A Dad on a Mission

Jun 20, 2021

Dad Breaks World Record by Completing 1.5 Million Pushups for Charity

A Wisconsin man has gone to extreme, near-impossible lengths to inspire his kids—while raising money for an important cause.

As of Sunday, Winneconne’s Nate Carroll completed his 1,500,231st push-up within the span of twelve months, says The Wisconsin State Journal.

Averaging 4,100 push-ups per day—and occasionally reaching a whopping 7,000 in one day—Carroll is using the challenge to fundraise for the Tunnels to Towers Foundation, an organization that offers housing and mortgage assistance to the families of officers and firefighters who are killed in the line of duty.

Additionally, Carroll hopes to teach his own children an important lesson in achieving one’s goals. Carroll told Fox News that he hoped to “demonstrate to my kids what goals that seem impossible look like when they are broken down into daily manageable chunks.”

“I understood if this challenge was going to be taken on, there had to be more depth to it besides just breaking a record,” he added. While his muscle tone certainly did increase over the course of the year, he explained, “What was most noticed was my awareness of how my body felt and responded to the stress of thousands of push-ups each day.”

More than physical the “most dramatic change was…mental strength and the understanding that the body is a phenomenal creation, and if properly cared for and conditioned, can endure significant physical stress and accomplish tremendous feats.”

To mark the momentous occasion, he completed the record-breaking push-ups during halftime of the 48th annual Fun City Bowl, a football game for New York City first responders.

Over the past year, Carroll, a social worker, has been completing the majority of his push-ups in between his daily responsibilities, turning everywhere from his living room to his office into a makeshift gym. “Trying to balance this amount of push-ups with being a father and working full time sometimes creates obstacles that you sometimes have to overcome,” he explained to The Wisconsin State Journal.

be kind . be grace . be strong . share your talents

be PEACE

A Boy’s Efforts to Share with Others

Jun 16, 2021

Gloucestershire boy’s hubcap replacement campaign is praised

BBC News

Matthew, 14, who is autistic, finds the hubcaps, cleans them and tries to match them to cars that have lost them.

His mother Rachel Checksfield said 150 spare hubcaps are now kept in their front garden waiting to be given away.

Hundreds of people praised Matthew, from South Gloucestershire, after his story was posted on Reddit.

Mrs Checksfield, from Thornbury, said in three months Matthew had managed to replace about 20 hubcaps for people who had lost them.

He tries to match hubcaps in his collection to cars that are missing them, making a note of which make and model is required.

“All Matthew wants to do in life is to help people, he just loves people,” said Mrs Checksfield.

“When he was younger, we gave him frisbees and he attached the Ford logo on to them.

“He’s always had an interest in vehicles, and wanted to touch cars all the time even when they were moving so we’ve had to teach him to be careful around them.”

Although no one has yet thanked him in person, one recipient put a message in their car saying “thank you Matthew”, which Mrs Checksfied said delighted him.

(Make sure you read this beautiful note all the way through)

Mrs Checksfield said: “It is hard with autistic children sometimes because so much of their interests are in their head and you can’t always participate with them, whereas this – because he needs my help – he does verbalise it more.

“We’re incredibly close, but it is nice to be able to do this with him.”

be kind . be grace . share your talents

be PEACE

Chief Kindness Officer

May 16, 2021

8-year-old Virginia boy on a mission to help the homeless

By Ariana Freeman / CBS News

An 8-year-old boy in Virginia is going the extra mile to help the homeless. CBS News first met Zohaib Begg last year, after he made it his mission to gather as much personal protective equipment as possible for frontline workers. He ended up with more than 6,000 items. Now, the self-proclaimed “Chief Kindness Officer” has shifted his focus to uplifting the homeless community.

“The reason I want to give to the homeless is because every time I go to D.C. I see it’s a problem with my own eyes, and I had the desire to help them from my own heart,” Begg said.

Begg recently set his sights on reaching at least 1,000 people in need for Global Youth Service Day, the largest youth service event in the world highlighting the heroics of those aged 5 to 25.

“It means a lot to me and I know how the families feel and I just hope these kits give the families who are dealing through this hard time right now a little bit of comfort,” he said.

Sharon Wise, who was once homeless and now advocates on behalf of homeless people, was by his side. Together, they went to the underskirts of the 3rd Street tunnel off New Jersey Avenue in Washington, D.C., to pass out food, toiletry kits and supplies to people in need.

“They weren’t born one day and say, ‘Hey, I think I want to be in a camp one day.’ You know, they ended up there and seeing him out there with me and some of the other volunteers, it just gives them hope, saying, ‘Wow, this little boy is out here. He cares about us,'” Wise said.

Each kit was filled with donations from local companies to whom Begg personally reached out. “I kept making holes in my socks so my mom got me Bombas, and I thought they’re very comfy. Then I thought, ‘Hey maybe Bombas could give me some socks.’ So me and my mom emailed them for 50 socks and they ended up giving us 600,” Begg said.

