At Only Positive News, we love getting comments from our readers. The idea behind the site, after all, is to share positive news!

One reader, Pete Verral, had this story to share with us:

Hoopoe Books Share Literacy Program located in Los Altos, CA, delivered some holiday cheer to underserved San Francisco Bay Area children with a donation of over 10,000 books. For some children, this was the first book of their own. The book give-away was made possible by a $90,000 grant from the Kaiser Permanente Community Grants Program.

The books (some bi-lingual English-Spanish) were distributed to charitable organizations and schools serving poor and low-income families. Over 2,200 books went to San Francisco children, 3,000 were earmarked for East Bay youngsters and over 4,900 books went to organizations serving at-risk youth in the South Bay.

A nationwide program first introduced in the San Francisco Bay Area in 2006, Share Literacy partners with early education agencies serving poverty level and low-income families, after-school programs and organizations providing ESL and adult literacy instruction.

Maybe you’ve already seen Randy Pausch’s well-known “Last Lecture?” It became a very popular download for some time. He was also interviewed at length by Diane Sawyer, a good friend of his.

Who is this man and why is he considered one of the most inspiring people of 2008?

Randy was a Carnegie Mellon University professor who had only 6 months to live because of his pancreatic cancer. He gave a final lecture on time management at the University of Virginia on November 27, 2007.

This wasn’t your ordinary lecture, given by an ordinary professor. This was one man’s last chance to relay some powerful messages to the world before he passed on, leaving his wife and children.

If you can only watch a few minutes of this inspiring lecture, do so:

The Last Lecture

When 84-year old Norman Beckman entered the hospital for a medical issue, the last thing on his mind was his quarterly water bill. He ended up spending several months in the hospital, arriving home to a $3000 water bill that he couldn’t pay.

Why was the bill so high? Apparently his pipes had frozen and leaked a considerable amount of water, though fortunately, not causing any damage to his home.

Luckily for Norman, community member Bryan Kassube started a drive to assist him. In no time flat, Kassube and 100 contributors raised $4,027.

“The donations ranged from $5 to $500,” Kassube said. “I’m just floored we reached our goal in one week.”

The remaining amount will be given to Beckman.

“I want to give it to the Salvation Army, but I’m going to wait until Dec. 5 when Thrivent Financial for Lutherans has promised to match donations to the Army’s Red Kettle campaign,” Beckman said.

Thrivent recently announced it would match any donations made on Dec. 5 up to $125,000, potentially the largest one-day donation in the country to the Red Kettle campaign.

“I’ve always had a good opinion of the Salvation Army. I served in World War II and they were always there for the soldiers,” said Beckman.

You probably haven’t heard of Ray Lopez. He’s a quiet guy plus people like Ray are too busy working in communities to bask in the limelight. Ray is the environmental program manager at Little Sisters of the Assumption (LSA) Family Health Service in New York City. His job isn’t particularly glamorous but his impact is constantly being felt by those around him.

Ray works with residents in Easy Harlem to help combat unhealthy environmental conditions such as mold, insect infestation and poor air quality. He teaches residents practical solutions to long-standing problems in order to improve their quality of life. An example? Wrapping duct tape around the edge of a cleaned mattress to form a kind of sticky moat to prevent bed bug re-infestation.

See? Not glamorous? But it’s quiet people like Ray who are making daily differences in their neighborhoods, with a totally hands-on approach (Ray is just as comfortable strapping on a mask and removing mold from a household as lecturing to community members.)

Because of the contributions of people like Ray, Little Sisters of Assumption has become widely recognized for its environmental interventions, receiving the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s Region 2 Environmental Quality Award for its asthma program, which Ray Lopez oversees.

Sometimes, making change in our frenzied world can seem overwhelming. That’s when you can remember soft-spoken men like Ray making differences in subtle ways that make big differences.

Listen to Ray talk about his positive news: http://www.rwjf.org/newsroom/product.jsp

Ray Lopez does NOT let the bed bugs bite

This story is so inspirational, positive and ongoing that it deserves a revisit from Only Positive News.

There are over 1 billion homeless people existing on this planet. The Homeless World Cup was established to put an end to this prevalent problem and to also showcase the skills of people who are often too busy struggling to survive. If you think this is a small, grassroots effort, think again.

This event has taken the world by storm. The first tournament began in Graz in 2003 with 17 national teams. At the 5th Homeless World Cup in Copenhagen in the summer of this year, 48 nations, 500 players were brought together for a once in a lifetime opportunity to represent their country. Melbourne is the host city for the upcoming tournament from 1-7 December 2008.

In preparation, a new Australian team was announced this week to compete. This is the first time a dedicated women’s competition will be held in the history of the Homeless World Cup.

“Apart from coming to Melbourne to represent my country, getting selected to be the Captain of the Women’s team is probably the best thing to have ever happened to me,” Toni Whelan had to say. Whelan was awarded Best Female Player of the 2008 National Street Soccer Championships as well.

Says founder Mel Young:

“The Homeless World Cup has demonstrated the power of sport to change lives, to change the world. The sixth Homeless World Cup in Melbourne is the pinnacle of the year round work by grass-roots football programs in 56 nations, which bring together over 30,000 players for training, to rebuild their lives and communities.

