Total stranger adopts 2nd grade classroom

Last year, Elisabeth Milch disclosed her annual salary online.  It was $35,621 at the time. She teaches second grade at Whispering Wind Academy in Phoenix, Arizona. It's a Title I school, which means it has low-income students and receives federal funds to meet educational goals. But Milch often dips into have own pocket to meet students' needs, paying for lunches on field trips, and much more. Her story was featured on news outlets across the country, and then the magic happened.

A New York man named Ben Adam reached out to Milch on Facebook to ask if she needed help buying school supplies for her students. She remembers, "I'm thinking, this is crazy. This is a total stranger from New York." But when school started, Milch started getting Amazon packages. "I thought it was a one-time thing," she says, but Adam sent Milch supplies well into the second semester. He sent colored paper, books, paints, paintbrushes, snacks for the kids, and more. Later he asked if he could help other teachers, and he ended up adopting five more classrooms in addition to Milch's. All the teachers agree his kindness has improved the atmosphere of their classrooms.

Six years ago, but still important today

Nogales, Arizona, firefighters rushed to the international border with Mexico at Morley Avenue after a blaze broke out at the Hotel San Enrique in Nogales, Sonora, Mexico. The hotel had been a lodging for migrants waiting to cross illegally into the United States.

The building was empty at the time of the fire and no injuries were reported. About 10 firetrucks responded from the Mexican side of the fence, while Nogales Fire Chief Hector Robles dispatched the local department's $827,000 ladder truck for its maiden trip to an actual fire.

Good news from Blackburn College

Blackburn College (my alma mater) is in rural Carlinville, Illinois. It's the only college in the United States with a mandatory, student-managed work program. Each student is assigned a job on or near campus for several hours a week to reduce tuition. To stay at Blackburn, every student must participate, even if Daddy donates a library. Noted photojournalist Linda Solomon's national project, "Pictures of Hope," lets high school students compete for a "Dream Scholarship" -- a free ride at Blackburn.

Solomon gives selected students a photography lesson, a camera, and several weeks to capture their hopes and dreams in a photograph. This year's winner is Jordawn Green from Crater High School in Central Point, Oregon. A Blackburn College official says Solomon is "working with the same population we serve -- promising young people facing financial challenges that could prevent them from going to college." Winners of the scholarship, who meet other admission requirements, receive free tuition, room and board for four years.

Don't be surprised when the elves move in

When a 110-year-old cottonwood tree in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, needed to be removed for safety reasons, Sharalee Armitage Howard, a librarian, artist and bookbinder, transformed it into an amazing Little Free Library. Now, instead of providing shade, it provides good reading.

It stands in Sharalee's front yard, featuring inviting stone steps, a sloped roof, a large green door, and warm interior and exterior lighting. Since she posted photos of her library last December, the public librarian's creation has gone viral, with responses from as far away as Greece, Turkey, France and Tunisia. One man from Arkansas wrote, "Don't be surprised when the elves move in."

Too many coincidences to be a coincidence?

Tyler Smith and Heather Brown, both 17, have been friends since fourth grade. Now they're seniors at Christ's Church Academy, where April 18 was "senior skip day." They went swimming off Vilano Beach, near St. Augustine, Florida, and were caught by a rip tide almost two miles from land. They tried, but could not swim back to shore. For two hours, they struggled to hold each other up. As their skin turned pale and they shivered uncontrollably, they began to pray.

Meanwhile, Eric Wagner and a friend were forcing his boat, the Amen, through high waves en route from Delray to New Jersey. He later wrote on Facebook, "Nearly two miles out, over wind, waves and engines, we thought we heard a desperate scream and saw an arm flail over the swells. We made a u-turn while I ran to the bow with jackets and ropes. After tossing them jackets, we pulled them up onto the swim deck. Both were shivering and his lips were white. We radioed the Coast Guard and warmed the kids with blankets. The boy told me he called out for God's help, and then we showed up. When I told them our boat is named the Amen, they started to cry. The first words out of her mouth were, 'God is real!'"

"There are too many coincidences in my opinion for this to be a coincidence," said Wagner. "I truly believe it was divine intervention."

They don't regret doing the right thing

It's been almost five years since roommates Reese Werkhoven, Cally Guasti and Lara Russo were shocked by what they found in their couch. One day after watching a movie on TV, they noticed crinkles in one of the side pillows of the use couch, which they purchased from the Salvation Army in New Paltz, New York. Tearing the pillows open, they found bubble-wrap envelopes. They opened the first one and found "an inch and a half of hundred dollar bills." They eagerly counted it, and it totalled $41,00. Reese was thinking about buying a boat.

But then they found an envelope with a woman's name on it, and their sense of entitlement vanished. With the help of Werkhoven's mother, they found the woman, called her, and returned the cash. The elderly woman, who wishes to remain anonymous, said she stashed money in that couch for years and family members who did not know had mistakenly donated it to the Salvation Army. As a reward for their honesty, she gave the roommates $1,000, proving that honesty really does pay.

Prepare to wipe away a tear

Tinney Davidson has been waving to children in her town for over ten years. The 88-year-old Canadian woman has waved to kids of Comox, British Columbia, since she and her husband moved into their home back in 2007. Since the couple's home is near the local high school, they delighted in waving to all the teens who walked past their home to school. And the teens love to wave back.

                                                                                                                          CHEK News
Even after her husband died, Davidson continued the tradition of sitting in front of her window and waving to kids. In 2016, the youngsters even repaid her kindness by giving her dozens of gifts on Valentine's Day. So....when the community learned that "Waving Granny" would soon be moving into an assisted living home, more than 400 youngsters gathered in her front yard to say goodbye. As Davidson cried tears of joy, the kids blew her kisses, gave her hugs, and waved farewell.