Swandeh Terhide

When Iowa teen Lauren Schroeder showed up to a community food drive during COVID, she didn’t see a lot that actually nourished people—just a lot of boxed and canned goods. She decided to become the change she wanted to see, and after receiving a half-acre of land from her parents, she grew 7,000 pounds of produce with a market value of around $15,000 and gave it all away to food banks and non-profits in the Quad Cities area. The senior from Calamus-Wheatland High School likes to tend cattle and play softball, and had never managed a garden before, but according to her mother Katie Schroeder, she took studies of agronomy and gardening to heart. Her work drew the attention of the education-industry organization called Future Farmers of America, which gave her a small grant for supplies and seeds. She received help from her younger siblings, but still put in the hard yards of watering and weeding—2 to 3 hours in total every day. Her work, and FFA’s trust, soon bore fruit, and she began donating 15 types of veggies to organizations like Carroll Assistance Center, Wheatland Nursing Home, Café on Vine, River Bend Food Bank, Lost Nation Food Pantry, Family Resources, Lady of the Prairie, and Community Action of Eastern Iowa. “It was a really good feeling to know that anyone who wanted fresh vegetables would be able to get them,” Lauren told the Washington Post. “I knew that I wanted to keep going.” After receiving a second grant from Future Farmers of America, she turned her half acre into a full acre, and expanded the number of vegetables to 20 different species. Her goal is to donate 20,000 pounds of vegetables by the time she graduates next June. “How could you not be proud,” said her mother Katie, “she really chose to focus on learning about agronomy, learning about gardening, learning about vegetables, but just really taking it to the next level and actually helping people out with it.” How beautiful it is when people do things from a very kind point of view.

Frontier Airlines recently had a special guest on their flight from Florida to Puerto Rico—5-year-old Xavier Rivas who was preparing to ‘graduate’ from kindergarten. But because the graduation at his school was taking place whilst young Xavier was 35,000 feet above sea level, Frontier attendants stepped in to give him a special ceremony. Calling his name from the intercom, they invited all the passengers to offer congratulations as Xavier walked down the aisle in a red cap and gown. “He is missing his graduation, his Kindergarten graduation today. And because he chose to fly Frontier instead, we are giving him his graduation ceremony on this flight,” the attendant said. Passengers were recording the special moment and many offered high-fives to the little guy, whose special day included a visit to the cockpit to meet the pilots, and some small presents as well. He was absolutely thrilled; his face just lit up,” Janeiry Rivas, Xavier’s mother, shared with Good Morning America. “He was incredibly excited, receiving high-fives from everyone and soaking up the cheers.” Truly, the most beautiful of moments in life arise when disappointment lingers real near.

In Reading, England, a crane operator successfully rescued a man trapped on the roof of a burning high-rise building. Glen Edwards, who described the day as anything but ordinary, downplayed the dramatic nature of the rescue. On that windy day, Edwards was operating a metal cage designed for workers on building facades when he noticed a man waving his coat from the roof. Despite the chaotic conditions—strong winds and thick smoke from the cladding of the Station Hill development—Edwards knew he had to act fast to save a soul. In an attempt to assist and with the help of his boss with whom he communicated with on the radio, he received directions to lower the cage as close to the building as possible. The situation was precarious, with the wind threatening to shift the cage and potentially expose the stranded man to lethal smoke inhalation. Edwards skillfully maneuvered the cage, managing to position it near the man, who then climbed in to cheers from the crowd below. “It was a very close call,” Edwards later remarked, reflecting on the swirling winds and the urgency of the moment. He emphasized his focus on getting the cage down safely, despite the challenges posed by the environment. Both men rescued from the building were subsequently treated for smoke inhalation, but fortunately, their injuries were not severe. The fire, which required the efforts of over 50 firefighters, was eventually extinguished.

