It can be lonely for soldiers in a war zone bunker. Army Brig. Gen. Vincent Buggs came to count on the letters he received from some Georgia kindergartners while he was deployed in Iraq 13 years ago. Buggs said the youngsters were “probably just doing a school project” when they became pen pals, not knowing the letters were a lifeline that tied him to everything he loved back home.
The students, now seniors at David Emanuel Academy in Stillmore, Georgia, learned just how much the letters meant to Buggs when he made a surprise visit to their school earlier this month and thanked them.
“Everyone is always saying ‘thank you’ to me for my service,” Buggs said, “but it meant more for me to be able to say ‘thank you’ to them.”
Read more about how meaningful the letters were to the soldier: Soldier Meets Students Whose Letters Were A Lifeline From Home
The story on Canton-Sixes Patch was one of many across Patch’s network of more than 1,300 hyperlocal sites that made us smile. Scroll down for a few others — and if you’ve got a good news story to share, reach out to the editor of your town’s Patch.
11-Year-Old Boy In Wheelchair Scores TD: Video
Jackson Wyss has cerebral palsy, a disorder that has affected his mobility. But the 11-year-old Bay Shore, New York, boy is a valuable member of the town’s youth football team, serving as its captain for about seven years.
He got some playing time earlier this month and scored his first touchdown. Read the full story and watch the heartwarming video — grab your tissues! — on Bay Shore Patch.
He’s A Medical Miracle; How He’s Paying It Forward
Joseph Ippolito doesn’t remember much about his treatment for neuroblastoma, a rare type of cancer that usually affects children and young adults. The West Orange, New Jersey, High School alumnus was only 5 months old when he was diagnosed, and went through years of chemotherapy, surgery and trips to the doctor.
He triumphed, then latched on to a new challenge: medical school, and the chance to perform medical miracles on others.
Read the full story on West Orange Patch.
Teen CEO Builds Stock Market Trading Company
Mike D’Antonio is still a few months away from college himself but the Illinois teen already owns a university. The 17-year-old Mount Carmel High School senior says it has been more than two years of success at StockedUp, described on its website as “a rapidly growing stock market education and algorithmic trading company.”
D’Antonio is the founder and CEO of StockedUp, a company he created at age 15 after taking a deep dive into the stock market first as an eighth grader at Century Junior High School in Orland Park.
Read the full story on Orland Park Patch.
Kids Fill Bucket Loader With Food For Forgotten Children
Little helpers were buzzing all over the campus of NHTI, Concord’s community college, on Tuesday as they helped fill a bucket loader with food for children in need in the Concord, New Hampshire, area.
The children — pre-kindergartners and kindergartners at Child & Family Development Center on the campus — learned that not all children have enough to eat, and a lesson in the value of being generous.
Read the full story on Concord Patch.
Why Principal Moved Office To School Roof
When Robert Cancellieri, the principal for Stoughton, Massachusetts, public schools’ Dawe Elementary School, was a kid, his principal sometimes dressed up as Mickey Mouse. Cancellieri never forgot it, and he’s making similar memories for his students.
He moved his office to the roof and spent the day there after the students exceeded their fundraising goal for field trips, assemblies and a new playground by 113 percent.
Read the full story on Stoughton Patch.
Group Works So Delightful Lemurs Won’t Vanish
Not far from some of Florida’s popular beach destinations, a group of conservationists and scientists have been quietly working in a private forest to promote the survival of the most endangered mammal on the planet.
“Lemurs are the most delightful little creatures you’ve ever met in your life,” said Katie Virun, education manager and part-time keeper with the Lemur Conservation Foundation.”They all have such unique personalities.They’re all completely different. You have anyone from that lazy Sunday strolling lemur and then we have the very fidgety excited-to-work lemurs. You’ve got a broad range of personalities.”
Read the full story on Bradenton Patch.
Cuddle Cats, Do Yoga Dog Pose At This Cafe
Cats have wonderful personalities, too. Yoga aficionados who love them, but may not be able to keep them as house pets due to allergies or other issues, have a purr-fect place to get their fix — the El Jefe Cat Lounge in Tucson, Arizona.
“El Jefe” is Spanish for “the boss,” and also refers to an elusive jaguar spotted several times in the Santa Rita Mountain trails that has turned into quite the celebrity in the Tucson area. But while you won’t be able to play with that El Jefe at the cat lounge, domestic cats from the Hermitage No-Kill Cat Shelter will be available for a game of cat-and-mouse, or for finding their new forever homes.
Read the full story on Tucson Patch.
Conservation Officer Saves Yet Another Life
Michigan Conservation Officer Jeff Ginn is gaining quite a reputation as a hero. He was honored with a Natural Resources Lifesaving Award for resuscitating a 75-year-old man at a Michigan motel. He wasn’t breathing and Ginn couldn’t get a pulse, so he used his department-issued defibrillator to restart the man’s heart.
But, it turns out, this wasn’t the first time Ginn has saved a life in his capacity as a conservation officer. It was his fourth.
Read the full story on Across Michigan Patch.
That Time A Refrigerator Saved 2 Teens
And, finally, the lifesaver in this story isn’t a human, but a refrigerator. Two teenage sisters were watching television when a tree crashed through the roof of their homes, causing whole chunks of the ceiling to fall around them. Fortunately for the girls, the refrigerator broke the fall of the tree.
“It sounded like an earthquake,” one of the sisters said. “It’s definitely a sound that I think for both of us, we’ll never forget. Everything fell on top of us, between the tree and insulation and the ceiling.”
Read the full story on Annapolis Patch.
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