The Amazing Stuff

Many people have lashed out at the Muslim community since the attacks in Paris and Beirut, blaming thousands for the actions of few. The Islamic Center in Pflugerville, Texas, was vandalized in the wake of these attacks, and the people who worship at the mosque were heartbroken by what they saw one day. The building was covered in feces, and torn pages of the Quran were strewn everywhere.

A seven-year-old boy named Jack Swanson was equally upset and disturbed by this hateful act, so he decided to do something amazing.

Jack had $20 saved in his piggybank for an iPad, and he told his mom that he wanted to donate all of that money to the Islamic Center. You can watch the inspiring story unfold in the video below:

There are some amazing and kind-hearted people in the world, but few display their emotions like one young Alaskan boy. When Patrick McClung, a passionate 3-year-old boy, learned what homelessness was, he was crushed. He couldn’t understand why people didn’t have homes — and burst into tears.

His reaction is enough to bring you to tears.

video-player-present

His sorrow was quickly transformed into charity, though, with the help of his mother.

When learning about the less fortunate in the world, more people should react how Patrick did. Many people will share Facebook statuses or agree that things are tragic — but rarely do you see someone moved to such action. Patrick is a 3-year-old hero — and we hope he inspires you!

If you ask any little kid what their favorite day of the year is, they’ll probably tell you that it’s their birthday. I mean, what’s not to love? You get cake, presents, and plenty of time to hang out with all of your friends. And let’s be real — little ones love unwrapping mountains of gifts.

But one mom wanted her daughter to experience the gift of giving this year. Instead of running around in the back yard with her friends and opening tons of presents, this adorable little one and her pals hit the streets of Halifax, Nova Scotia, to do what they could to help homeless people combat the cold.

Last weekend, residents of Halifax looked on in admiration as the adorable gang rolled through town, leaving winter jackets in their wake.

Facebook / Tara Smith-Atkins

The tied winter coats to telephone poles in the hopes that homeless people would grab them as temperatures dropped.

Facebook / Tara Smith-Atkins

And all of the little ones were more than happy to help!

Facebook / Tara Smith-Atkins

The girls attached notes to each jacket to let people know that they’re free to anyone who needs them.

Feed Nova Scotia

The jackets range in size, too, so that no one is left out.

Facebook / Tara Smith-Atkins

And Mom is convinced that the kids learned a valuable lesson in terms of empathizing with the hardships that homeless people have to deal with every day.

Facebook / Tara Smith-Atkins

“They definitely learned the importance of it,” Tara told CBC News. “When we got back in the car after an hour on the street, they were all freezing and crying, and they were bundled up.”

Facebook / Tara Smith-Atkins

(via BoredPanda)

There’s something to be said for Tara Smith-Atkins’ parenting skills, because not many children would happily spend their birthdays making sure that homeless people are taken care of. It really doesn’t get better than that. Keep doing what you’re doing, Smith-Atkins clan! You’re all setting such a great example.

Ryan Weimer is the proud dad of five wonderful children. He and his wife, Lana, are probably some of the busiest people on the planet (as anyone with a motley crew of adorable little ones will tell you), but they always do their best to ensure that they put their kids’ needs above their own.

While that may sound like an apt description for any large family, the Weimer gang is anything but ordinary. They face a unique set of challenges, since three of their five kids were born with a condition called Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA). To help his children lead happier lives, Weimer started a wonderful project that would eventually go on to help children across the country.

It all started just before Halloween a few years ago, when Weimer’s oldest son, Keaton, asked if he could dress up as a pirate that year.

Magic Wheelchair

Although that may sound like a simple request, designing Halloween costumes for kids with SMA is tough, since they’re often wheelchair bound.

Never one to back down from a challenge, Weimer set out to create the most epic pirate costume that the world had ever seen. While brainstorming different concepts, he decided that he’d incorporate Keaton’s wheelchair by turning it into his very own ship!

“What kid wouldn’t love having a pirate ship to roll deep in, sailing through the streets, collecting Halloween booty?” Weimer writes. “He even made the front page of the newspaper!”

Keaton’s amazing costume was an instant hit! And you best believe that the other kids wanted their wheelchairs decked out, too.

