Goodsearch
 

I noticed today that Phi Sigma Sigma Foundation is the featured charity. So I wonder - how many of your GLOs participate in www.goodsearch.com? (Every time you use it, the designated charity gets a donation.) And do you use it? Gamma Phi does, but we aren't using it enough!

I know Phi Mu is on there. I try to use more than google, but I always seem to forget about it.

wow, this looks like a good idea - i wish i knew about it sooner!

it should become a household name like Google...

Question: do you register your org under your chapter or national information?

I set it as my default search engine in my toolbar. So I use it several times a day! :)

Alpha Gamma Delta uses it too...
=]

Sigma Kappa's in there, but.. sigh. Why must it use Yahoo instead of Google?

Yup. I use it as well but jeez. I much prefer Google over Yahoo but I do like helping my GLO out.

Tri Delta uses it as well.

I wonder the same thing. But, it does work. They send checks as promised.

I use it first - but if I don't get what I need, I do then go to google.

I'm not sure what is required to register a charity.

AOII is listed, and I recently put it as my home page on my laptop. I have to say that changing habits is very hard. If Goodsearch isn't in front of me, I automatically type www.google.com into my address bar!

Haven't tried ADPi in GoodSearch yet, but I use it for another organization to which I belong. You do need to go through your HQ, and have the correct non-profit numbers/profile.

I'm not wild about the Yahoo! v. Google part, either, but I try to use it at least once a day - it's my homepage at work.

If I don't find what I need I use it to search for google. :)

To restore your faith in humanity
 

TOWN TURNS TABLES ON HIGH SCHOOL PRANK


Kropp was sitting in her geometry class Sept. 13 when the results of the homecoming vote were announced over the school PA system.
Most of the students picked as class reps that day were among the most popular kids in the 800-student school. Then, out of the blue, Kropp heard her name.
She hadn't sought the position. Students were free to vote for anyone in the class.
Perhaps her selection should have made her suspicious. She is a free spirit with few friends. Her black outfits and strange hair colors don't mesh well with other kids in the rural community.

Team Whitney all the way!

Good for them, and good for her for standing up for herself!

aephi alum likes Whitney.

More faith restored!
 

SON OF A BIGOT -
His dad founded the infamous Westboro Baptist Church. Nate Phelps is dedicated to reversing that legacy of hate


Nate Phelps is the sixth of Fred’s 13 children, and he has the scars to show for it. He describes his father as verbally and physically abusive. When he was 18, Nate ran away from home and from the fundamentalist Calvinist religion in which he was raised.Now in his 50s, Nate finds himself publicly squaring off with his father and siblings to reverse their legacy of intolerance. He lives in Calgary, where he has become a public speaker who champions LGBT rights and raises awareness about the connection between extreme religion and child abuse. He is currently writing a book about his life and is the subject of an upcoming documentary.



http://www.salon.com/2012/09/25/son_of_a_bigot/

Teen picked for Homecoming Court as prank shines at ceremony:

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012...ite&ocid=msnhp

Good for her! After (mumblemumble) years on this earth, it can still amaze me what a$$holes people can be.

fb post from a former student:

"
I have to give props to one our patients! A new patient of ours overheard one of our returning patients talking. The son and dad were quietly trying to figure out if they could afford the visit since they had just lost their insurance. After they were taken back the new patient approached the front desk and asked if he could pay for the boy's visit. And this was not a cheap appointment!! His only request was that the family not be told right away as he didn't want to embarrass them. This goes beyond a random act of kindness!!! His sincerity and genuine concern for this family touched all of us and I just had to share!"

A Christmas Angel Story- 2001
 

Given the events in CT, I think this thread needs a bump, to remind people of the good in the world. This story never made the news, but it made a huge difference in my life, during one of the lowest points of my life.

