Happy New Year! For the 83rd thru 85th consecutive weeks, the Center for Peace & Conflict Studies has compiled a list of acts of kindness and peace. The initiative began as a response to COVID-19 and the racism pandemic but has broadened to include any act of compassion or service to others. Please share these stories. If you have stories of positive acts people/organizations are taking and you would like to share them, please email them to Brandon Miller at peacecenter@bsu.edu. All the stories starting from week 1 are available online. Additionally, you can follow the Peace Center on social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter) at bsu4peace.
Week 83
This School is Giving Ugandans Access to Business Skills, Banking, and Indigenous Education
As of January 10, schools in Uganda have finally started to reopen, following hardships brought by the pandemic. When it comes to education, children and Uganda have been impacted more severely than most other countries; their access to education and resources has been almost nonexistent during the pandemic. Even with schools reopening, children in Uganda will face a multitude of challenges, especially on emotional, financial, and social levels. Luckily, community-led initiates have been springing up in Uganda. Among the first is in Kasasa. A non-profit organization, The InteRoots Initiative, has partnered with the community of Kasasa to open an academy known as the Tat Sat Community Academy. When it opens, the institution’s primary goal is to alleviate some of the challenges that the youth of Uganda face. Alongside providing education, the academy is also partnering with the Institute for Indigenous Cultures and Performing Arts to give elders and community leaders the platform and resources they need to pass along Indigenous knowledge and cultural practices. Alongside the academy, the community is also working on opening the Tat Sat Community Savings and Credit Co-Operative Society to expand the community’s access to banking; according to the article, nearly 60% of Africans don’t have access to banking in their rural communities.
Source: https://www.goodgoodgood.co/articles/interoots-initiative-tat-sat-school-uganda
This Organization Is Helping End the Stigma Around Stuttering
Approximately 70 million people around the world have a stutter or stammer, a disorder that interrupts the flow of speech and fluency. While stutters or stammers are normally associated with children, around one percent of adults around the world have the disorder. The stigma around stuttering can often cause insecurities for those affected by it, an issue that an organization known as STAMMA is actively working to combat. STAMMA’s main goal is to “tackle the underlying stereotypes and misunderstanding held by the public about stammering,” and they plan to do so with their four-step plan. Their plan including supporting people who stutter, building community support and facilitating networks for those who stutter, educating the public on stuttering, and to do all three as efficiently and effectively as possible. STAMMA has started the No Diversity Without Disfluency campaign in an attempt to fight for representation for people who stutter. The goal of the campaign is to normalize stuttering by creating space for people who stutter on all levels of society, especially on media platforms such as television or radio.
Source: https://www.goodgoodgood.co/articles/stamma-stuttering-nonprofit
Couple Stuck on Highway for 21 Hours in Snowstorm Asks Bakery Truck to Give Away Their Supply to Hungry Drivers
Following an intense snowstorm, thousands of motorists found themselves stranded in Virginia on U.S. Interstate 95 for almost two days. Many vehicles contained babies, elderly people, and pets; eventually, hunger become as big of a problem as the cold. One couple from Maryland, Casey Holihan and her husband John Noe, having made it 37 hours without eating, eventually spotted a Schmidt Baking Company truck nearby. They had the idea to call the company’s customer service line, asking if they could spare some of the bread. Not expecting the plan to work, the couple were shocked to receive a call not 20 minutes later from the CEO of the company, who explained that he had ordered the truck driver to give away all of the bread. In total, and with the help of Casey and John, the driver Ron Hill delivered more than 300 packages of bread and rolls to around 50 nearby stranded motorists.
Source: https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/bakery-truck-gives-away-all-the-bread-to-stranded-drivers-on-i-95/
Week 84
Denver Woman Saves 3 Children from an Icy Pond
Dusti Talavera of Denver was watching a group of kids play on an ice-covered pond from the window in her living room when, suddenly, she heard a splash. The ice had cracked, plunging three children into the frigid water below. “Before I even realized it, I was out there on the middle of the pond, pulling two kids out,” Talavera said later. Pulling the third out proved to be more challenging. The ice gave way under Talavera and she found herself treading water in the 15 foot deep pond while trying to keep the third child’s unconscious body above the water. Eventually, with the help of the girl’s cousin, Talavera pulled herself and the girl to safety. “Nobody was really outside,” Talavera said. “I just knew it was me that had to do it.”
Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/01/11/dusti-talavera-children-frozen-pond-denver/?utm_campaign=wp_the_optimist&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&wpisrc=nl_optimist&carta-url=https%3A%2F%2Fs2.washingtonpost.com%2Fcar-ln-tr%2F35bb4cf%2F61dedf179d2fda14d7ecbefc%2F5e4d74439bbc0f462514be64%2F8%2F51%2F61dedf179d2fda14d7ecbefc
Man Receives Kidney from his Son’s Baseball Coach
In his 20s, Elliot Kaye was diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease, a condition with which his mother had been diagnosed years earlier and died from a few years later. Now in his 50s, Elliot’s kidneys had developed so many cysts that they were larger than footballs and weighed 24 pounds total (the average healthy kidney is around 4 inches long and weighs 6 ounces). Although he was put on a nationwide transplant list, it was his son’s baseball coach, Eric Saul, who turned out to be a perfect donor match. Over several years, Saul and Kaye had become friends; they had even visited Cuba together during the annual baseball trip that Saul organizes. “I sort of went with my tail between my legs to my wife when I told her about my plan,” Saul said. However she immediately gave Saul her approval. After the transplant, Kaye was at a loss for words. “It’s been very emotional,” he said. “’Thank you’ feels inadequate, but it’s all we’re equipped with.”
Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/01/10/kidney-donation-transplant-baseball-coach-elliot-kaye-eric-saul/?utm_campaign=wp_the_optimist&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&wpisrc=nl_optimist&carta-url=https%3A%2F%2Fs2.washingtonpost.com%2Fcar-ln-tr%2F35bb4d1%2F61dedf179d2fda14d7ecbefc%2F5e4d74439bbc0f462514be64%2F13%2F51%2F61dedf179d2fda14d7ecbefc
Speedskater Gives Up Her Spot in the Olympics for a Friend
During the long-track speedskating trials in January, Erin Jackson slipped. Even though she was ranked number 1 in the world in that event, the slip cost her a spot on Team USA at the Olympics – that is, until her friend, fellow speedskater Brittany Bowe who finished first in the trials, gave up her spot. “Erin has earned her right to be on this 500-meter team,” Bowe said. “No one is more deserving than her to get an opportunity to bring Team USA home a medal. After that unfortunate slip, I knew in my mind before that night was even over that if it had to come down to a decision of mine, she could have my place.” Bowe and Jackson have been friends for two decades, having grown up together in Ocala, Florida. “She’s always been there for me, helping me out, even when I was just, like, the new kid back in Ocala,” Jackson said. “She’s always been an awesome mentor and an amazing person…It’s an amazing relationship, and I’m just so grateful.”
Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olympics/2022/01/10/brittany-bowe-erin-jackson-speedskating/?utm_campaign=wp_the_optimist&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&wpisrc=nl_optimist&carta-url=https%3A%2F%2Fs2.washingtonpost.com%2Fcar-ln-tr%2F35bb4d2%2F61dedf179d2fda14d7ecbefc%2F5e4d74439bbc0f462514be64%2F16%2F51%2F61dedf179d2fda14d7ecbefc
Week 85
Anonymous Shopper Purchases a Legendary Guitar for a Young Musician who Frequented the Store to Play it.
Fallon, a young Rockstar who frequented a music store in Colorado, was gifted an $800 Pantera guitar by an anonymous customer. The music store explained that Fallon had Williams Syndrome and shared the love for music every time he came into the store. The anonymous customer witnessed Fallon’s love for the guitar when he saw him in the store. Later that day, he purchased the guitar as a gift for Fallon. After that day, Fallon's family moved to Texas and returned to Colorado eight months later. Fallon had no idea about the surprise that awaited him. When the store associate gave Fallon the guitar, he and his parents were ecstatic. Fallon explained that his dream was to own a guitar, and thanks to this good Samaritan, Fallon owns his favorite one.
Source: Good News Network
https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/anonymous-person-buys-pantera-guitar-for-young-rocker-fallon/
“Free Room for You” Program Launched After Taking Over his Father’s Motel Business.
After being given partial ownership of the Lincoln Tunnel Motel business by his dad, Brian Arya initiated and executed the program “Free Room For You” for individuals who had difficult living situations. Bian explained that he noticed an influx of people to the motel during the COVID-19 pandemic because residents could not pay rent because of circumstances beyond their control. Brian gained a following on TikTok. He introduced and advertised his program and received tons of donations from TikTok supporters. People donated food, toiletries, and funding to help support the charges of the rooms. Arya describes how this initiative has created a sense of family and community as he gave away fifty to sixty free rooms to people in need.
Source: Good News Network
https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/he-took-over-his-fathers-motel-now-free-rooms-tiktok/
On Christmas, Shaq donates 2,000 Nintendo Switches and PS5s to underprivileged children.
The notorious basketball player Shaq was named “Santa Shaq” because of his generous gifts to underprivileged children in an elementary school in Georgia. Shaq’s foundation is known for giving back to the community because he explained that he did not have much growing up. Still, his parents made him understand the need to give back, fueling his passion for donating. It was a Christmas of fun and games when Shaq presented 1000 PS5s, Nintendo Switches, and bicycles to the children. Tears of joy were noticeable all throughout the distribution event as the kids were highly grateful for the games they received.
Source: Good News Network
https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/shaq-brings-2000-ps5s-and-nintendo-switches-to-underprivileged-kids-on-christmas/