Magic Wheelchair

After seeing how happy these costumes made his kids on Halloween, Weimer decided that he would make it his mission to provide that same sense of pride and happiness to wheelchair-bound kids across the country. That’s when Magic Wheelchair was born.

Magic Wheelchair’s goal is simple.

Magic Wheelchair

“Our vision,” Weimer writes, “is to put a smile on the face of every child in a wheelchair by transforming [the chairs] into awesomeness created by our hands, and their imaginations.”

And that’s exactly what they do.

Magic Wheelchair

Every year around this time, the Weimers and a group of dedicated volunteers work tirelessly to ensure that each request that’s been accepted by Magic Wheelchair is completed in time for trick-or-treating.

Everyone knows that dinosaurs are the coolest. It’s a fact.

Magic Wheelchair

These costumes help children feel strong and powerful.

Magic Wheelchair

Sitting astride a flaming dragon will do that to you, you know?

What’s even cooler is that children can submit their own video requests. If selected, Magic Wheelchair will help them transform into their favorite characters.

Magic Wheelchair

If you know a little one who would love Magic Wheelchair’s help next Halloween, all you have to do is visit their website and go through the simple application process.

(via My Modern Met)

What started as a Halloween challenge to make one little boy smile has turned into an incredible project that helps brave kids all over the country feel their best on the spookiest day of the year. To learn more about Magic Wheelchair’s inspiring work, check out their website. If you’re interested in what you can do to help, visit their volunteer page!

For years, 83-year-old Don Luciano Chuman wandered the streets of Ferrenafe, Peru, looking for safe places to sleep. Like many homeless people, he was rarely able to change his clothes or take a shower, so he was covered in filth for most of his life.

Many people avoided him, but the people at the Peregrin Evangelical Church decided that they couldn’t stand by and let him suffer.

Chuman wandered through the town for years without bathing or changing his clothes.

Facebook / Municipalidad Provincial de Ferranafe

His main concern was finding a safe place to sleep.

The church community banded together and provided Chuman with a shower, haircut, and change of clothes. But in the end, they gave him so much more than that.

They also gave him some money to get him back on his feet, and arranged for social services to provide him with food on a regular basis. He was also examined at a local hospital.

Here he is after some much-needed TLC.

Facebook / Municipalidad Provincial de Ferranafe

These people came together to provide him with the love and care he so desperately needed.

Facebook / Municipalidad Provincial de Ferranafe

They bathed him…

Facebook / Municipalidad Provincial de Ferranafe

…and gave him a haircut.

Facebook / Municipalidad Provincial de Ferranafe

Things are looking much better for him now.

Facebook / Municipalidad Provincial de Ferranafe

(via Elite Daily)

After uploading these photos to the town’s Facebook page, news of the charitable act quickly spread throughout the world. People everywhere lauded the selfless act as an example of how every community should treat their poor and homeless populations. All people are deserving of kindness and compassion.

Lemonade stands are summertime staples that help kids earn a little extra cash, and that’s exactly what these girls were doing on a street in their neighborhood. They figured that a few parched passersby would stop for a cool drink, but what they didn’t expect to see was the huge biker gang that pulled up looking for a little refreshment.

You know what they say about expecting the unexpected…

Watch these enterprising young girls rack up some serious business:

These weren’t just any bikers, either. They’re part of a group called Bikers Against Child Abuse — a worldwide community of motorcycle enthusiasts who work to end child abuse in their communities.

In keeping with their pro-kid stance, they decided to give these girls some business that day. Every member of the kind bunch purchased a glass before hitting the open road.

Bikers use their powers for good all the time. Check these out:

St. Gemma’s Hospice in the U.K. has a charity shop, where proceeds from sales go to supporting cancer patients. They mainly sell secondhand clothes, and one of their more recent items featured was this beautiful vintage wedding dress.

eBay / stgemmasshop

But wait, what’s that pinned to the front?

eBay / stgemmasshop

It’s a note from the person who donated it.

eBay / stgemmasshop

It reads, “I wish any lady who takes this dress to have a life with her loved one, 56 years like I did, happy years. I was a lucky man to marry a lady like mine.”

(via Hello Giggles)

When the employees saw the note, they knew they had to find its writer. “We thought it would be a great idea to put it on social media and share the dress’ story,” explains store manager Aysha Alton. The dress and the note went up online, all with hopes of finding the previous owner.

