because his meltdown could go on for about an hour.

As Rudy lay on the ground, a stranger named Ian approached the two and asked Fernando if she was okay. After Fernando explained what was going on, Ian lay on the ground, close to Rudy, and started talking to him.

According to Fernando, Ian quickly turned the situation around, calming Rudy, and then began to walk the boy and his mom back to their car. “I am so thankful for this chap Ian; I will not forget his kindness,” she wrote.

Fernando hopes others will be inspired by Ian’s act of kindness. She also hopes that if people witness a similar meltdown in a public place, they are compassionate instead of judgmental.

“If you see a parent struggling, maybe take the time to say, ‘Are you ok?’ Don’t judge the parenting, try not to judge the child, just be kind. We’re all walking our own path and navigating the journey the best we can, sometimes it takes a moment of kindness from a complete stranger to completely change your day.”

Toronto Raptors “Superfan” Becomes First Fan Inducted into Basketball Hall of Fame

 

The Toronto Raptors’ very own superfan, Nav Bhatia, has become the first ever fan to be honoured at the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

Bhatia is one of the team’s biggest cheerleaders, attending every Raptors home game in his courtside seats. He’s been going to games since 1995, when the Raps played their inaugural season. He went to the first ever home game — then played at the city’s baseball stadium, SkyDome — and hasn’t missed a game since.

In honor of his dedication to the team, he was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame, a place typically reserved for players and for team executives.

 

 

It’s a huge honor, but it isn’t the first time that his support has been rewarded; in 2019, Bhatia received a championship ring from the Raptors. His display in the Hall includes a replica of that ring, his courtside seat, and the original Raptors jersey he was presented in 1998 when he was declared a “superfan.” It also features one of his turbans, the first turban ever in the Hall of Fame.

 

 

Bhatia told CTV News, “I’m still pinching myself,” and has joked that his devotion to the Raptors is an addiction. Every year Bhatia buys about 3,000 tickets and gives them to children in the Sikh community, as well as other groups across the GTA, and in 2018, he founded the Superfan Foundation as a way to unite people through sport.

 

Great-Grandma Earns College Degree at the Age of 78

 

A 78-year-old-great-grandmother has achieved one of her dreams by earning an associate’s degree from Samford University.

Vivian Cunningham is very passionate, especially when it comes to learning. And she’s a woman who wears many hats: she’s a retired employee of the Alabama Power company, a mother of two, a grandmother, and a great-grandmother. But none of those things ever dimmed her love of learning.

Cunningham spent a long time out of school, including 29 years working as a custodian. She was then head of the mailroom for the Alabama Power Company.

When she retired, she used Alabama Power’s tuition reimbursement program to study paralegal at Virginia College, earning an associate’s degree. But Cunningham wanted to continue her education, and enrolled at Samford.

Watch: Vivian Cunningham earning her bachelor’s degree – to always ‘believe in yourself’

 

 

She took night classes for years with students half her age or younger, but with the pandemic, Cunningham had to adjust to learning remotely. “It was kind of hectic for me because I didn’t know too much about technology,” she said.

There were times she wanted to quit. But she credits her family for helping her push through. And in turn, her degree from Samford has inspired her daughter to pursue her PhD, and has pushed friends and family alike to pursue dreams of their own. “They said if I can do it, they can do it too,” she explained.

In an interview with TODAY she advised, “Follow your dreams, don’t let anyone tell you it can’t be done, keep pushing and keep God in plan.”

Cunningham plans to take her own advice. After achieving an associate’s and bachelor’s degree, she is now thinking of pursuing a master’s.

 

6-Year-Old Teaches His Younger Brother Breathing Exercises

 

Raising children isn’t exactly the easiest, especially when they’re in the middle of a tantrum. However, one 6-year-old has mastered the concept of practicing breathing exercises in stressful situations, and even helped avert what could’ve been a tantrum from his 4-year-old brother.

Ashley West, the kids’ mom, captured it all on video. She saw her middle son Noah calming his little brother, Cory, using a breathing exercise. She immediately filmed this special moment and uploaded it to Twitter — only to find out later that it had gone viral.

She captioned the tweet: “My four-year-old was about to have a whole tantrum and my 6-year-old helped him manage his breathing so he could calm down… I’d say I’m doing freaking alright.”

In the 21-second-clip, Noah stands in front of Cory — who’s crying — and encourages him to continue breathing in and out, miming what he wants his younger brother to do.

According to West, Cory’s almost-tantrum was triggered by an all-too-familiar catastrophe. “He wanted to play the Nintendo — if you have kids or have been around any you know they think it’s fully charged after being plugged for only a millisecond… anyway it wasn’t and he started having a little meltdown till big bro intervened.”

West told TODAY Parents that she’s studying to become a social worker, and so she has a lot of background in social-emotional work. She says the family also does a lot of yoga together, and that the breathing technique really came in handy during the pandemic.

Children’s Entertainer Creates a Meditation ‘Toolkit’

 

A Canadian children’s entertainer from Toronto has introduced an online resource to help children and parents cope with the pandemic.

Taes Leavitt, known as Boots from the music duo Splash’N Boots, recently created The Big Heart Journey toolkit.

The kit provides guided meditations to help children and their families move through big feelings and develop resilience. It tackles topics like connecting with loved ones when you are physically apart, managing anxiety, and missing the people you love.

Leavitt originally spent over five years studying meditation and mindfulness, but realized that this wasn’t exactly a fun method for children. So she researched and created a program that kids and families would enjoy.

She says that at the outset of the pandemic, “I was receiving tons of emails from parents” about the stress, nightmares, and emotions that people’s children were going through. Those emails planted the seed that became The Big Heart Journey.

 

Click the image to watch Leavitt explain The Big Heart Journey.

 

Now, Leavitt is creating My Big Autism Journey in collaboration with Autism Canada, aimed at bridging communication gaps, growing ‘superpowers,’ and opening emotional conversations with kids on the spectrum.

Listen to Leavitt talk about The Big Heart Journey on CBC’s Here and Now.