August 2009 Featured Good News Video
Abandoned bird becomes man's best friend
A South Carolina man's incredible tale of how he hand-raised a blue jay. WCNC's Dave Wagner reports.
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August 2009 Good News Video Archive
Breaking New Grounds
This short documentary features a remarkable young economic development engine in Louisville, KY started by coffee shop owners Mike Mays and Gary Heine (of Heine Brothers' Coffee). Their concept was to compost their coffee grounds, and turn this waste into wealth. Mr. Brock's story illustrates how this simple idea evolved into their current vermicomposting and urban farming operations in just a few short years. MacArthur Foundation Fellow Will Allen is interviewed, along with Gary Heine, Mike Mays, Sarah Fritschner, and others.
House calls to the uninsured
CNN photojournalist Jay McMichael has the story of one doctor who is making house calls to people without insurance.
63 Years At UPS
For seven decades, 87-year-old Marty Peters has worked for UPS and now holds the record for the longest-working employee at the company. Dean Reynolds reports from Detroit.
CNN Heroes: Jordan Thomas
After losing his legs in a boating accident, Jordan Thomas launched a foundation to provide prosthetics for children.
Keeping a healthy beat in New Orleans
The New Orleans Musicians' Clinic is making sure one of New Orleans' most beloved communities can keep the music playing. NBC's Mark Potter reports.
New Hope
11-year-old boy who saved family from fire awarded a free home
'Seeing' With Your Tongue
A new device called the Wicab BrainPort acts like a virtual set of eyes for people who can't see
Kid Rock: Detroit's angel?
Detroit rocker Kid Rock is helping the struggling city in many more ways than one. CNN's Poppy Harlow reports.
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Woman finds cabbie is a kidney match
Rita Van Loenen had no idea that a trip in Thomas Chappell's taxi cab could end up being the ride that saves her life.
'Grambo' goes skydiving
To celebrate her 90th birthday, a Washington State grandmother goes skydiving. KING's Drew Mikkelson reports.
Never too old
Age is just a number at today's bat mitzvahs. WCNC reports.
Employees growing work gardens at eBay
Bay Area based eBay has found a way to provide employees with a host of benefits at a very low cost. It's giving workers a chance to raise their pay and raise workplace morale while raising crops at its San Jose campus.
Beyond the Dream
Lonise Bias, mother of college basketball great, finds hope in helping others
Subway Hero
Off-duty firefighter saves man from train tracks
Needy get help from unknown donors
From the desperation of an empty bank account came the inspiration Lionel Thompson needed to help others who were stuck in a similar position. NBC’s Chris Jansing reports.
Military families stay virtually connected
Thanks to the Freedom Calls program, soldiers deployed in Iraq get to meet their newborn children via satellite – for free. NBC's Ron Mott reports.
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Kids thankful for foster 'mega' mom
(WISH) Porshay Stegall’s kids call her a multi-tasking mega mom and it's easy to see why. Stegall, 31, is a single, foster mother with an open door and an open heart.
Otter befriends dogs
A river otter has befriended a group of dogs, even though they are natural enemies. WTOC's Craig Harney reports.
N.Y. cops, teens take a whack at cricket
Police in Queens, N.Y., are reaching out to the city's immigrant population by embracing a sport they love. NBC's Tiki Barber reports.
600-pound tortoise makes a big move
Animal officials coax Rocket, a 609-pound tortoise, to a new home in Oklahoma. NBC's Kevin Tibbles reports.
Recession Ride Taxi
After countless entrepreneurial failures, Red Cross worker Eric Hagen started the Recession Ride Taxi, where customers pay what they want. Steve Hartman reports on Hagen's journey for success.
Noble Voyage
Two pals embarked on an ambitious rowing journey undertaking an historical route. And, as Seth Doane reports, the two friends also had a humanitarian mission at hand.
Safe drinking water
Tracy Hawkins went to Africa to teach a pottery class and returned with a solution to filter safe drinking water.
Teen gardeners sow seeds of hope
A group of enterprising teens have started a business that feeds their own community—and their entrepreneurial spirit. NBC's Kerry Sanders reports.
Pure Intentions
For many of us, drinking water is taken for granted, but for many people around the world, drinking water is inaccessible. As Seth Doane reports, one man is trying to save lives by raising awareness.
Sisterhood for military teens
Two teen girls start a sisterhood for helping other military daughters. CNN's Kiran Chetry reports.
A team effort to help Native Americans
Native American students get a shot at college through a sports and academic mentorship program called "For Love of the Game." NBC's Miguel Almaguer reports.
The Blind Sportscaster
The Spanish voice of Tampa Bay Rays baseball, Enrique "The Volcano" Oliu was born blind. Kelly Cobiella reports on the sports broadcaster's gift to explain a game he has never seen.
Hip shakin' granny
A Florida great-grandmother takes top prize in the "Over 65" dance-off. WTVJ's Adam Kuperstein reports.
