Settle In And Read These 7 Good News Stories About People Doing Good Things

ACROSS AMERICA — There’s not much a devoted dad wouldn’t do for his daughter. That’s how Bob Ward sees it. He gave his daughter Emme a kidney.

She suddenly fell ill on a family vacation a year ago with symptoms that included sharp pains in her side, nausea that persisted for a month, a loss of appetite and lethargy.

A gastroenterologist’s diagnosis: Emme was on the verge of end-stage renal failure caused by an autoimmune disease, vasculitis, an inflammation of the blood vessels.

“Everybody keeps saying, ‘Oh, you're a hero, you're a hero,’ ” Bob Ward told Patch. “I'm not a hero. Any parent would do this for their child, I would hope anyway. And that's just the way I've gone about it. Take them both for all I care, as long as it gets her better.” By TJ Kremer III for New Lenox, Illinois, Patch

Humble Heroism

Humility is often a hallmark of heroism. Wayne Bourgeois, a hall monitor for a Massachusetts high school, put his emergency response training to use and saved the life of a student who was choking on a grape. “The real hero,” Bourgeois said, “is the kid who came to me and pointed him out.” By Christopher Huffaker for Andover, Massachusetts, Patch

Full Fridge Fills Bellies

The 8-by-3-foot refrigerator on a prominent corner in Newark, New Jersey’s South Ward is a beacon for the hungry. It’s packed with milk, juice, lunch meat, bread, cheese, fresh fruits and vegetables and other grocery staples, and local residents can take anything they want — for free. “The need is there,” Altarik White, a founder of the group responsible for the community refrigerator, told Patch. “We have a very high poverty rate in this ward.” By Eric Kiefer for Newark, New Jersey, Patch

Preemie Triplets Go Home

Geraldo, Thiago and Axel came into the world Sept. 9 weighing under 4 pounds each after their mom, Wendy Pacheco Enriquez, went into labor about 30 weeks early. The Rockville Centre, New York, triplets went home Wednesday, each weighing more than 5 pounds after 40 days in the neonatal intensive care unit. By Jerry Barmash for Rockville Centre, New York, Patch

Neighbors Won’t Hear Of It

This year, Heather Stamatogiannis couldn’t bring herself to tackle the back-to-school ritual that includes decorating her house for Halloween. Far more pressing for the Toms River woman, a widow with a significantly disabled child, was a looming deadline to pay off a tax lien that could leave her and her son homeless. Nearly 600 people who donated to a crowdfunding campaign would have none of that: They raised enough money to pay off the lien. By Karen Wall for Toms River, New Jersey, Patch

A Home Run?

Triple-A baseball players are getting a break as Major League Baseball addresses longtime criticism by requiring teams to provide housing to players beginning next year. Currently, minor leaguers have to figure out their own housing for home games while earning a pittance of what MLB players make. By Jason Claffey for Across America Patch

4-Star Female Officer Makes History Again

Dr. Rachel Levine — make that Adm. Rachel Levine — has achieved multiple firsts in a career where she established herself a quiet but firm voice of authority and reassurance. She first made history as the first transgender U.S. Senate-confirmed candidate for a federal position when she was named assistant secretary for health in President Joe Biden's administration. On Tuesday, she made history again as she was named an admiral in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. By Justin Heinze for Norristown, Pennsylvania, Patch

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