Eleven years ago, I was a newly divorced mom, very sick with Crohn's Disease (undiagnosed at the time of the story). My kids were 5 and 7 and I was working full time. For six months, I had subsisted on popsicles, jello and Gatorade because anything else gave me excruciating pain. I had lost 65 pounds in that time period. I was weak, exhausted, in pain most of the time and trying to make a living and raise my children. I wasn't even sure I was going to live because they hadn't figured out what was wrong with me. I was also adjusting to living on one income instead of two so things were very tight financially.

I was at the grocery store with both kids, after picking them up from latch key, to pick up a few things for dinner that night. My son saw the Hallmark Kissy Bears display which said "Free with the purchase of three cards." My son said, "Can we get these? They are free!" At age 5, he couldn't read all the words, but he knew he saw "FREE". I sadly explained that we had to buy three cards to get one free and we didn't need three cards, nor did we have the money for three cards. And then we'd only get one of the bears, not both. There was a woman near us who heard the conversation. My son was sad, but he accepted what I said.

We checked out, went to the car and both kids got in the car while I loaded groceries into the back of the car. The woman who had overheard the earlier conversation came up to me and thrust a bag into my hand and said "Merry Christmas". She had gotten the Kissy Bears and gave them to us. I instantly teared up and said Thank You. I got in the car, crying, and my daughter said "what's wrong?" and I said "Nothing is wrong. We have a Christmas Angel" and I showed the kids the bears, telling them the woman gave them to us. My daughter said "Why are you crying momma? That was a nice thing to do." And I said "These are tears of joy, sweetie."

This woman couldn't know what I'd been through that year.. the divorce, buying a house, my illness. She just knew she saw a tired mom who couldn't afford those bears for her kids. She had no idea that her random act of kindness was so much more than just giving someone a couple bears she got for free.

Each year, as we put the Kissy Bears on the fireplace hearth, I tear up again, thinking about how that woman made such a difference in THREE lives. We remember the story each year and I believe her small action helped to make my children the thoughtful young adults they are today. I wish I could thank her again and again, but the only way I can do this is by doing similar random acts of kindness.

Thank you so much! I haven't smiled as much, as I just did reading your story, since Friday morning.

Beautiful story, Dee.

BuzzFeed has a few different lists:

http://www.buzzfeed.com/expresident/...th-in-humanity

http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/momen...umanity-this-y

Dee, I am so proud you are my sister!:D

AGDee, **HUG**

Hope you are doing much better.

Thanks :) I am doing great, I've been in remission, for the most part, off of all meds for five years.

Yes.

This thread needs a bump, and this is a good one:

Tennessee Homecoming King Nominees Give Crown to Another Teen

Three Tennessee homecoming king nominees made a unanimous and touching decision that no matter who won, they would give the crown to a beloved student with a genetic condition.

Students Jesse Cooper, Drew Gibbs and Zeke Grissom were all nominated for homecoming king at Community High School's basketball homecoming ceremony.

The teens got together and decided that the winner would turn over the honor to junior Scotty Maloney, who has Williams Syndrome, a neurological disorder that inhibits learning and speech.

"I've been blessed with so many things," Cooper told ABC News' Nashville affiliate WKRN-TV. "I just wanted Scotty to experience something great in his high school days."

"He's always happy, so he deserves some recognition for who he is," Gibbs said.

Cooper won the popular vote for king, but when the official announcement was made at a Friday ceremony, the principal told the crowd what the nominees had decided to do. . . .

The crowd erupted with cheers and Maloney got a long standing ovation, WKRN reported, as he was awarded his "King" medal. . . .

There's more at the link above.

http://l2.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/Fl...0123_wmain.jpg

This really made my day! I'm working by myself for the next week, to keep a nervous breakdown at bay (not mine!) and DH should be arriving in Nebraska at any time now for a tournament. I've been up all night so I could drive him to his school to catch the team bus, and haven't been able to sleep since. So, that article was the right thing at the right time! Their parents should be very proud of them!