“The Homeless World Cup is growing fast, traveling to the far corners of the globe to engage people who are homeless, to change hearts and minds, and to pioneer imaginative solutions to address this key global issue.”

Australia’s Street Matildas take Uganda’s victory in their stride after their Homeless World Cup match at Federation Square yesterday. Photo: Penny Stephens

Eric Scott Flying High

To continue with our space-age forms for travel, let’s introduce this positive story:

Eric Scott, professional stunt person, catapulted himself into the record books as he jetted across a canyon, with the use of a contraption that used hydrogen peroxide for fuel…without the use of a parachute or safety net.

This is no small deal. For decades, aeronautical companies have been striving for a pack that’s capable of propelling a human a substantial distance. The problem is that jetpacks burn fuel incredibly quickly. And often, as Scott points out, there’s no way of knowing how long you will be airborne.

“This was almost twice the distance that I’ve ever flown before,” Scott says. “I’ve run out of fuel at 29 seconds before – 2ft off the deck. But I had no idea exactly how long it [the crossing] was going to take. I was expecting a 25 to 28-second flight. It always looks good on paper, but paper’s paper and 1,000ft gorges are 1,000ft gorges. Finally, I just made the decision that we’re gonna do it. It was a personal thing. Just one of those things that needed to be done.”

Anytime we make strides to move away from fossil fuel and explore other forms of transportation, it’s positive and inspiring news. And just looks pretty awesome!
Watch Amazing Video of Eric Scott

I know of several friends who are very concerned about the holidays. They just don’t have the budget and can’t purchase the landslide of gifts they used to. They feel guilty, as if only 3 or 4 presents is just not enough.

It’s hard to hear, frankly. I remind them that there was a time when you only gave one gift and chances are, you handmade it. Or you celebrated by sharing food and wine and life. Somewhere along the line, we’ve equated holidays with excess and we’ve never looked back. But if there was ever a time to re-evaluate our attitudes surrounding the holidays, it’s now…and for a number of reasons.

Most of us are feeling the brunt, on some levels, of a problematic economy. Our wallets are a little thinner and our budgets a little tighter. In addition, there is a lot of dissension in our world; a continuing war in Iraq, Africa experiencing nationwide conflicts, just to name a few. Its hard to celebrate fully when there’s so much need and difficulty in so many places. On top of that, we have severe environment issues we’re contending with - more stuff just burdens our aching planet.

Of course, that’s not to say we shouldn’t celebrate. It’s more important than ever to give and receive LOVE during the holidays. Thing is - love doesn’t mean gifts. It means love.

This holiday, practice giving yourself as a gift (no, not wrapped in a bow!) Give your time, your understanding. Give patience in an area you don’t normally give it. Give of yourself. And give the gifts a break. Don’t we all have enough stuff by now? Love is the gift that keeps giving!

Willie the parrot isn’t always the most talkative sort. He has a limited vocabulary that includes “I love you” and “mama.” But one night several weeks ago, he had a lot more to say. His owner Meagan was babysitting a two-year old named Hannah in Denver when Meagan went to the bathroom.

“While I was in the bathroom, Willie started screaming like I’d never heard him scream before and he started flapping his wings,” said Meagan, the babysitter. “Then he started saying ‘mama baby’ over and over and over again until I came out and looked at Hannah and Hannah’s face was turning blue because she was choking on her Pop Tart.”

Meagan then performed the Heimlich maneuver on Hannah, which dislodged the food.

“If Willie wouldn’t have warned me, I probably wouldn’t have come out of the bathroom in time because she was already turning blue, her lips were blue and everything,” Meagan said.

Animals have a powerful sense of intuition and recognize danger. When we realize their importance on this planet as our friends and protectors, we can do more to protect them. They need it. They deserve it. What can you do today to give back to the animal kingdom? It could be an extra long walk for your dog or a friendly hug or some volunteer work.

Positive news for Parrots - It's nice to see them in flight!

Share your positive news with us. We’d love to hear from you!

India has itself a new, self-imposed Parliament of youths who seek change.

At first, Ishita Chaudhry gathered friends who were serious about social activism in the confines of her garage. Since then they have grown exponentially.

Gillian Howell is involved in the entire whisky-making process

Some other noted names to appear on Management Today’s “35 women under 35″ list include well-known designer Stella McCartney.

She has the right sort of personality, and she takes on a lot of responsibility for someone who is only 26 Stephen Davies, Managing Director

Interestingly, Gillian had never planned on the life of a whisky distiller but liked the size of the company. She wanted to genuinely feel connected to a smaller company and not feel like another “cog in the wheel.”

“This is a lot more hands on,” she explained. “There are loads of different aspects to the job, it’s really varied.”

Does she have to drink the stuff in order to keep her job? Luckily not! At her level, a simple smell of the stuff is enough to tell her what’s needed.

Whenever women enter a predominantly male arena, its always positive news…especially when she may be considered one of the best distillers in the last century!

Send us your positive news! We’d love to hear from you!