In our life, there are a lot of reasons why we feel bad and lose all hope in humanity. There are a lot of these things such as war and crimes. They bring out the worst in every person and make people inevitably scared by others. Thankfully, as time goes by, some of these have diminished over time.
There can also be a lot of things that will help us see the good side of every person and learn to have our faith restored in humanity. To help you with this, here are the top 9 most beautiful stories that will certainly restore your faith in humanity.
THE MIRACLE ON 22ND STREET
Christmas each year is totally one of the most well anticipated holidays that there is. A lot of people, especially children, look forward to this occasion every year in which they give and receive a lot of presents to their friends, family, and loved ones. However, there can be some strange and weird events that take place during this season.Friends Jim Glaub and Dylan Parker can certainly attest to that.
About more than a decade ago, the two first moved into their Manhattan apartment on a building in West 22nd Street. During Christmas, they would receive letters from children about their Christmas wish. In the first two years, there were fewer letters. However, when the third Christmas came, they were shocked to receive hundreds of them. It was too overwhelming for them that they thought it was a scam or a joke of some sorts. They began to read the letter one by one and their heart broke with each and every one of them.
They knew they couldn’t do it all by themselves so the two of them created a Facebook group with their friends and families. Someone was skeptical that the two of them were being scammed so she sent out a gift and even went out to the location on the day of delivery. She watched as a child excitedly ran out of their door and took the package from the delivery man. The child’s mother was crying as she watched the child open up the gift full of joy. That was when they realized that it was all true.
This urged the two men to open up a foundation called Miracle on 22nd street for those who want to help them give these children their Christmas wishes. If you are interested in this, check out their website, miracleon22ndstreet.com
THE SECRET SANTA
Pat Rydzy is a retired dental hygienist from upstate New York. She later on discovered that she might be fulfilling one great task when an adult male with developmental disabilities sat down in her hygienist’s chair in January 1997. The man was sad as he stated that Santa Claus couldn’t come. Three weeks has already passed when Christmas was celebrated, so Rydzy knew the lack of a single present had made a dent in the man’s heart.
She figured out that there was a lack of extra funds for buying holiday gifts for the adults in the county’s Arc program, which also helps people with mental and developmental disabilities. From this point forward, she started playing the role of Secret Santa. She asked group home coordinators to get Christmas lists from their residents each fall.
She worked hard to fill every list, every year. And now, after 20 years into this Secret Santa endeavor, Rydzy, her youngest daughter and some elves from her church chose to use their money and some donations to buy and wrap presents for around 25 “kids at heart” each December. She felt like she was doing something more than just giving Christmas gifts, and it is indeed worth it.
THE STORY OF NICHOLAS WILTON
Ever travelled with the means of working but then it turned out that you are in a new mission while you are in there? This is what happened to a young man in 1938 as he discovered the help that some people in Czechoslovakia needed.
During his late twenties, Nicholas Winton was on a trip a stockbroker from England on his way to Nazi-occupied Prague. Although he had been baptized as a child in the Anglican Church, his parents were German Jews. When he arrived in Prague, the Jewish orphans that filled the city caught his attention. They were the children whose parents had been killed. Nicholas decided to take action and was determined to find families who were willing to adopt these children. He even paid out of his own money to transport them on the train from Prague to London.
He is, later on, able to find homes for 669 children, which is a big number. In 1988, the BBC program “That’s Life!” asked to interview Nicholas about the experience. He remained so humble that it took years for him to agree on getting any sort of recognition. While the cameras were rolling, the BBC gave him a big surprise. The line “Is there anyone in our audience tonight who owes their life to Nicholas Winton? If so, could you stand up, please?” was asked. And to Nicholas’ surprise, several rows of people surrounding him stood up. The entire audience was unexpectedly filled with the people that he had saved, along with their families.
In 2003, the Queen of England knighted him, giving him the well-deserved title of Sir Nicholas Winton. He died in July 2015 when he was 106 years old. There’s nothing worth more than knowing the people you chose to help had experienced having a second chance in life. Being able to live another day is already a blessing, but having a family is worth more than being a child left alone in the streets.
A child still deserves love and care in this world filled with sadness and misery, and that is what Sir Nicholas Winton did for these kids.
MOHAMED BZEEK’S STORY
Mohamed Bzeek and his wife Dawn immigrated to California from Libya with his wife. They are like the other couples who had big dreams and never expected that their only son would be born with brittle bone disease and dwarfism.
Dawn fostered a few children in their home, but she tragically died, leaving Mohamed to take care for their disabled son by himself. Mohamed knew that there were other parents who had children with disabilities and how they were given up for adoption. During that time, there is an estimated number of 600 orphaned children with terminal illnesses found in Los Angeles County. Most of them die alone in a hospital despite the fact that their biological parents are still alive.
Mohamed Bzeek has decided to do something which he then ends up fostering as many children with terminal illnesses as he can. He wanted to make sure that these kids receive the love and care of a real home before they die. During his sixties, he found out that he had cancer and needed to go to the hospital for surgery. Without a wife or any family able to be there, he recovered in the hospital alone while an in-home nurse cared for the children.
After his story was on the news, a GoFundMe page was created to help Mohamed and these kids. When this article was written, he had received over $500,000 in donations which is still possibly used to help those in need.
Most of our stories included how one man was able to make an impact by stepping out among the crowds. In the eyes of a father, Mohamed saw the sad scenario that these kinds of kids suffer. Despite their illnesses, he knew that they still deserve love. In this world that seeks perfection in every aspect, he proved that love is still found even with the imperfections of these young. They lived and that’s one great blessing he had received in his life.