Golfers find new types of caddies
At the Sherwood Forest Golf Course in North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains, golfers use llamas to serve as their own personal caddies. NBC’s Pete Alexander discusses how these friendly animals became a permanent fixture on the green.
Lose 1 tree, plant 2
A city embraces environmental value of trees by planting two for every tree lost. CNN's Reynolds Wolf reports.
MD gives free chemo to poor
CNN Thelma Gutierrez reports on a doctor who helps cancer patients turned away from a county hospital in Las Vegas.
A real life "Angel" in Queens, New York
(GoInspireGo.com) Toan Lam of GoInspireGo.com brings us a story about Jorge Muñoz, a.k.a. Angel in Queens, a bus driver responsible for providing more than 70,000 hot, home-cooked meals to hungry people in his neighborhood.
Click here for a heart-warming follow-up story on Jorge Muñoz from GoInspireGo.com
Teacher begins 59th year
An 84-year-old is in his sixth decade of teaching math and science. KOTV reports.
Technology for trees
CNN Hero Jude Ndambuki visits Kenya, where he is helping breathe new life to students and their surroundings
Teacher begins 59th year
An 84-year-old is in his sixth decade of teaching math and science. KOTV reports.
N.Y. cop dances to traffic
A New York traffic cop uses dance moves to move traffic. WNBC-TV's Roseanne Colletti reports.
Baseball finally comes to Iraq
Rachel Maddow reports that three companies have donated baseball equipment to the Iraqi national team and the team’s excited to receive the gear.
Medal of honor awarded
Sixteen people ranging from politicians to athletes receive the medal of honor from President Obama.
Great-grandma on her 45-year-old car
90-year-old Rachel Veitch talks to NBC's Kerry Sanders about her 45-year-old car she’s nicknamed "Chariot."
Ghetto Film School
CNN's Erica Hill looks at a program offering disadvantaged students a unique look into the world of filmmaking.
Skateboarding in Afghanistan
'Skateistan' is a co-educational skateboarding school in Afghanistan, bringing people together to learn how to skate.
Fighting To Keep Employees
Although the economy is still down, some companies are doing whatever they can to keep workers. As Mark Strassman reports, not every employer has been joining the 'layoff' trend.
An Unlikely Friendship
Steve Hartman reports on the book club that's inspiring people in other states and countries. It all began with an unlikely friendship between two men, one a lawyer and the other homeless.
Abandoned bird becomes man's best friend
A South Carolina man's incredible tale of how he hand-raised a blue jay. WCNC's Dave Wagner reports.
Inner city kids explore the great outdoors
John Annoni of Allentown, Penn., wanted to take young people from urban areas and exposes them to places they most likely would never experience. NBC's Ron Allen reports.
Second chance for the homeless
HLN's Richelle Carey reports on a program that gives the homeless a hand up instead of a handout.
Quadriplegic teen catches some waves
TODAY’s Jenna Wolfe has the inspiring story of a 15-year-old California boy whose passion is surfing despite being confined to a wheelchair for most of his life.
'Disposable' income
CNN's Fredricka Whitfield reports on one city's disposable income: Fargo, North Dakota, generates tax-saving revenue from rubbish.
Band aid for New Orleans kids
Students in CNN Hero Derrick Tabb's music program are learning a lot more than just how to play instruments.
Baseball hero pinch hits for kids
A man who started out as a baseball star is now starring in a much different role for kids who are still diamonds in the rough. NBC's Lee Cowan reports.
Donation chain gives hope to transplant recipients
Seven kidney donors and seven kidney recipients formed a donation chain that defied the odds, thanks to the work of one African American surgeon.
Man bikes across U.S. to raise money, awareness for world hunger
(MontanasNewsStation.com) Over the past four months, Andrew Marinelli, 26, has seen the southernmost point of the continental United States in Key West, Florida, the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado and several hundred places in between, all from the seat of a bike.
These doctors make house calls
A pair of doctors are reviving the old ways of medicine - including house calls. CNN photojournalist Bob Crowley reports.
65-Year-Old Police Trainee
They say that you are never too old, and at least one would-be policeman is working hard to prove them right. As Russ Mitchell reports, this 65-year-old is ready to be the 'rookie' again.
Girls punch away stereotypes
CNN's Atia Abawi meets girl boxers in Kabul punching their way to a bright future, possibly even to the Olympics.
Group turns U.S. excess into aid abroad
Goods for Good – which takes unwanted products from U.S. companies and sends them to children in Malawi – has donated more than 100 tons of items to date. NBC’s Peter Alexander reports.
Duo spreads cheer one praise at a time
Brett Westcot and Cameron Brown, the so-called "Compliment Guys," are on a 10-city tour, dishing out goodwill to everyone they meet. NBC’s Lester Holt reports, then sits down with the pair.