We frequently hear stories of brave firefighters risking their lives and health to rescue individuals from burning buildings. However, these two individuals are not firefighters; they embody a whole different kind of heroism. They are heroes, no doubt, but by trade they haul trash. Nonetheless, while working in Tipton, England, on Tuesday morning, they saw fires ripping through a small brick townhome, and rescued a man, woman, and their dog. Steve Whitehouse and Kevin Marriott work for Serco garbage collection, and it was Whitehouse who first jumped into action. Whitehouse climbed up to a first-floor balcony three times to rescue the trio from the flames. He first carried the woman down, but when he turned back to help the young man, he found he was shouting to his dog, still inside. Bundling the dog in a blanket, Whitehouse climbed down and told the owner throw the dog to him. After catching him, the garbageman returned up to the balcony to help the man. Meanwhile Whitehouse’ partner Marriott went door to door shouting for people to get clear of the connected townhomes. Both the man and the dog were suffering from smoke inhalation when 19 firefighters arrived from West Midlands Fire and Rescue. The dog was treated on site while the man was rushed to the hospital. I have no doubt that without Steve’s incredible bravery the outcome could have been very different,” said senior firefighter Chris Green. “I have no idea how he managed to do what he did. It was heroic. The fire and smoke were coming out of the property’s rear door like a blow torch.” According to the BBC, the two garbagemen debriefed and recovered over a cup of coffee, and went right back out to finish their collection rounds. Not all heroes don the traditional superhero costume. Some of our most heroic souls wear the humble and common everyday clothing. While their attire may not be flashy, their contributions to society are invaluable.

One mustn’t wait to make it big before extending a hand in kind fellowship to brighten the countenance of another. You can start right where you are, with whatever skills or resources you have. The generosity and resilience of the Maui islanders has been inspiring in the aftermath of the wildfires, and jeweler Omi Chamdi, owner of No Ka ‘Oi Jewelers in Kahului, is a perfect example of this. Chamdi stated he got the idea after being moved by stories of jewelers repairing pieces in the aftermath of the Californian wildfires in 2018. “These are not just ordinary items, these are the most precious possessions that people go back to the ruins and dig through the rubble to find,” he said. “That’s why I feel this is something I want to do and must do, because this is within my expertise.” No Ka ‘Oi has repaired over 150 pieces of jewelry and has another 300 objects sent in by residents who had jewelry boxes and safes burnt up in the fires. Diamonds and other precious stones are mostly immune to the effects of fire, but gold can be severely tarnished or disfigured, with settings falling apart and stones tumbling down into the darkness. In such cases, soldering, polishing, laser cleaning, or rhodium plating might be required to restore the shine, and it might cost a person $150 or more. But Chamdi is doing it all out of pocket. Chamdi said that people have routinely brought in pieces that took them days to find amid the ashes of their homes and possessions. For example, there is this particularly catchy one, the story of one Lahaina resident, Michelle Quirk, who used a shovel to dig through the ashes of her house in order to find 6 rings belonging to her great-grandmother—No Ka ‘Oi restored all of them. “Just finding the rings honestly has helped me emotionally,” Quirk said. “Before, I couldn’t even really talk about it or understand what happened. Then once those rings were found, it gave me hope.” Even the smallest of gestures could have far- reaching positive impact of someone, this realization should spur you into to being kind no matter how minute you think your efforts are, they may mean everything to a soul out there.

In life, you don’t need to have everything figured out in order to help someone else. Kindness doesn’t come from a lack of personal challenges; rather, it stems from individuals who, despite their own difficulties, choose not to let those struggles cloud their compassion and understanding of others’ hardships and situations. A mother in Arizona woke to find she was trapped in the second story of her apartment home as it quickly engulfed in flames. Claudia Jimenez opened the window and called out to anyone who could hear, needing somehow to find a way to escape while the front door was blocked by the fire. The first person to arrive at the scene was not a firefighter, but Joe Hollins, who lived in a nearby homeless encampment with his wife. Hollins told CBS News that all he saw was a lady pulling open the window and screaming for help. Instinctively he swung into action because he knew for sure that time was of utmost importance at this time. He beckoned to Claudia, asking her to lower the children through the window. The mother of two then had to make a difficult choice. It’s not unusual or prejudicial to be wary of people living on the streets, but for her one-year-old daughter Valerie and eight-year-old Natalie, Hollins may have been their only hope of survival. Under the window, Hollins called to Jimenez saying that he would catch the children in his arms. She trusted the man, and not only dropped Valerie and Natalie, but the two dogs as well. It took Jimenez herself a while to summon the courage to jump, but she managed it, and Hollins still had the strength to catch her. As things calmed down, the family thanked Hollins profusely, though the man said that he did what anyone would do in that situation. “Yes, anyone would. Those were children,” he said Jimenez expressed her immense gratitude towards Joe Hollins, stating that she would forever be thankful to him. She reiterated that to her, Hollins was an angel, and because of him, they were alive and safe. Jimenez emphasized that her daughters were also safe thanks to Hollins’ actions. When it has to do with kindness and saving a life – Act now, let the details come later.