NOAH’S ARKS RESCUE
Dogs are man’s best friend, they say, but not all of them had a chance to live with an owner like the others. Some of them are beaten, abused, run over by cars or are left to die with massive tumors. But Jennifer Smith wanted to be a guardian angel and advocate for them.
She started the Noah’s Arks Rescue charity that pays the medical, rehabilitation, and caregiving costs for dogs that otherwise would be euthanized, spending an average of $20,000 per animal. Numerous small donations are received along with an undisclosed amount that Smith gives in. This greatly helped Noah’s Arks Rescue to drop around $1.5 million each year and was able to make miracles happen for these furry friends.
In cases where a dog can’t be saved, they make sure to throw a party for them before they bid goodbye. Smith believed that when that dog passes away, it will have so much love around him than what he could have received while living in this world.
Dogs need help as much as we do, and thanks to angels like Jennifer Smith who chose to lend a hand to them. In case you are not fond of animals, respecting them could mean a lot as well.
BENNY
For so many years, the residents of Salem, Oregon hunted for the hidden $100 bills that usually appear all over the place. All bills are signed “Benny”, but it is not the mysterious philanthropist’s real name.
The residents of Salem have discovered that the Benny bills are almost everywhere. Sometimes they are hidden in baby carriages, or slipped through car windows, and can be either tucked into the sleeping bags of homeless people. Benny has given out an estimated $50,000. To most of the recipients, that $100 appeared mostly during the times when they badly need money.
This act of generosity inspired the entire town to pay it forward that some people started adopting the practice themselves. The individuals who are lucky enough to receive a Benny even if they don’t actually need it, chose to give the money to charity or slipped it into someone else’s pocket. While the original donor stayed a mystery, this practice quickly became a town tradition that will surely live on for a long time.
There’s a lot of millionaires, even billionaires, who chose to spend their fortune on worldly lusts and fancy things. But this mysterious Benny chose a different path. He saw how money is not only meant to satisfy his own needs and wants. True happiness can’t be bought but can be received from genuinely giving to other people’s needs.
Benny found joy in knowing how these people had a chance to see a better world that is willing to help each other in times of need. He truly set a great example and was able to make an impact before he left this world.
THE STORY OF SHYAM LAL
In Chhattisgarh, India, a 15-year-old boy named Shyam Lal was living in a village called Saja Pahad. The villagers that lived there constantly suffered from droughts, and unfortunately did not get any assistance from the government. T
There was no road that connects the village to the outside world, which means their only access to water was from the wells that would quickly run dry. The village suffered from this drought that cattle were already dying, people were starting to get sick, and food supply was running short. When people and animals continued to die off, Shyam Lal decided to do something about it.
He picked up a shovel and started digging a hole. The other villagers didn’t take his actions seriously and even laughed at him, but he chose not to listen and continued to dig every day for the next 27 years. Today, that hole has grown into a pond that is one acre long and 5 meters (15 ft) deep. Every person in the village has benefited from the pond, and their cattle and crops are thriving.
There are times that people will mock you for doing something different and unusual. But if you felt sure that what you’re doing will benefit the future, you can choose to continue it anyway despite what people will say. Thankfully, Shyam Lal chose to continue his goal which has now produced great results.
SUNSHINE ON A RANNEY DAY
Sharing your talents and passion in hopes of helping other people is one way of using it properly. This is what Holly Ranney along with her husband did starting in the year 2012.
Holly combined her background in interior design with her husband’s construction expertise and used it to give an 11-year-old cancer patient in Macon, Georgia, a bedroom makeover that was paid for by them as well. Little did they know that this will change their lives and will set up a new goal for them.
When they saw the kids’ reaction to the room, they knew it was something they were meant to do. Today, the duo leads an Atlanta-area nonprofit named Sunshine on a Ranney Day. Its goal is to offer free makeovers of child bedrooms, therapy rooms, and bathrooms for kids with long-term illnesses. They said that some of the families feel like they don’t deserve it or often think that there are other people who need it more than they do. With the help and support of generous sponsors, volunteers, and donors, they have already finished more than 50 makeovers and managed to give a new reason to smile on families that are under incredible stress.
Some people may often look down on deeds like this, but they never knew how these small acts of kindness could mean a lot to a child. It gives a little ray of sunshine and sense of hope to them that they chose to continue fighting and living as much as they could. It is also a huge home blessing for the whole family as well.
THE STORY OF JALANDHAR NAYAK
In a remote village in India’s state of Orissa, school children must walk through 10 kilometers or almost 6 miles of thick brush, climb up and down through hills and boulders in each direction for three hours. This is what makes it understandable why many of these kids chose to give up on their education.
But as a father, Jalandhar Nayak was really determined that his sons would receive an education and he is willing to do anything for them. His boys moved closer to the school, and Nayak began to work. Bringing only a pickaxe and a crowbar, Nayak began to clear a road to the village during 2016. He pushed boulders and dug the earth in order to make a flat surface. He worked from morning to sundown, tirelessly doing his mission for eight hours a day every day, for two years straight.
A local news outlet heard about Nayak’s story. The government saw how the village badly needed a road, so they paid him for his time and took over the construction where he left off. Once he got the media’s attention, he requested that the village get access to running water and electricity, too.
After generations of this village have been so far removed from civilization, one man’s actions helped the entire village. Sometimes, it takes someone to take the initiative to take action on a problem. And that deed could be the start of something great. Instead of just sitting around, worrying, and complaining about the hardships of life, he saw that he could do something and he did.
