Not Enough Good News

In 2007 a study was done to investigate the news put out by the media in America. When asked about which issues get too much attention in the news, 40% of the public said celebrity news. That is more than three times the number citing any other subject. At the time the study was conducted, about 12% of Americans said the media devoted too much attention to the Iraq war, while politics generally, the presidential campaign or crime and violence received 5% each.

 

People were then asked about which stories they thought got too little attention from the news media. The conclusion was that one in ten Americans say the media does not pay enough attention to good things that are happening in the country, including positive outcomes and good deeds done by average citizens. The study showed that people thought the media devotes too little attention to the good news about Iraq and that women are more likely than men to say good news is undercovered.

 

Deed of the Day!

The post-election tension following the 2016 Presidential Election left the emotions of Americans across the country scattered. In an attempt to heal this tension, Alejandro Andrade decided to spread the love to his classmates  at Virginia Commonwealth University. The 18-year-old psychology student stood on the campus in the cold Virginia weather holding a sign reading “In light of the hate and/or mistrust… FREE HUGS”. Andrade stood outside for a total of 8 hours offering hugs to anyone who walked by. When asked about his actions, other VCU students – Democrat, Republican, and Libertarian alike – were all grateful for the compassionate gesture.

 

 

Read about more good deeds at www.goodnewsnetwork.org



Helping the Homeless and Their Pets

In a recent collaboration with Allie O'Neil, we read an article about a woman who has dedicated her life to helping the homeless and their pets.

Karen Hamza became homeless after the house she was living in became infested with mold, and she was forced to move out. With her dog Tippy by her side, Hamza started living in her 1988 Acura. For Almost two years, Hamza and her dog stayed in her car, through the freezing winters and the boiling summers, she described the experience as "it is like being in an oven. In the winter, it's like being in a literal freezer.". The cold weather negatively impacted her health, and Hamza reached one her lowest points. Thankfully, she found a small apartment suitable for her and Tippy. Once she was back on her feet, Hamza began to focus on helping others get out of the situation she was in.

 

In 2009, Hamza’s organization, Angel Hanz For The Homeless Inc., became registered as a nonprofit organization. Hamza immediately put her plan into action. At around the same time she met a homeless couple, Peggie and Herbie, who were struggling to support themselves and their pet cat. Hamza reached out to them and Hamza bought them cat food, blankets and some clothing. She then went further to offer Peggy and Herbie work in her organization and provided them with a pay of $10 an hour and the products they needed. In a year's time the couple was on their feet and living in an apartment. "I assisted them back into the mainstream of living," she said. "It's what we do. It's not like a handout, it's a hand up."

 

This is only the first of many of the homeless Hamza will help. She continues to help the homeless and their animals; encouraging them to bring their animals to attend her monthly gatherings at a local park. The now vegan organization provides food, clothing, blankets and her resource guide to help the homeless get themselves and their pets back on their feet. The organization also works to assist the homeless with veterinarian services, and keep the animals out of the area's kill shelters. Angel Hanz For the Homeless provides barber services and a library. She continues to educate through speaking engagements at schools, on television and on radio shows.

Hamza says that her own homelessness "made me want to help people all the more because I was so desperate and alone that I knew what it was like for no one to be there. My heart literally ached because no one was there for me." Today, she cares for her two rescue dogs, Jimmie and Rex, and continues to offer hope and solutions to countless homeless people and their animals, and lives by her organization's mantra, "Homeless Not Hopeless."

 

Hamza holds her rescued dog Jimmie while receiving a hug

from one of the homeless men she helped.

Deed of the Day!

This Halloween babies in the NICU at St. Luke's Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri, got a special surprise.  

March of Dimes volunteers made the tiniest Halloween costumes and held a special party for the families.

 "The parents were able to choose their babies' costumes to match the babies' personalities," Michelle Manuel, the hospital’s director of media relations, told ABC News. "The idea is to be able to allow parents to have a sense of normalcy. In the NICU you might be there for weeks or months and this is to help spend that first Halloween and those special first moments together -- make those special family memories with us."The handmade costumes range from butterflies to superheroes because "these are our NICU super babies," said Manuel.

In addition to the Halloween costumes, the volunteers and nurses provided the families with a card with the newborns' tiny footprints, a hand-crocheted pumpkin filled with treats and a Halloween book that the parents and their babies can read together next year.

 

 

 

Deed of the Day!

 

Toys R Us locations across the U.K. are hosting a quiet hour for parents of kids who have autism this holiday season. Toys R Us marketing director Mike Coogan told The Telegraph that "Making slight adjustments to stores and creating a quiet shopping period allows children and young adults to experience the fun in a toy shop, regardless of their disability." The changes are easy to put into effect but make a huge difference for the children with autism.

 
On November 6 the stores "will dim their lights, reduce the amount of fluorescent lighting, cut the in-store music, and eliminate the loud speaker announcements." Store employees will also put up autism-friendly signs and create quiet zones for families."For many autistic people and their families a simple trip to the shops, which should be an enjoyable experience, can be fraught with difficulty," Daniel Cadey, autism access manager for the National Autistic Society, explained. "Autistic children and adults can become overwhelmed with too much information inside a busy store."

The artificial lighting and loud announcements only make it worse. Kids with autism can easily become overwhelmed in these situations and even feel physical pain from the experience.

"Simple changes like this can make a huge difference to the 700,000 autistic people in the UK and to their families," Cadey added. "We hope that many more major retailers will follow the great example set by Toys R Us."

Read more at http://www.sunnyskyz.com