Good News

Chris Barron was working in a restaurant all day and writing songs at night when he decided to move to NY with $100 and a battered acoustic guitar. He played any gig he could find from the subways to biker bars.

He went on to become one of the founders of the rock band Spin Doctors and their lead vocalist. Their debut album, Pocket Full of Kryptonite, featured Little Miss Can’t be Wrong and went triple platinum selling over 10 million copies. The band had many more successes and was nominated for an American Music Award and a Grammy.

Barron says a pivotal moment for him was in high school when his music theory class teacher advised him to “learn the rules so that you can break them.”

If you like inspirational stories, check out these 23 Famous Failures that became successes.

This is the benefit of representation, as shared by a parent. The more we can expose our children to the more kind, open and accepting they’ll be. This anecdote relates to how having a Muppet with autism on Sesame Street helped a child in swim class be included.

“We wanted to create greater understanding and awareness of what autism looks like — more understanding, more empathy and, ultimately, more inclusion,” Sherrie Westin, Executive Vice President for Global Impact and Philanthropy at Sesame Workshop told The Washington Post.

Mission accomplished. Well done Sesame Street.

This anecdote was found via Community Grounds Coffee and Meeting House — a place with heart!

A team of STEM students from New Britain High School in Connecticut and Central Connecticut State University teamed up to provide the gift of mobility, in a fun package, to children in need. The students built fully functioning electric cars for families who might not be able to afford adaptive wheelchairs for their children. The students volunteers spent months working on these cars through Go Baby Go, an organization that provides access to mobility to children with disabilities. A kindness that Kechisa Mathis won’t soon forget. In the above photo, Mathis tears up as her daughter Kelicia drives a car built by the students.

You can check out the video on CBS News. See more inspirational videos.

I simply love this photo. I saw it posted by the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation.

While shopping at Walmart, Angela Peters shared that she was turned down for a manicure earlier that day. The nail salon told Angela she shook too much, so they wouldn’t do her nails (Cerebral Palsy makes her hands shake).

So, a group of Walmart employees bought Angela nail polish, and cashier Ebony Harris painted Angela’s nails in the Walmart Subway.

“I just wanted to make her day special. I didn’t really want her day to be ruined. That’s why I did it. And plus, she’s a sweetie.”

If you want to follow Ebony’s lead, here are over 100 ways to make someone’s day. 103 beautiful and Random Acts of Kindness.

Photo by Ebony’s co-worker, Tasia Smith, Burton, MI Walmart.

A few years ago neighbors were complaining about this bike that had been locked to the stop sign and then abandoned for months. Rather than removing it, someone began decorating it for every holiday and at some point the now-iconic bear was added. It’s my favorite thing in this neighborhood. The power of positivity. Thanks, Karen Baldry for sharing!