Eventually, the dress was put up for sale on eBay, with proceeds going to charity, and the man who donated it was found. He wishes to remain anonymous, but he’s thrilled at the outpouring of appreciation his donation has spurred.

Most graduating high school students are currently putting thought into their big graduation day looks and celebrating the looming end of school. Erinne Paisley from Victoria, BC, however, is thinking about all the girls around the world who never get the chance at an education.

Instead of dropping cash on a fancy dress for her graduation celebration, the thoughtful young woman decided to raise awareness and funds to help those who don’t have the privileges she does.

Erinne created a dress for herself out of old homework. She wrote a message on it reminding people that education is often denied to women and girls around the world.

Erinne Paisley

The message reads “I’ve recieved [with spelling correction] my education. Not every woman has that right. Malala.org.”

Erinne Paisley

The website refers to the Malala Fund, a fund started by international activist Malala Yousafzai, who works to provide education for girls and young women around the world.

The idea of a dress made out of unusual material actually came about before Erinne got the idea to integrate the social message. “Someone I know made a [graduation] dress out of newspaper a few years ago, and then her other friend did a different dress out of neckties,” she told Yahoo. “So the idea of recycled dresses had kind of always been in the back of my mind.”

Erinne Paisley

Throughout her high school career, Erinne has been interested in activism, and she co-founded her school’s activist organization. During her senior year, the organization focused on women’s rights around the world, inspiring Erinne to raise awareness about equal education. She decided to use her graduation, a symbol of her own education, to point out that not every girl is afforded the same opportunity. This idea came together nicely with her old idea of a recycled dress, and thus the homework dress was born.

“As graduation got closer, the fact that 62 million girls around the world don’t have access to secondary education as I was preparing to celebrate my own secondary education was something that was really moving to me,” she says.

The dress was created after a bit of “trial and error” on Erinne’s part, and it was held together with a velvet waistband and satin straps.

Erinne Paisley

For being made out of paper with no real pattern, it looks pretty cute! The money she would have spent was donated to the Malala Fund.

But Erinne didn’t stop with just spreading awareness.

Erinne Paisley

She’s also auctioning the dress off to raise money for the Malala Fund. Currently, the top bid is $1,150, and with two weeks left in the campaign, she’s hoping to raise more. That money will also go to the Malala Fund.

Erinne Paisley

In the fall, Erinne will attend the University of Toronto to study international relations. The story of her dress is up on the Malala Fund’s site, and Erinne was thrilled to discover that Malala herself checks the auction meter regularly.

If you’d like to make sure girls everywhere have access to an education, you can learn how to help at the Malala Fund’s website.

Erinne Paisley

(via BuzzFeed, Yahoo, Malala.org)

While raising money is a goal, Erinne is more concerned with getting the awareness of education-starved girls out there. “There is so much energy and attention put into the high school graduation celebration in North America that I wondered if some of that could be redirected to support the Malala Fund’s fight for girls’ rights to education around the world,” she says.

A free kitchen is a place where the less fortunate can come for a free hot meal, often served by volunteers. You might think this is a modern creation, borne out of a need to help the increasing numbers of poor. However, that’s not the case at all.

In Amritsar, India, a Sikh shrine called the Golden Temple is a palatial, radiant complex that draws more than 100,000 visitors a day. This makes it even more popular of a destination than the Taj Mahal.

The Golden Temple, or Harmandir Sahib, the most sacred Sikh temple in India.

Wikimedia Commons / Vinish K. Saini

The temple is more than pretty. It’s also home to the largest free kitchen in the world, which distributes some 200,000 rotis (a type of Indian flatbread), more than a ton-and-a-half of dal (lentil soup), and other free food items to more than 100,000 people every day. Some are tourists who have come to see the temple, while others are those desperately in need. Anyone who steps into this kitchen is given a free meal, regardless of their nationality, religion, or caste. This has been the case for more than 545 years.

The entrance to the kitchen, which is called a langar.

Flickr / Rakesh

People coming into the kitchen are handed plates on arrival, and are served a hot meal. In keeping with the philosophy of equality in Sikhism, all people, regardless of their social standing outside the temple, sit on the floor. The exception to this rule is the elderly, who may sit in chairs.

