Girl makes special greeting cards for sick Dad

This is a remarkable young girl who is shining in the face of a major tragedy. This story is heart-wrenching, but there is something strangely inspirational about it.

If you can… please take the time to buy a stack of cards or donate to the family. I know that I will!

Watch this story with some tissue near by.

It would be hard to say no to Reese Schroeder, a beautiful 5-year-old girl with a big smile and her father’s green eyes. But it would be impossible to turn her away from your doorstep once you hear why she wants to sell her cards.

“Because I wanted to raise money for my dad because he’s in the hospital. But now, he’s not in the hospital anymore because he died,” she said. 

Jon Schroeder died early Tuesday morning months after he’d been admitted to the hospital for pneumonia. He was 29 years old.

While at the hospital, he suffered a collapsed lung and was diagnosed with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS), a rare and almost fatal disease.

During her father’s long stay at the hospital, Reese’s kindergarten art teacher decided an art project might help. She kept Reese after kindergarten for two weeks and helped her draw pictures of animals that would be printed on cards.

Julie Bauman didn’t even know the Schroeders but knew she wanted to do something to help.

“Stacie (Reese’s mom) is now a single mom with little three kids and I just knew there would be a lot of possible expenses to keep the house going, I just figured anything we could do to help,” Bauman said.

Bauman got a local printer to donate the card printing and then recruited volunteers to put the packets of cards together. She also brought Reese to her Monticello neighborhood to sell the cards to her neighbors.

“I think it’s really sweet, really sweet of her teacher and it’s really sweet that she’s able to go out and do that for her dad,” said Stacie Schroeder. “He would have been so proud of her.”

Jon never saw all of the cards while he was in the hospital because he was too sick. But he’ll be buried with them with a special note from Reese.

“I feel kind of happy that he chose to go with Jesus, but I do feel kind of sad that he’s not with us,” she said.

You can make a donation to the Jon Schroeder Benefit Account at:

 Wells Fargo Bank
12916 Main St
Rogers, MN 55374

You can also buy Reese’s card from the Albertville Primary School, 763-497-2688. They are $10 for a pack of 6. The money will go to help Stacie Schroeder raise her three kids.

Watch this story: Girl Makes Special Greeting Cards For Sick Dad

Students help injured classmate complete project and graduate [Video]

This is a a great one! If you are soft-hearted, get the tissues ready.

Last January, a Seneca Valley High School student was killed in a tragic accident on I-79 while driving to a sporting event.

But her best friend, a passenger in the vehicle, survived serious injuries and is now looking forward to a bright future.

Family, friends and teachers say it’s nothing short of a miracle to see Dana Hughes, a Seneca Valley High School senior, up and walking again. Two months ago, the teen was critically injured in an auto accident while heading to a lacrosse match.

As a senior, in order to graduate, Hughes had to complete her senior project of training and competing in the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s ”Just A Short Run” marathon at North Park.

However, the accident left her not well enough to run so about 90 of her classmates got permission to complete the project for her.

“She’s like a big sister to me. All my life, she’s always been my role model, so I wanted to do something for her,” said one of Hughes’ classmates, Megan Condit.

Hughes, just out of rehab, was able to walk five miles of the marathon, and dedicated the effort to in the memory of Quail. And today she had a chance to thank all of her classmates and friends who supported her.

“Everything that I got when I was in Pittsburgh Institute, in the hospital, the prayers especially helped,” she said. “I think, God was shining over me. I know he was.”

“I never thought I’d say this, but I never thought I’d be so excited to go back to school,” added Hughes.

Read more and watch this heart-warming story:  Students Help Injured Classmate Complete Project

Hockey team for women over 30-years-old [Video]

This is a great story!

Step aside, guys. It’s the ladies’ turn to hit the ice.

The Triangle-based Carolina Black Widows is the only USA Hockey-affiliated team in North Carolina for women more than 30 years old.

“I started at (age) 44,” said hockey player Nancy Difede.

“We’re the old nags,” her teammate Sue Mitran chimed in.

The hockey players come from a variety of backgrounds: Mitran is a bookkeeper, Gloria Cabada-Leman is a lawyer, and Jaden Taylor is a research scientist with Wyeth Vaccines.

That diverse experience comes in handy for the team, hockey player Wendy Bard joked.

“When somebody’s injured on the ice, you make sure you put your doctor on the ice. You take your lawyer with you if you have a physiotherapist,” Bard said. “You’ve got to have somebody from every walk of life.”

The hockey moms and career-driven women said playing on the side is great fun.

“It’s a wonderful escape from reality. We have a lot of fun and get along really well,” Cabada-Leman said.

Some of the players are Canadians who relocated to the Triangle. Others are women who had never before touched a hockey stick in their lives.

“More women play because they see us out here,” Mitran said.

But for amateurs, the Black Widows have their fair share of talent: They went 13-2 in the 2009-2009 season. This weekend, they’re competing in a USA Hockey national tournament. On Friday, they won one game and lost one.

Team members, though, said that winning’s not their goal.

“We get out there and skate hard and have fun. That’s basically what it’s all about,” Mitran said.

Watch this story: Women’s ice hockey team hits the rink

Ty Pennington makes teen’s dream come true [Video]

He’s the star of “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” and on Saturday, he was a teen girl’s dream come true. They met at the Denver Home Show thanks to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

The big day was for 13-year-old Deana Elhit, who got to meet Ty Pennington.

“How he changes people’s lives,” Deana said. “How the house is all ruined and then all new.”

Deana has rare heart condition called restrictive cardiomyopathy. She was diagnosed at 6 years old and received a heart transplant 2 1/2 years ago. Then her father had the same surgery less than 2 months later.

One of the side effects is extreme bloating. She tires easily and she’s often in so much pain she can’t stand or walk. But all of that didn’t matter when she got to meet Pennington.

“The fact that they want to meet me is the ultimate flatterer,” Pennington said. “I mean of all the people you know, I’m just kind of honored.”

Deana thought Pennington was a little taller and a little skinnier in person.

Read more and watch this story: Ty Pennington Makes Teen’s Wish Come True

Mother uses tragedy to save lives, donates baby’s organs [Video]

A mother hit by tragedy is turning the tables by donating her daughter’s organs.

Ramona Emami says, “I feel great knowing Natalie is helping other babies live.”

Her daughter Natalie was just 5-months-old when she died.

Natalie’s heart is saving a young boy in Arkansas. Her small intestine is giving a 14-month-old girl in New York a second chance at live. Natalie’s liver is being used for medical testing.

Natalie’s family presented LifeShare Organ Registry with a stained glass window made by a relative.

They hope to encourage parents in similar situations to give the gift of life.

Read more and watch that story: Infant organ donor