Each morning at a small charter school in Gainesville, Florida, students in kindergarten through fifth grade participate in affirmations, asserting that they’re one day going to “change the world.” They’ve been given the space to cultivate that confidence through the actions of a caring couple who devoted their professional lives to teaching. In 1998, after […]
Inspired by an article profiling a young girl in the foster care system who burst into tears upon receiving her first birthday cake, Cake4Kids founder Libby Gruender recognized that such a simple gesture could have a profound impact on the lives of underprivileged children. In 2010, Cake4Kids launched as a grassroots effort in Sunnyvale, California, […]
Editorial update (May 8, 2023): A previous version of this story referenced SELF’s thank you card program. Due to an overwhelming response in requests for materials, we have removed links to that particular initiative at this time. The Santoro Education Lifeskills Foundation (SELF), a Florida nonprofit, is helping children and teenagers develop the skills they […]
High schoolers in Tennessee have made headlines for an innovative act of kindness: creating a robotic hand for their classmate. When Sergio Peralta, 15, started the year as a new student at Hendersonville High School, he tried to conceal that he was born with a right hand that didn’t fully form. “In the first days […]
Of the roughly 23,000 children who age out of the foster care system each year, around 20% become instantly homeless at age 18. A nonprofit in Oklahoma is working to help them and other unhoused young adults find shelter by offering tiny homes at a low rate. The organization, aptly named Pivot, aims to be […]
Are humans inherently good or inherently selfish? Philosophers stretching back to the times of Socrates and Plato have debated human nature and its complexities. But only in recent decades have scientists and researchers started to pull back the layers on this complicated question. According to Scientific American, a set of studies conducted in 2012 by […]
At 78 years old, J.R. Harris may not fit the stereotypical image of an active wilderness explorer. But the Louisiana-born adventurer has been devoted to the pursuit since he set off on his first excursion in 1966, and he has no plans of stopping anytime soon. In addition to hiking mountains, river rafting, and traveling […]
In the United States, Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a federal holiday that takes place annually on the third Monday in January. It celebrates the January 15 birthday — and more broadly, the life and achievements — of the civil rights leader. For those who aren’t fully familiar with the importance and necessity of […]
In a beautiful ceremony that an ICU nurse described as “one of the best memories of the hospital,” a woman battling stage 4 cancer wed the love of her life in the building’s chapel. Norina and Ramon Navarro met through mutual friends and began dating about five years ago, often going dancing. Before long, the […]
For most 12-year-olds, any free time after school is spent hanging out with friends, competing in sports, or playing video games. But budding entrepreneur Alejandro Buxton, from Fairfax County, Virginia, has another pursuit on his agenda each week: making all-natural candles that he sells online and at a local mall. The idea was inspired by […]
U.S. Postal Service workers are all heroes in their own right, and Johnnie Bell is perhaps the best example of that. Bell, who started out at age 23 making $1.81 an hour, is the nation’s longest-serving mail carrier and marked 70 years on the job in July. “This is just something I do because I […]
Evangeline Iarossi, 10, and her older sister Belle, 13, have been playing softball in their hometown of Tampa, Florida, since they were each about 4 years old. They love the sport, but there was a big problem: Only one softball field was available for all the teams in their local Little League to use. In […]