There are so many good people in this world … but sadly they don’t get the same level of attention the not-so-good people get, for they are just quietly going about the daily business of helping others.  That’s why once a week I take time out of the darkness that is often an inherent part of this blog to shine a bright light on those most deserving good people!  This week, I am starting with the kids who have already learned the joy of helping others, for they are our future.

Good People start young!

In Iowa lives a young man, a kindergarten student named Makay.  During the summer, Makay had, as many kids do, a lemonade stand outside his house where he made a bit of a profit.  So, while some kids his age would be eyeing the latest video game or toy to spend his newfound wealth on, Makay just wanted to do something nice for his classmates.

After some thought, Makay decided to buy all the kindergarten kids at his school a pumpkin for Hallowe’en.  His family coordinated with his teacher and principal, who arranged a field trip to Pride of the Wapsi, a popular eastern Iowa pumpkin patch and corn maze destination.

The owners loved Makay’s idea so much that they let him pick enough pumpkins for the 1st Graders at his school, too. Pride of the Wapsi owner, “Farmer Pat”, decided to pay it forward with another act of kindness. He is donating all of the money Makay used to buy pumpkins to the Red Cross for Hurricane Ian relief.

See how that works, folks?  It’s the domino effect … one good deed leads to another and in theory, pretty soon all of us are doing good things!

More than just a pair of shoes

Romello “Mello” Early and his friend Melvin Anderson are 7^th graders in Buffalo, New York.  Kids had been teasing Melvin over his worn-out shoes, but the teasing graduated to outright bullying and Melo was so distressed over it that he went home in tears one night and asked his mom if he could buy Melvin a new pair of shoes.

“Can I use my allowance, or you can take something away that I would get for Christmas?”

What parent could resist a plea such as that?  Naturally, Mello’s mom took him to the shoe store that evening and not only bought Melvin a new pair of shoes, but a pair of $135 Nikes!  Mello used money he had been saving from his allowance to buy the shoes.

When he learned of Mello’s generosity, the school’s Dean, Bryant Brown Jr., was brought to tears, in part because when he was growing up he had also been the victim of bullying.  Brown shared the story on Facebook, and it took off like wildfire, as good news stories often do.  Long story short, it came to the attention of numerous local news stations and eventually caught the eye of someone at The Washington Post and was featured in their “Good Vibes” feature.

Says Mello …

“You should always treat people the way you want to be treated. I have a lot of stuff, so I was thinking, let’s bless somebody else today.”

Out of the mouths of babes!

Police officers get a bad rap … sometimes with good reason, for there are ‘dirty cops’ out there … but I believe that most are dedicated public servants who want to help rather than hinder the public.  Here are just a couple of examples …

Above and beyond the call of duty

When a woman in McDonough, Georgia, was in a hurry to get to work but needed to stop for gas, she was stunned to find her credit card declined!  Police officer Harrison just happened to be in the right place at the right time, and as the woman decided to walk to work in the rain and leave her car at the fuel station until she could sort the problem, Officer Harrison instead used his personal card and paid for her full tank of gas!

No longer indecent

In Atlanta, Georgia, Officer Nguyen was dispatched to check out a report about an act of ‘indecent exposure’.  When Office Nguyen arrived, though, what he found was a homeless man whose clothes were so threadbare that parts of his body were exposed.  Rather than arrest the man, the officer went to Wal-Mart and bought a set of clothing and a pair of shoes for the man with his own money.  Just a little thing, but he didn’t have to do it … he could have taken him to the station and let it be someone else’s problem.

Back in February, I featured Dolly Parton as one of my ‘good people’ for her many forms of philanthropy.  Just this month, Ms. Parton received new kudos for her contribution to the Moderna Covid vaccine, and our friend Keith has that story, so hop over and check it out.  Thanks, Keith!  Dolly is indeed a ‘good people’, as are you!