11-year-old Helps Other Kids Get Toys For Christmas

He and his family were returning home from a shopping trip to the mall when they saw a homeless woman, her two children, a man and his dog under a bridge. Their clothes were tattered and torn, and they had all their belongings in a shopping cart.

"What will happen at Christmas?" Stephen asked his mother. "Will they get any toys?"

Probably not, his mom told him.

"I was sad about that," says Stephen, now 11 and a sixth-grader. So he went home and searched the house for spare change.

He collected $35, divided the money into four plastic baggies, and then his family drove him back to the bridge, where he gave one bag of money to each of the four people.

"They were so thankful," he recalls. "They said, 'God bless you.' The woman cried."

For the past seven years, the family has hosted an annual Christmas party with guests bringing new toys, which the family then gives to the Salvation Army to distribute.

The guest list at the parties includes their friends, all the students in Stephen's grade, as well as the classmates of his siblings.

Last year, they collected 300 to 350 toys and $3,500. This year, they want to break their own record and collect 500 toys.

LINK TO ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Earth Gone Wild-2010 The Year of the Most Crazy Natural Disasters

Earthquakes, heat waves, floods, volcanoes, super typhoons, blizzards, landslides and droughts killed at least a quarter million people in 2010 - the deadliest year in more than a generation. More people were killed worldwide by natural disasters this year than have been killed in terrorism attacks in the past 40 years combined.

And we have ourselves to blame most of the time, scientists and disaster experts say.

Through Nov. 30, nearly 260,000 people died in natural disasters in 2010, compared to 15,000 in 2009, according to Swiss Re. The World Health Organization, which hasn't updated its figures past Sept. 30, is just shy of 250,000. By comparison, deaths from terrorism from 1968 to 2009 were less than 115,000, according to reports by the U.S. State Department and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

The last year in which natural disasters were this deadly was 1983 because of an Ethiopian drought and famine, according to WHO. Swiss Re calls it the deadliest since 1976.

The charity Oxfam says 21,000 of this year's disaster deaths are weather related.

LINK TO ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Fed Reverses Anti-Christian Bank Decision in OK

Thousands Dropped Into Salvation Army Kettle in TN

9yr old Boy Helps Homeless With His Gift of Music

Link to VIDEOA Little Boy's Mission to Help the Homeless with the Gift of Music


"I was thinking about how terrible it would be to be cold or hungry or homeless," Brien said. "Then, my guitar teacher was helping me make CD's, so I thought I could raise money by selling my CD's to make money for the mission."

"Treat people the way you want to be treated." That's why he says he's doing this.

Federal Reserve Removes "Christian Items" From Oklahoma Bank

Minnesota farmer leaves 3 Million to hometown

(Dec. 16) -- A Minnesota farmer, predeceased by two wives and his only son, bestowed a small and surprising fortune to his hometown upon his death.

Loren Krueger of LeRoy, a small Minnesota town on the Iowa border, died last year at 94, leaving behind a plain, white house on Main Street and $3 million in the bank.

Townsfolk knew the retired farmer and World War II vet was frugal. Now they know he was rich and generous.

"Nobody knew he had that kind of money," LeRoy resident LaRae Eastvold told KARE.

Since Krueger's death, checks from his estate have arrived at organizations all over town. The LeRoy Senior Center -- which previously operated on $600 a year, a budget so meager staff charged seniors for coffee -- received $220,000.

Link to original article-Minnesota Farmer Leaves $3 Million to Hometown

Homeless man in D.C. uses social media to help others like him

$300,000 For Homeless Matched by Donor

A proposal before the Columbus City Council to grant $300,000 to help a growing number of homeless people inspired an anonymous donor to offer another $300,000 to the cause.

Council President Michael C. Mentel hopes that gift, in turn, inspires others to reach out to those in need "whether you have $300,000 or $3."

The grant, the last legislation Mentel will sponsor before he resigns on Jan. 10, won unanimous approval tonight. Mentel thanked the donor, who had promised to match the grant if the council approved it.

"If it's not the spirit of the season, if it's not by the grace of God, it's at least through someone's heart being touched," Mentel said.

The donor is working through the Columbus Foundation, which recently started a special fundraising drive for charities that help struggling residents meet basic needs.

The dollar-for-dollar match was proposed after Mentel requested $300,000 last week to fight what advocates say is an alarming rise in homelessness, especially among families with children.

Link to Original Article: City's $300,000 for homeless to be matched by donor

Glenn Beck-America's First Christmas-Wilmington, OH