Good Words, Good Deeds, Good News

Nine-Year-old Gets Help For Parents

In early May this year, Texas was pounded by several storms. Branson and his parents were trying to make it to a shelter in Dickson, TX when the worst happened.

The tornado lifted their truck and tossed it into some trees. His parents, who were sitting in the front row of the vehicle, suffered broken backs, necks, ribs, and other severe injuries. According to KNOE 8 News, the twister was classified as an EF4.

After the truck was thrown, Branson immediately got out of the vehicle, knowing it was up to him to perform a rescue. He ran more than a mile in the darkness, avoiding downed power lines as he made his way to a neighbor's home to find help.

The little boy's uncle recalled:
“The only way he found his way back was with lightning strikes that lit the road. He
ran as fast as he could, as hard as he could; he made a mile in ten minutes. That's
pretty impressive for a little kid. The last thing Branson told them was, 'Mom, dad,
please don't die. I will be back.'”

His parents are still recovering in the trauma ICU.

A GoFundMe has been set up for his parents. As of May 22, they had raised $90,361.

Boy Rewarded After Giving His Only Dollar To A Man He Thought Was Homeless

Television personality and sporting goods brand owner Matt Busbice was awakened early one morning to the sound of a fire alarm in his building. He grabbed some mismatched clothes, dressed and headed outside. Going down to a local coffee shop, he ordered a coffee then went out on the patio to pray. Kelvin saw him praying, and mistaking him for a homeless man, gave him a dollar.

Busbice recalled, Kelvin unfurled his clenched fist to unveil a $1 bill he had gotten from his father for earning good grades.
“And I go, 'What?'”
“'If you're homeless, here's a dollar,'” Kelvin recalled telling Busbice.
“I always wanted to help a homeless person, and I finally had the opportunity,” the boy said.

Of course, Busbice wasn't homeless — he is actually the owner of outdoors brands BuckFeather, Tectonic USA, and AccuBow and the host of Viral Outdoors on the Outdoor Channel.

So, he invited Kelvin to have breakfast with him. Kelvin got permission from his dad (he works next door to the coffee shop) and joined Busbice for breakfast and got a coffee for his father. During the conversation, he told Kelvin who he was and rewarded his generosity with a free shopping spree at his sporting goods store in Baton Rouge, LA.

“If you give, you're actually going to get more out of that,” Busbice said. “I couldn't grasp that as a kid. And if we can spread that around, everything changes.”

Although he was happy to receive the gifts, the nine-year-old said he was not searching for a reward when he tried to give away his dollar to someone in need.

“Joy, because I helped someone,” Kelvin said of how he felt. “Give something away, and you feel like you've got a lot of things from it.”

Commencement Speaker Gifts Each Graduate $1,000

Robert Hale Jr., the founder and CEO of Granite Telecommunications, spoke at the UMass Dartmouth commencement ceremony after receiving the UMass Dartmouth Chancellor's Medal for his “incredible philanthropy work”. During his speech, he told the crowd that the greatest joy he and his wife, Karen, have had in life has “been the gift of giving”. At the ceremony, he announced that each of the 1,200 graduates that came across the stage would receive an envelope with $500 for them to keep and use as they wished.

The businessman, who has a $5.4 billion net worth, according to Forbes, followed that comment up with a challenge. Each would be given an additional envelope containing $500, intended for them to use for a charity, someone in need, or a cause close to them.

“These trying times have heightened the need for sharing, caring, and giving,” the billionaire said to the graduates. “Our community needs you and your generosity more than ever.”

Good Samaritan Pays It Forward

PizzAroma in Iowa was left “holding the bag” recently after a woman called and ordered 16 pizzas to be picked up the next day. She called when she wanted to get them, and the shop made them, and then she never came in, and the pizzas had to be thrown away, resulting in a $112 loss to the store.

After the story showed up on social media, a nearby business owner called the store and said he wanted to pay for the original 16 pizzas, and ordered an additional two pizzas.

“I didn't believe it at first. I was thinking, 'Is someone trying to do it again?' He said he wanted to pay on the phone, so then I knew it was not a scam,” the owner recalled.

The “angel” was a nearby shop owner named Travis. In addition to paying for the large order, he also left a generous tip for the staff.

“Any time you can right a wrong, when you have the ability or luxury, why not do it?” he posed. “Life is too short, and as much bad as there is going on in this world, why not do something good?”

Preemie Goes Home After Six Months

Nyla was born on November 17th, at just 22 weeks gestation, and she weighed just one pound. Her mother NaKeya suffered from a dangerous blood pressure condition called pre-eclampsia, which precipitated the early birth.

Nyla was in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) for six months, and just got to go home on May 13th.

“I don't have the words, in all honesty. I'm just grateful that she's here, she's healthy, and she's doing amazing,” NaKeya told (the news media) as her daughter was released from the NICU.

“Even under the dire circumstances, Nyla came out fighting on the day she was born,” the neonatologist said to the station.

“She cried at birth. It was a little whimper, but it was a cry. Her heart rate always remained over 100, which, for us, is where we wanted it to be. She came out fighting right off the bat,” he said.

Only 30 percent of babies born at 22 weeks live long enough to go home. When Nyla went home, she weighed ten pounds. In her social media post, NaKeya said that “Nyla fought hard, defied every odd, and proved that God has the final say.”