7 Good News Stories: Stranger’s Kindness; ‘Running With Scissors’

ACROSS AMERICA — If you’re standing in the middle of the road, your world shattered by sudden tragedy, you can hope someone like Nick comes along. Never in her life, Jennifer Schindler said later, had she experienced “the kind of kindness that he offered.”

Schindler and the family German shepherd, Bruno, had been playing hide and seek in their New Lenox, Illinois, front yard as they do every morning. At just over a year old, Bruno was still all puppy. “Like a kangaroo,” Schindler told Patch’s Lauren Traut, “he’d jump on all fours trying to catch birds from the sky.”

And then, when it was Schindler’s turn to hide, she heard a sound so loud she thought two cars had collided. Bruno, despite knowing the perimeter of the yard and to stay inside it, had ventured into the street and had been hit by a car. The impact catapulted him back into the yard. Time stopped for Schindler.

That’s when Nick, a perfect stranger, showed up and pulled her from panic and into the moment she needed to be for Bruno. His words were comforting but urgent.

“ ‘He hears you, he’s alive, he’s wagging his tail,” Schindler recalls Nick saying. “I said, ‘He’s alive, but he’s going to die,’ and he said, ‘Yes, that’s what’s happening, stay with him, I’m here, you’re not by yourself.’ And he just walked me through it.” » By Lauren Traut for New Lenox Patch

‘Running With Scissors’

One of the first things people notice about Dustin Foley, Will Armstrong, Jay Ryason, Bronwyn Hill and Tom Burr (top photo) is that the four barbers at Neighborhood Barbershop in Falls Church, Virginia, are all heavily tattooed. Look past the ink, and you’ll find people confident and skilled with scissors, clippers and razors. Peel back another layer, and you’ll find four best friends, all wickedly funny. You’ll find a band. And you’ll find among this group of self-described social outcasts an absolute penchant for charity. Prodded by some clients, they’re now pitching a reality series, “Running with Scissors,” the story of four misfit barbers making a difference in one of America’s wealthiest cities. “We’ve been told ‘no’ our whole lives,” Armstrong told Patch’s Emily Leayman, explaining that even if the show is rejected, “This no’s not going to stop us.” » By Emily Leayman for Falls Church Patch

‘High Road Toward Human Togetherness’

Keep in mind that Sasha Minsky is only 17. But he had a fully grown, adult-sized response to statistics that show 90 percent of the 1,500 people who drown annually in South Africa live in low-income communities. And more than 30 percent of them are kids under the age of 14. Knowing that most drowning deaths are preventable with simple instruction, Minsky, an 11th grader and competitive swimmer at The Potomac School in McLean, Virginia, started the not-for-profit Alexandra Youth Swim Academy in one of South Africa’s poorest townships. After spending nearly two years working on it, Minsky and his father recently traveled to South Africa to launch the project, which has multiple local partners. “In a world increasingly focused on self-interests, leaders like Sasha offer a different approach, the high road towards human togetherness,” said Marc Lubner, CEO of Afrika Tikkun Group, which works with impoverished youth in South Africa and is one of the partners in the swim academy. » By Mark Hand for McLean Patch

‘We Know Food’

The three Kumar kids grew up in the family restaurants in Queens and Nassau County, doing everything from preparing the food to serving it to making deliveries. They’re foodies who have “basically tried every single Indian restaurant in New York,” Neeru Kumar explained to Patch’s Peggy Spellman Hoey, adding, “We know food inside out.” They all have careers outside the restaurant business, but never stopped dreaming of opening a restaurant that would honor the culinary legacy of their parents, who were well-known in the Indian community for fine cuisine. Last fall, they opened Taj Crown of India, a flavorful tribute to their parents that allows them to “kind of relive their youth again,” Kumar said. » By Peggy Spellman Hoey for Three Village (New York) Patch

He Knows Socks

John’s Crazy Socks, a Farmingdale, New York, business has been named the world’s “most inspirational social enterprise” by LUXlife Magazine. John Cronin is the first person with Down syndrome to win the award, and he and his father are committed to providing job opportunities for people with differing abilities, who count for 22 of the 34 employees. The name comes from the younger Cronin’s love for colorful socks, but there’s more to the business than the retail aspect. They’ve donated $550,000 to charity partners, including Special Olympics, National Down Syndrome Society and Autism Society of America. “We are a social enterprise, so we have a social mission and a business purpose, and they feed off each other,” John’s dad, Mark X. Cronin, said. “Yes, we have great products … but our social mission makes the difference. It allows us to stand out in the marketplace.” » By Michael DeSantis for Farmingdale Patch

How ‘Seceding’ Helped This City

Annapolis is in a civil war. Well, kind of. Residents of the town's Eastport neighborhood have carved out their own identity over the years, even jokingly “seceding” from the mother city 25 years ago after the main bridge to Annapolis was closed, and residents had to go the long way around to get to the city center. Worried the neighborhood economy would suffer, they created events like the annual tug-of-war pitting Eastport and Annapolis against each. It’s become one of the city’s strongest traditions and fundraising opportunities, raising more than $500,000 for community charities. “It’s not like this everywhere you go in the country,” Annapolis Mayor Gavin Buckley told Patch’s Jacob Baumgart. “I swear we live in the most special, special places on the waterfront, where we can do tugs-of-war between two peninsulas.” » By Jacob Baumgart for Anne Arundel Patch

Learning To Be Bears

A 10-month-old bear cub was thin and alone when California wildlife officials found her in Bakersfield late last year. She spent about a month in rehab at Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care and arrived last week at the San Diego Humane Society’s Ramona Wildlife Center for more care. An unusually high number of bear cubs have been orphaned in the last few months, most likely when their dens were flooded. Together, the cubs will learn together to be bears who can survive on their own in the wild when they’re released in the spring. » By Ashley Ludwig for San Diego Patch

---