Restaurant waiter stands up to customers and becomes a hero

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/...--finance.html

"Usually, when a waiter refuses to serve someone at a restaurant, customers complain. In this case, customers cheered.

The waiter in question, Michael Garcia, has been receiving goodwill and friend requests on the restaurant’s Facebook page since word spread that he stood up for a child with special needs.

Garcia, who works at the Houston restaurant Laurenzo's, was waiting on a family, regulars with a 5-year-old child, Milo, who has Down syndrome. The server said that another family at the restaurant commented on Milo’s behavior, which Garcia described as “talking and making little noises." Garcia moved the complaining family to another table, but they were still unhappy. "Special needs children need to be special somewhere else," the father reportedly said."

Click link to read the rest

This story is beautiful, Dee. I hadn't read it before. It brings tears to my eyes.

A relative had a great mini vacation at the recent Winter Carnival put on by students attending Michigan Tech University.

To quote her: "I tell you, the students up there are so nice, polite, and friendly. It is very enjoyable to walk around the campus and downtown. We got to talk to some of them at the Rosza Center and the Hockey rink. Then when you see how they act at the restaurants etc. We were very impressed."

Kudos to the great students hosts of the MTech Winter Carnival!

I had heard a lot about Winter Carnival because we have some alumnae from Tech in our alumnae club. Everybody talked about the snow statue contest. The groups spend a month creating snow statues. In my head, I always pictured things like ice sculpture size. I went up there to do an officer training with our chapter there the week after Winter Carnival in 2009. The statues were still there. I was SHOCKED. These were massive snow sculptures, taller than their houses in some cases! They spend a lot of time creating intricate detail out of ice and each group has their "secret" method to doing this. I was in awe, truly in awe, of what these groups were able to do. Check out the pictures at these links- and understand that they can't even capture it all in pictures!

The winners with their finished sculptures
http://www.mtu.edu/carnival/gallery/results/

The process captured in images
http://www.flickr.com/photos/michiga...7632224249604/

ETA: They had challenges this year because it was warmer with a lot less snow than most years. The two feet they got on Wednesday this week would have been welcome in January!

^Nice! One of my BFFs from home is an AGD alum from Tech. One of the things she misses most is the Winter Carnival (which I honestly don't get, being a beach bunny/cold weather hater from downstate...haha)

Waiter Stands Up for Special Needs Child
 

http://austinist.com/2013/01/22/i_wa...iter_stand.php


A waiter at the Houston restaurant Laurenzo's made international news when he did something both quiet and brave - he refused to serve a family of regular diners when the father complained about a special needs child sitting nearby.
Kim Castillo brought her son Milo, who has Down's syndrome, into the restaurant last Wednesday. She says, "We have been taking Milo out to restaurants since he was born. On the whole, he acts better than most typical children." But another family disagreed, asking to be moved. Waiter Michael Garcia complied, until he heard the dad make the following disparaging remark: "Special needs children need to be special somewhere else."

I actually heard him speak at Lawrence Tech. The story is somewhat horrifying. But, it's kind of funny that it literally all stems from his father. It gives the entire WBC even less credibility than it already didn't have. :P

As the mother of an autistic child, I'm enormously touched and encouraged by these stories. Thanks for sharing.

Sometimes, athletes get it right
 

No, no, I'm not crying . . . um, I'm, oh, cutting onions . . .

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18563_16...shot-at-glory/

"
Just wearing a jersey was enough for Mitchell, but what he didn't know -- what no one knew at the time -- was that the coach planned to play him at the end, no matter what the score.
http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/201...ch_244x183.jpg Coach Peter Morales
/ CBS News
Morales says he was prepared to lose the game.
"For his moment in time, yes," he says.
With a minute-and-a-half left -- Coronado leading, but only by 10 -- Coach Morales put in his manager.
"And I just started hearing, 'Mitchell, Mitchell,'" Morales says.
But here's where the fairytale fell apart."