The Brighter 10: This week’s top 10 stories of kindness from around the world

[Oct 15, 2021: The Brighter Side of News]

Each week, the Brighter Side of News combs the web for the best good news stories from around the world. The stories below reflect a small sample of the kindness, compassion and loving actions people take weekly that are rarely featured as widely as they should Our goal, here, is to put a spotlight on and congratulate the people that are trying and succeeding in making a positive difference in our world.

Enjoy!

Frankie King did not have a extravagant wedding day. It was 1944 — at the height of World War II — when her high school sweetheart, Royce, became her fiancé. But like many young men at the time, Royce joined the military and was moved to a base in another state.

"He was stationed as a lieutenant in the Air Force ... he just got his pilot wings," their daughter, Sue Bilodeau, told CBS News. "He got a short leave. They had been engaged about six months, so they decided to have a wedding before he was deployed overseas."

Royce returned to Oelwein, Iowa, to marry his bride. It's a small town, Bilodeau said, so her mom didn't have anywhere to buy a wedding gown. "They only had a couple of days notice," she said..... READ MORE

FBI agents were at Hilton Head Preparatory School earlier today, but nobody was in trouble.

During the pandemic, then 12-year-old Riley Wilbert, put pen to paper to write her idols, valentine’s letters, and a lot of them. “I wrote 60,” said Hilton Head 8th grader Riley Wilbert.

Riley’s a normal 8th grader. “They just needed to know that someone actually cared for them.” With an abnormal understanding of life.... READ MORE

Renee Finch is always looking for a rainbow.

She's not searching for multi-colored, arced beams in the sky. Finch, a 57-year-old ophthalmic technician who lives in Hopewell Junction, wants to discover bright spots of inspiration every day that can illuminate life's darkness.

It's something she learned to do after the tragic stillbirth of her first son on Oct. 29, 1989. Thirty years later, she is using that tactic, along with various acts of kindness, to help herself and others build resiliency in their battles with cancer at New York City's Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital..... READ MORE

Working in close proximity to the red-hot lava flowing from a volcano on the Spanish island of La Palma, emergency workers anxiously await their lunch break - and while any food would do, it tastes better when it comes from a celebrity chef's kitchen.

Chef Jose Andres' non-profit World Central Kitchen (WCK) has been delivering hot food, sandwiches and water to thousands of evacuees as well as the emergency workers overseeing residents' removal from harm's way... READ MORE

Thousands of former Boko Haram militants and abductees in Nigeria left the group this summer and asked to return to their homes. If they are not allowed, they could return to fighting. A randomized evaluation in the Nigerian city where Boko Haram began—and where many of its victims now live—found that messages from a Muslim religious leader focused on ideas about forgiveness from the religion increased listeners' willingness to accept former fighters back into the community, providing a path toward peace... READ MORE

The Kazakh people celebrated National Kindness Day on Oct. 9, a holiday, organized as a part of the “Marathon of Good Works” nationwide project. It was launched in February upon the initiative of Kazakh President Kasym-Jomart Tokayev.

Following the holiday concept, each country region installs a board with “Advice of Kindness” cards on it offline or online. Anyone who wants can take a card from it, do the good thing mentioned in the card, and share it on social media, tagging the official website of the marathon. Regions such as Almaty, Atyrau, Kostanai, Pavlodar and Aktobe supported the action in its offline format... READ MORE

Olivia Ohlson-Ellis isn’t quite the typical 14-year-old. She just finished the season playing golf at Evanston Township High School, she writes for the student newspaper and she’s in the Black Student Union and a lot of clubs – but she’s also raised about $20,000 for charitable causes and she’s being featured in a book and had a song written about her.

Olivia was 10 when her mom, Gini, was diagnosed with breast cancer. Olivia began raising money to support breast cancer patients by opening a lemonade stand. Over the last few years, she has had four stands, each selling lemonade and cookies baked using a family recipe. The stands have raised about $12,000.... READ MORE

One day, while William Ross was on his normal two-mile walk to his job at the Georgetown Cracker Barrel, he saw something he could really use, a ride.

“I would always see the car in the yard. So, I seen him out in the yard one day and asked him if the car was for sale,” Ross said.

“He goes, ‘I just need something to stay out of the elements with,’” said Craig Wink, who donated the car..... READ MORE

At Champlin Park High School, students interested in animals can take a pre-vet, animal science class.

On a recent Monday, the class discussion focused on career exploration in the field.

“I’m looking for things, traits that you have, that you think would be good for the career area that you’ve picked,” teacher Dan Foss said to the class.... READ MORE

Typical barbershop sounds: Clippers buzzing, background music, maybe sports on a TV somewhere. Not-so-typical barbershop sounds: Kids reading their favorite books out loud. But at City Cuts, a shop in Kutztown, Pennsylvania, that’s a normal thing to hear. The shop has a program that offers to pay kids $3 if they read a book aloud to their barber while getting their hair trimmed.

The “Books by Kids” program idea came from the shop’s owner, Jon Escueta, whose lifelong battle with shyness and a fear of public speaking inspired him to start helping his community’s kids. His hope is that reading aloud to their barbers will help them become confident public speakers..... READ MORE

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