Flickr / Haresh Patel

While all Sikh temples have free kitchens, the Golden Temple’s kitchen is striking in the sheer amount of food it moves in a single day. Harpreet Singh is the manager of this vast kitchen, overseeing about 450 employees and hundreds more volunteers. He estimates that 100,000 is the average daily service, with more on weekends and special occasions. “The langar never stops,” he explains. “On an average, 7,000 kilograms of wheat flour, 1,200 kilograms of rice, 1,300 kilograms of lentils, 500 kilograms of ghee (clarified butter) is used in preparing the meal every day.”

Volunteers and staff prepare food to serve at the langar. All food served here is vegetarian.

Flickr / Kulveer Virk

Flickr / Kulveer Virk

Many volunteers come in from other places and volunteer at the langar as part of their religious observance. Volunteers are primarily responsible for the smaller chores, such as washing the 300,000 plates that are used every day.

Volunteers wash the thousands of dishes that the kitchen uses daily.

Flickr / Haresh Patel

All people are welcome in the langar, regardless of who they are or where they’re from.

Flickr / Ken Wieland

This is based on the concept of equality across gender, racial, and religious boundaries. However, visitors to the temple are asked to cover their heads and remove their shoes as a sign of respect.

(via Al Jazeera, Reddit)

While the numbers are staggering, the most amazing thing about this free kitchen is the dedication that has spanned centuries. Over the course of its 500+ year lifetime, the Golden Temple served millions and millions, and continues to do so today. In addition to meals, space is also available for people looking to spend a few nights, with their only payment being volunteer work.

The Golden Temple is truly a remarkable place for its religious, cultural, and historical value. Its dedication to acceptance and compassion towards all also makes it a special place in the heart of India.

When eight-year-old Christian McPhilamy saw a commercial for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, he noticed that many children were not only sick, but without hair. After his mom explained chemotherapy and its side effects, Christian knew what he needed to do. He decided right then and there to grow his hair out long enough to donate to children in need.

His parents were on board, and after two years, this guy was rocking some 10-inch ponytails — perfect for bringing smiles to the faces that need them most.

Christian’s hair before the big cut.

Facebook / Deeanna Thomas

Facebook / Deeanna Thomas

But you know what they say: no good deed goes unpunished. Shocked by the backlash, Christian’s mother Deeanna Thomas said, “He has endured an awful lot of criticism, and yes even bullying, throughout this time.”

Christian experienced multiple instances of pestering by peers (and even adults) who called him “a girl” and offered him money to cut it.

That’s right: the concept of long hair on a boy was deeply upsetting to them, even when it was for charity. Apparently the only way to help kids with cancer is to adhere to traditional gender roles. Thanks, society.

The ever-dedicated kid didn’t let that stop him. Christian’s hair was finally tied up into these ponytails to make it easier to collect the hair.

Facebook / Deeanna Thomas

Here’s Christian after the big cut! Haters gonna hate, but this child helped improve someone’s life.

Facebook / Deeanna Thomas

We think the shirt is pretty awesome, too.

Christian’s hair is banded, bagged, and ready to donate.

Facebook / Deeanna Thomas

Despite the criticism, Christian stuck to it, letting his hair grow for two whole years before chopping it off. Donated hair has to be at least 10 inches long, and he didn’t stop until it reached that length.

He even took the time to explain his mission to people. “He held his head high and he never once said that he wanted to cut it off,” said his proud mother.

After the most epic haircut of the century, Christian smoothed things out with a classic buzz. Perfect for summer!

Facebook / Deeanna Thomas

(via Today, Mashable)

Needless to say, Christian’s family is incredibly proud of him. Not only did he reach his goal and help someone, but he also didn’t let people and their narrow minds hold him back from doing what he knew was right. Christine Wong, COO of Children With Hair Loss — the charity that received Christian’s hair — was also impressed. Typically, only about one in 50 donations comes from a boy.

As for Christian, he’s happy to have short hair again, and even happier that he’s helped a child in need. So remember, the next time you want to say something snarky because someone doesn’t look the way you think they should, consider the fact that you don’t know the reasoning behind it. Judging others is never a good idea.

You can learn more about hair donation at the Children With Hair Loss website.