Ever since I first started writing for Her Campus my goal was to bring in news stories that were positive and shed light on the title of “news”. With everything going on in the world it’s nice to also focus on the really great people that we have and how they give back to our communities. The word “news” a lot of the time has a negative connotation on it, but we forget that it can be positive as well. So I found two stories that made me smile and I hope they do the same for you also.
The Gift That Keeps On Giving
Hermon Gordon is an adored janitor at the University of Bristol in England. When speaking of Gordon many students at the university light up, stating that when there are tests or stressful events in their lives they go right to him. When asked, one student stated “this legend proves that happiness is not about what you own, what job you have or how much money you’ve got, but appreciating what you currently have in life.”
So when one student of the university found out that Gordon didn’t have enough money to visit his family in Jamaica for four years now, he knew he had to take action. A group of students got together to raise $2,000 for Gordon and his wife. When presenting the envelope of cash to Gordon, there were many tears from not only the students but also from Gordon himself.
Later on social media, Gordon and his wife posted all of their vacation pictures also writing back to the students. The couple stated that because of their generosity, before visiting their family they were able to finally celebrate their 23rd wedding anniversary. He ending the post by saying “God bless you all.”
The gift of giving is something you simply can not put a price tag on. I challenge you this week to give any way you can!
You can read more here.
Firefighters Save a 3-Year-Olds Birthday Party
Melissa Reid, mother of 3-year-old Jackson Reid, had been planning Jackson’s birthday party for weeks. On the day of, almost all of Jackson’s 15 guests canceled due to being ill. This didn’t surprise Melissa because the town had just been through a hurricane so many people around town were becoming ill, however, this left Jackson’s parents in a panic, because they didn’t know if they should cancel it or not. Only one of Jackson’s friends could actually attend so Melissa called their local fire station and the men could not say yes fast enough. Once they arrived, the fire station had been completely decorated with balloons, streamers, and there were even cupcakes.
As Jackson spent the whole day climbing up and down the fire trucks, his mother could not keep it together. She stated she was beyond grateful for the firemen and what they did for her son. Melissa told insideEdition.com “I didn’t think he was going to have a party and now I have these firemen welcoming us, they saved my sons birthday and this is something he will never forget.”
Captain Joe Yowler of the Fire Department stated, “I’d want someone to do this for my kids if I was in this situation. It doesn’t take much out of anybody’s day or anybody’s effort to say yes and do something good.”
You can read more here.