Family

Heroic Maryland School Bus Driver Saves 20 Kids From Burning School Bus

When her school bus started on fire Monday afternoon in College Park, Maryland, bus driver Reneita Smith made sure the 20 elementary school students onboard made it off safely. Not only did she help the each one of the 20 kids off the bus safely, she went back onto the burning bus to make sure everyone was out. Smith says, “As I’m driving that bus, they’re my babies. I’m their mom until I drop them off to their biological moms.” There were no injuries in the incident and the official cause is still being investigated.
[NBC Washington / Mark Brady]

Dashcam Footage From A Local Volunteer Firefighter

New Zealand Firefighters Honor 9/11 Victims With Powerful Haka

Over the weekend, more than 160 firefighters in New Zealand gathered at the Sky Tower in Auckland for the Memorial Firefighter Stair Climb, an event that commemorates “the New York City firefighters killed on 9/11 and the New Zealand Fire Service firefighters who have lost their lives in the line of duty.” After reading the names of all 343 firefighters that lost their lives on 9/11, and the names of all 57 New Zealand firefighters who lost their lives while serving, firefighters performed a powerful and emotional Haka to honor those lost. Afterwards firefighters climbed 1,103 stairs to the top of the Sky Tower, some firefighters even climbed the stairs twice.
[New Zealand Fire Service / Yahoo New Zealand / NZ Herald]

Creative Collective Replaces 86 Ads At A London Tube Station With Cat Photos

Two months ago, creative group Glimpse launched a crowd-funded campaign with hopes to replace 86 adverts at the Clapham Common Tube station in south London with unbranded photos of cats. Glimpse successfully raised £23,000, which was enough for every ticket gateway, 54 escalator panels, and 14 large posters to be replaced with photos of cats. The advertising campaign, which aims to provide a positive, peaceful space, began on the 12th and will run for the next two weeks.
[CatsNotAds / Medium / Campaign / Matt Weatherall]

C.A.T.S Kickstarter Campaign

Strangers Donate $345,000 To 89-Year-Old Ice Cream Vendor Who Refuses To Stop Working

Everyday for the past 23 years, 89-year-old Fidencio Sanchez has been selling ice cream on the streets of Little Village in Chicago, Illinois. A few weeks ago, Sanchez and his wife suddenly lost their only daughter and found themselves taking care of their two grandsons. Last week, a stranger, Joel Cervantes Macias, noticed Sanchez pushing his cart on the street. Macias pulled over, took a photo, and then bought 20 popsicles from Sanchez. He then uploaded the photo to Facebook with the caption, “I respect this man to the fullest!” In attempt to “help make life a little easier” for Sanchez, Macias created Relief for Fidencio, a GoFundMe campaign with a goal of $3,000. Little did Macias know, the campaign would go viral and attract more than $345,000 in donations in less than a week. If you wish to donate to Fidencio Sanchez’s GoFundMe click here.
[ABC7 Chicago / Joel Macias] [H/T:dnainfo]