Distance learners still need Grandpa Ron

Back in March, 2020, when the pandemic began, Ron Jacobson had already logged 900 volunteer hours at an elementary school in Cle Elum, Washington, during the 2019-2020 school year. Then the school closed and went to virtual instruction. That's when Ron realized his legacy. Students were missing the hugs he gave them every morning. The school received so many requests for "Grandpa Ron" as students called him, that administrators added his contact information to the school's online directory.

Students immediately began sending him emails and letters, and even coming to his home to check up on him and walk his dog. Jacobson responds to each of his many "pen pals" adding a bright spot to students' days. A Vietnam veteran, he says, "The Marine Corps taught me two things are most important: to complete a mission and take care of your troops. I'm still taking care of the troops." It's just that they are 75 years younger than he is.

And he did it without training wheels!

 Wesley Hammett is a cargo handler, and after his dad passed away last year, he decided to raise funds for various charities and hospitals. To do this, he decided to ride from Glasgow, Scotland, to his home near Manchester, England, on a comically small bike his daughters learned to ride on, "just for fun."

He reached peaks as high as 1,350 feet at the Shap Summit in Cumbria, which he says with some understatement, the bike "wasn't built for." After a grueling trip which included a six-hour long stretch and eight flat tires, he managed to drag the 12-inch wheels to his home on Sept. 21. So far he has raised just over $10,730 for charity.

McDonalds window server serves kindness

 When Brittany Reed, a busy mother of three, rolled up to a McDonalds drive-thru in Waynesville, Ohio, she made her order and drove to the first window, where she realized she didn't have her purse. The teenage server, Wyatt Jones, said he'd happily pay for the meals. Later that night, Brittany drove back to McDonalds to give Wyatt his money back, but he insisted the meal was on him.

Brittany wrote on a Facebook post, "I just want his parents to know how kind and compassionate your son was tonight He made this stressed out momma pause for a moment and realize this is exactly what we parents are trying to do, raise great humans." On hearing that Wyatt was saving up for a car, she began a GoFundMe page on his behalf. As of October 1, she's raised nearly $32,000 for him. How's that for a gratuity?

Who was that masked man?

 Ben Beard and Ty Anderson were making college plans when the pandemic stopped everything in their hometown of Nashville, Tennessee. "We were working hard on academics and looking for ways to volunteer in our communities to have well-round college resumes," said Ben, "but then everything came to a halt." He decided to look for meaningful ways to give back to his community and "not just play the game of looking for a good college." That's when he discovered the organization Mask Now TN, which distributes masked to underprivileged people and essential workers. Donations were urgently needed.

Ben and Ty motivated and equipped fellow students at Independence High School to gather donations. They even set up collection boxes. Within only three weeks, they hit their goal of 10,000 masks. Ben's brother Andrew, who joined the team, said, "Getting our eyes off our own problems and finding a way to help others who have had it so much harder through this crisis has been empowering to us as students."

Five-year-old is wise beyond his years

 In "The Mandalorian," Baby Yoda, or "the Child," pops up in places where grown men fear to tread and faces danger with wisdom beyond his years. Recently, a little boy named Carver and his grandmother were filling a box with supplies to send to first responders battling California's wildfires. 

Carver insisted on sending his Yoda doll, and with his grandmother's help, wrote a note that said, "Thank you, firefighters. Here is a friend for you, in case you get lonely. Love, Carver."

Like Baby Yoda, Carver is wise beyond his years. He explained, "I have always wanted to help and uplift anyone that's around me. And this really was a bright spot in a dark time, that I wanted to share with everyone."

Rookie police dog's first rescue

 This dog's name is Max. He's a two-year-old German Shepherd mix. After he finished training as a police dog, he was on his first shift last month when he successfully located a missing woman and her child in Wales. The woman had not been seen or spoken to for two days before authorities began their search. Police had a starting point where the woman's car was found empty on a mountain road.

Despite only being recently licensed, and on his first operational shift, Max immediately commenced an open area search. Max and his handler, Police Constable Peter Lloyd, found the missing woman waving for help near a steep ravine on a mountainside. The mother and child were "safe, but cold," and had been in the area for a "significant" amount of time, according to police.

Every student needs a desk

 Since the pandemic forced schools to move online, some students have had to learn from the kitchen table, a couch, or even the living room floor. No having a desk makes it harder for them to be organized and focused. That's why Jessica and Al Berrellez, who live in Gaithersburg, Maryland, and have three children, have spent recent weekends delivering desks and chairs to students in Montgomery County who need them.

Al, who works in sales and consulting in the building materials industry, makes some of the desks in his spare time. Friends and other volunteers make or donate the rest. "Every kid deserves to have their own little workstation," says Al. "This was something, to me, that seemed simple enough to do, but that would make a big impact on these children's lives."