He also connected with dentist offices, Trader Joe’s, Wegmans and Chick-fil-A.

“I believe in spreading kindness, and all my donors and partners for this event share this vision and also believe that no one is too young to make a difference,” he said.

Although Global Youth Service Day has passed, Begg says his mission is far from over. As long as he’s helping those around him, he said he’s one happy third-grader.

“It makes me happy to give to others,” he said. “I also want to show children that no matter your age, you can always make a difference and a positive impact in your community. You just have to find the problem and find one solution.”

be kind . be grace . show compassion

be PEACE

The Gift of a Dream Trip for some Old Friends

Apr 25, 2021

Travel Agent Helps Aging Veteran Pilot Pals Go On a Dream Boys’ Trip Without Costing Them a Dime.

By Good News Network

A big-hearted woman has helped three nonagenarian veteran pilot chums go on their dream “last hurrah” boys’ trip—without costing them a dime.

Julie Pflaumer got a call from veteran and former pilot Jack Henderson to help him and two friends—also veterans and pilots—go to the Reno Air Races in Nevada.

90-year-old Jack was calling from an Oregon assisted living facility, where he’s become best buddies with David Crawford and Dick Snider.

“They happened to be former pilots too, so we got together rather quickly,” said Jack, who served in the Navy as a Petty officer first class (PO1) and later became a civilian pilot.

93-year-old David—a radio operator in the Navy before becoming a civilian—and 90-year-old Dick, who served in the US Army before getting his wings, do everything together.

But when travel agent Julie did some research on tickets, she found they wouldn’t be available until later in the year, which instantly saddened Jack, who thought, “Well, I might not even be around by the time they’re available.”

Julie decided that she had to find another option for the buddies. Then she hit on something: AeroLegengs Biplane Rides offers bi-plane experiences in the town where the three pals live. She could give them a day up in the skies, for free of course.

Julie posted her idea in a travel agents group on Facebook. Donations soon began pouring in, raising over $1,100—well over the $600 needed to fly all three men up.

“I don’t deserve all the credit here, this was merely an idea on my part and the only reason it turned into what it was was because everybody chipped in,” Julie said.

When the former pilots were given their gift certificates for the bi-plane excursion this March, “Most of us had to go change our britches,” Jack joked. “It was such an unexpected, pleasant surprise.”

Julie learned that Dick had actually planned on flying with the company before—to spread his late wife’s ashes—but hadn’t got around to it yet. Now he had the chance.

“I’d like to think his wife is up in heaven saying ‘Come on honey let’s get the show on the road’,” added Julie.

Julie said being the catalyst for this good deed has reminded her why she became a travel agent four years ago.

“The biggest thing for me is being able to bring that happiness to people of being able to do something they didn’t think they could,” she said. That’s a beautiful sentiment indeed.

Be Kind . Be Grace . Give from your Heart . Be Generous

Be PEACE

Giving with Walking Sticks

Apr 18, 2021

A 93-year-old veteran is whittling walking sticks to raise money for an Ohio food pantry.

By: National Desk Staff /WLWT5

When the going gets tough, the tough keep going, or at least that’s what you do when you’re a 93-year-old retired Air Force Colonel—and John Hobson likes to keep busy.

“If he just got put somewhere and told him to sit down, he’d go crazy,” his son Mark Hobson, told WKEF-TV.

In 2020, Hobson occupied himself by handcrafting close to 100 walking sticks, the proceeds of which, he donated to a local Ohio charity outreach group, the Xenia Area Fish Food Pantry.

“He’s just a sweet man who gives a darn about other folks who don’t have [anything],” Mark Hobson said.

To sell his wares, Hobson set up a roadside stand in his front yard. The price was beyond reasonable: $3.00 each, or a food pantry donation.

Not surprisingly, the senior whittling-wonder was sold out in just a few days, having earned about $600.

Wanting to do more, Hobson and his family set up a GoFundMe page which has since raised $9,565 in cash for the Xenia Area Fish Food Pantry. All told, donations from the sale of the walking sticks, the GoFundMe campaign, and additional donations made in Hobson’s name total close to $16,000.

“Thank you for doing a very kind thing to make Grandpa happy and to make a difference for so many in our community,” Hobson’s granddaughter Jenny Denen wrote. “We have been so touched by your kindness and generosity.”

“We have been told by the pantry that a $1 donation generates five pounds of food. That means that we have helped the pantry be able to distribute about 40 tons of food to the Xenia community! What a massive blessing to those in need during this very difficult time.

Staying busy is certainly one factor that keeps Hobson hard at work, but his main motivation is likely more simple. He says knowing that he’s still able to help others in need in a meaningful way just makes him feel good.

Watch this Video from WLWT5: