37/514 Good Things

Today's good thing is a man with vitiligo who crochets dolls with vitiligo so children with the skin condition can have a doll that looks like them. What an incredible person who would take the time out of his life to create something to help others!

36/514 Good Things

Today's good thing is the fact that the Seattle City Council passed a resolution in order to help missing Indigenous women and girls. As we well know, Native and First Nations women and girls are kidnapped and murdered at an epidemic level in North America, and nobody in colonizer communities around the US and Canada seem to care enough to do anything about it. Let us hope that something good, actual action, will come from this resolution.

35/514 Good Things

We have a long way to go on gun control in this country, but things like this give me hope. As with so many other things in this nation, it's going to take corporate pressure to make any changes. I don't know what will come of this, but it's a start.

34/514 Good Things

Today's good thing, is a restaurant opening next year all the way on the other side of the country so I'm not going to be able to visit any time soon, but I hope lots of people who live there will! Mozzeria, a pizzeria staffed entirely by deaf employees. This is a great step in combating ableism, and I'd like to see more deaf-owned and -staffed restaurants open around the country!

33/514 Good Things

Today's good thing is the fact that states are leading the way in protecting migrant minors being detained at the border. While we aren't out in the streets marching for these poor souls, we are at least speaking out to our local politicians, and clearly, some of them are listening. This is a good lesson that we should always look to local and state governments when the federal one fails us.

32/514 Good Things

Today's good thing is a heartwarming story of two children finding friendship, in spite of their differences. May we all be as loving and caring of each other as these two kids are. As the song says, we must be carefully taught to hate, but imagine the world if we were not taught to hate. I wish I could live in that world.

31/514 Good Things

Today's good thing has nothing to do with impeachment. It has everything to do with gardening and immigrants, two wonderful things! I have posted about something like this before, but it was in Canada. I say let the gardens grow far and wide!

30/514 Good Things

Today's good thing is a person we all know and love, using his platform to raise awareness of a condition that needs more attention.  It's really heartening to know that people can use their power to try and help others out. He didn't have to, he could have just gone about his life, cashing in on his fame for greater personal gain. But he didn't, and in today's day and age, that's pretty incredible.

According to his twitter account, he's already raised $25,000 for research. If you're in a position to make a donation, this is a worthy cause.

29/514 Good Things

Today's good thing is hope. Hope for people suffering from Sickle Cell Anemia, and awe for technology and science and the advances being made to help others. Obviously, there is a lot that could go wrong with messing with genes, but the more we learn about DNA and how all of it works, the more incredible things we'll be able to do to heal people. Ahhhh, science!!

28/514 Good Things

Today's good thing is this heartwarming story from New Jersey. People in a position of being able to help others, actually using that position to help others. A lovely story of a family reunion. I hope that this family manages to stay together from here on out!

27/514 Good Things

Today's good thing was Global Climate strike. As I wrote about last night, the entire planet came together as one, and marched. And I was feeling a bit sad that I wouldn't be able to participate in it because I had to work. But I forgot about my lunch hour...

I studied up on the protest times and routes in Seattle and left my building at noon in hopes of finding something going on at the time. I went to Westlake Center and saw a few really little kids with signs and their parents accompanying them and felt my heart warm at the sight. Then I just headed in the direction of the South Lake Union neighborhood on the outskirts of downtown and ended up at the Amazon building, along with a couple thousand protestors and a helicopter hovering overhead. Because I only had an hour, I couldn't stay long, but I did stay long enough to hear one of the speakers before heading back up towards work.

I made it back to Westlake Center just in time to see the student marchers heading down the hill(Pine Street) and turning up onto 5th Avenue to march to City Hall. I took some pictures along the way, and then jumped right into the middle of the marchers. I was only able to go a few blocks before I had to turn off to go back to work, but the energy was incredible! I wish I could share the pictures but there's something wonky with my phone and I get get any pictures off of them, so you'll just have to trust me that it was amazing!

At both locations, I felt incredibly emotionally overwhelmed. I was fighting back tears and really didn't want to go back to work. But I was so happy that I was able to join in, even if for a very short time. To feel connected to all the people around the world marching today, was amazing. We have so much work to do, and it's going to take every last one of us doing everything we possibly can.

Today was a great beginning, but tomorrow we need to roll up our sleeves, and get to work.

26/514 Good Things

Today's good news is good news for tomorrow. The Global Climate Strikes begin tomorrow and several companies will be joining in. I will be sharing more about this topic over the next several days, but for now, we start here. I am really excited to see what comes out of tomorrow's strikes. Things look grim, and things ARE grim, but we're not beat yet. We will fight every single day, with every last ounce of strength we have, until we draw our last breath upon this earth. It begins now.

Source

25/514 Good Things

Today's good thing is a celebration for science and access to accurate information. Pinterest influences the lives of many and is in a position to use their power as a vehicle for conveying information to others. Choosing to promote facts and truth could save lives. I'm happy to see more places like Pinterest taking a stand.

24/514 Good Things

Today's good thing is this act of kindness. The Seminole tribe of Florida has been donating bottled water to victims of the hurricane in the Bahamas. It's really wonderful to see people helping out in a time when it seems like so many are just looking out for themselves only. If you were looking for inspiration to do something nice for another person, look no further!

23/514 Good Things

Today's good thing is this story. Since my bff just got back from Disneyland, I thought I would share this story coming out of Disney World. I love seeing how the actors playing characters in the parks really get into it, and at times go above and beyond the call of duty. Snow White is a highly underrated princess, imo, but we get to see a glimpse of what makes her so special, in this story.

22/514 Good Things

Tonight's good thing is this video I just found on Twitter. I watched it and my mind was seriously blown. The wacky and amazing and helpful and groundbreaking things humans are always coming up with. Just when I ask myself "what will we come up with next?" I see something like this and am pleasantly reminded that not all good ideas and inventions are already in existence.

Could this invention really help clean up our world's water? I'd like to hope so. Why not make it into a fun game that helps connect people around the world too? Oh, this is just such a great idea! It's really exciting to see!

21/514 Good Things

Tonight's good thing is this story. People worked together to reach out to this band, and they graciously took time out of their busy schedule to visit a fan who was unable to make it to their concert. I don't want anybody to get any ideas about faking an illness to get a visit from their favorite celebrities, but it is really nice to see that there are people who care about others enough to do something like this. Kudos to the Jonas Brothers!

20/514 Good Things

I don't know about you, but in all the bad news lately, this piece of great news completely slipped through the cracks. I'd heard about the women of Saudi Arabia being granted the ability to drive cars, but I hadn't heard this great news!

19/514 Good Things

Today's good thing comes from Manitoba, Canada. Yazidi refugees, who have been welcomed in Canada, have turned a piece of land given to them into a thriving and soon-to-be profitable vegetable garden. These newest Canadians have been able to supplement their diet with delicious, healthful food, and are going to be able to sell off the excess vegetables as well to help them make a living. What a wonderful success story, and also an example of helping others in need. Food-related issues are near and dear to my heart, so I always love hearing things like this!

18/514 Good things

Well, I don't know if you're as outraged as I am over what feels like a treacherous betrayal by North Carolina's GOP state lawmakers, but I am really upset and disappointed. I suppose I shouldn't be shocked, but I am. And it's not even my state! But it's the principle of the matter. My Hufflepuffian sense of fairness and being honorable in all you do is offended.

But this is a positivity blog, so there needs to be something positive in this post. So, here it is. To help balance out the bad news, here is some good news for the state of North Carolina. Nice try, people, but I guess it's back to the drawing board for you...!

17/514 Good Things

A Canadian aviation company is sending help to Bolivia to assist in their fires.

Bolivia is home to some of the Amazon forest, along with Brazil, and is experiencing their own issues with fires. Thus far, Bolivia has been far more open and willing to accept help in fighting the fires than Brazil has been. Let us hope that Bolivia's attitude will be adopted by Brazil soon.

16/514 Good Things

Today's good news comes from Nigeria, which has gone three years without a case of polio and is now on the brink of being declared polio-free! Between 2012 and today, there has been a dramatic turnaround in this country with access to vaccinations. We have come to take them for granted here, and we are suffering the consequences of it. This is a time to celebrate advances in science, health, and the fact that vaccines do work!

15/514 Good Things

I hadn't heard about this, did you?

Today's good thing is North Carolina at long last doing the right thing and ending their insistence that transfolx use the bathroom the coincided with their birth certificate's gender. This led to a boycott of the entire state, and then everybody forgot about it.

Fast forward to three years later, and a settlement has been reached that ends that ban. However, there are still a lot of rules and regulations in the North Carolina law books that infringe on the equality and equity of transfolx in the state. This must continue to be fought against, but for this moment, we can, and should, celebrate a victory.

14/514 Good Things

Tonight's is a bit of a cheat, but it brought me so much joy tonight that I knew I had to make it today's good thing. For anybody not from Seattle, you may not know that we don't get very impressive thunder and lightning storms over here. I don't know why, but we usually get very flimsy and short thunder storms. But tonight, Thor has been having a great time over our skies, and for about an hour now I have been subjected to the largest, loudest, longest thunderstorm of my entire life! Our lights started flickering about 45 minutes before it started, and I was in the shower when the thunder began. We're on the top floor and I could hear it rumbling and the lights flickered again. I hoped the lights wouldn't go out in the shower and luckily they didn't!

The rain was coming down like I've never seen it, and for a lifelong Seattleitte, that's saying something! We shut off all the lights, voluntarily, and the tv, and looked out all the windows and even ventured out on our covered porch a bit. We were smart though, don't worry!

Mother Nature provided our city with an amazing show of force that I am still enjoying! I hope everybody was able to make it to safety and sat back and enjoyed the show!

Source

13/514 Good Things

Good News in the World of Conservation.

Today's good news is this update on the California condor, a bird that had been on the brink of extinction. While they still have a way to go, they are well on their way to recovery as a species. This is also proof positive that conservation efforts do work, if we put the time, effort, and money into them. Let us hope that more effort is put into conservation in the future, so that we humans can long enjoy a planet teeming with wildlife of all kinds!

12/514 Good Things

Disney pledges $1 million to the Bahamas.

Chef Jose Andres is once again stepping up to the (dinner) plate.

HBCU opens its doors to displaced Bahamians and offers tuition-free education to them.

Hurricane Dorian is slowly wreaking havoc in the Caribbean and East Coast this week, and even as it rages on, people are already lending a hand to people in need. Here are three examples I have run across so far, and I have no doubt that much more will show up before all is said and done.

Here we see examples of people and organizations in a position of power using their power for the good of others. Money and services are being given to those in need in the Bahamas. And a few days ago Trinidad and Tobago pledged to help the Bahamas as well.

Life has been lost and there is going to be a long road to recovery for the Bahamas, but there will be help along the way.

11/514 Good Things

Help Students in Need.

Here are two amazing organizations that help school-age children who live at or below the poverty line. If you are looking for a place to make a monetary donation, look into these two organizations. One focuses on school supplies, and one focuses on feeding students on the weekends so they don't go hungry when schools are closed and free breakfast and lunches are unavailable.

I know, I know, you may be thinking that all of these things should be provided for to students free of charge, maybe through taxes. But we don't live in a world of should, unfortunately, we live in a world of is. And the nation's schools don't currently run that way, so we do what we must do in the meantime.

I'm really glad to know that there are organizations like this in the country, full of people who care for future generations. Some days it's tough to remember that there is still kindness in this nation, but it is there, I promise.

10/514 Good Things

Good News for the Great Coral Reef
A giant, Manhattan-sized chunk of pumice is floating across the ocean and will make its way to the Great Coral Reef sometime in the next year. During its slow journey, it's expected to pick up some new critters and life forms that will hopefully boost the growth of the Great Coral Reef, which could really need a boost. I don't know about you, but I'll be watching this story carefully and with a sense of hope.

9/514 Good Things

Good News for Sharks!

Sharks and rays are being given stronger protections to help keep them from being driven to extinction. In a time when so many regulations keeping people and animals safe are being loosened, it's good to see some regulations being strengthened.

8/514 Good Things

Today's Good News.

Ava Lewis gives me hope for the future. This three year old girl has more love and caring inside her than the entire current presidential administration combined. I have never heard of somebody so young having so much compassion for others. I wish I lived close by her so I could support her stand. The lemonade looks delicious!