Girl’s dream to end childhood hunger gets national attention [Video]

Here’s one from one of my friends, Joey Sovine.

Ten-year-old Katie Stagliano dreams to end childhood hunger across the world.

The 4th grader from Pinewood Preparatory School in Summerville was recently featured in NBC Nightly News “Making a difference” segment.

Her dream began in her backyard where a 3rd grade project turned into a 40 pound cabbage.

“We decided that my cabbage was too special to be eaten so I contacted the organization fields to family. They are an organization that brings extra crops from farmer’s fields and other places to people in need and they told us that Family Crisis Ministries’ soup kitchen would greatly appreciate it,” explained Katie.

The 40 pound cabbage went on to feed over 275 people and triggered a dream that is spreading throughout her school.

With help from environmental science teacher Michael Newman, a garden has been constructed on the school’s property where Katie’s classmates help to grow food for the homeless.

Katie has now helped to feed over 800 people and hopes to inspire more people to grow food for those less fortunate.

Watch this story: Summerville kid dreams to end childhood hunger

Narnia comes to life for blind child

Great story from my friend Phillip Murrell.

Today, we got a look at The Lions Narnia Braille Trail.

It’s the second phase of Darrell’s Dream Boundless Playground at Warriors’ Path State Park in Kingsport.

The new addition is a Braille trail that surrounds the existing playground.

It features eight sensory stations telling a story based on “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe” fantasy by C.S. Lewis.

The playground, along with today’s new addition, is a place where children of all abilities can enjoy nature.

“We think it’s important to provide….remove barriers for people who are blind and vision impaired and to removed those barriers so they can play right alongside and learn from one another and their friends,” said Lions Club President Doug Haseltine.

The additions at the boundless playground don’t end with the Lions Narnia Braille Trail.

A tree house will open this fall. It will be accessible to children with and without disabilities.

Watch this story: The Lions Narnia Braille Trail Opens In Kingsport

Dogs help children learn to read [Video]

Burgh, a Bernese Mountain dog, is assisting in the Tailwaggin’ Tutors program.

“When it’s time for the kids to read, they sit down, she sits down next to them and she listens,” said Carol Vernon, a library employee.

It doesn’t even matter that all the stories sound the same to Burgh.

“(The children are) breaking out of their shell,” said Chris Bohrer, the dog’s owner.  “They’re not so afraid to be around either a dog or an adult and they generally start reading louder and louder.”

The program has made for positive results.

“I just think because you’re training and reading to at least somebody before you read to an actual real person,” said Tommy Fanning of the Reading To Dogs program.  “Whether it’s getting over shyness or just getting confidence in their ability to read aloud, or whether it’s actually improving their reading, I hear about it from the parents.”

The children are going from beginning readers to chapter books in a matter of weeks.

“However you can get them to love reading or enjoy reading, I think it’s a wonderful thing,” said Janel Fanning, the mother of one of the students in the program.

Read more and watch this story: Dogs Helping Children Learn To Read

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

Heroic PE teacher pushes mother and children from path of car

A physical-education teacher at A.K. Suter Elementary School in Pensacola is being called a hero after he was struck by a car this morning near the school while he protected children.

Patrick Judd was transported to Baptist Hospital. Colleen Kirsch, spokeswoman for the hospital, said Judd was in good condition this morning.

Deputy Superintendent Norm Ross said witnesses saw Judd push a mother and her two children out of the path of an oncoming car.

By doing so, Judd took the brunt of the hit and suffered a leg injury.

District officials applauded Judd’s selfless actions Friday.

Laura Richards, 37, dropped off 6-year-old Abigail for school this morning and was crossing the street while talking with Judd.

She had 2-year old Laura Sophia sitting on her hip and 4-year-old Isabella holding her hand as she walked.

“He jumped back to take the full impact,” Richards said of Judd. “I don’t really know what happened. It happened so quickly but when it was all said and done we were safe on the side of the road and my daughters’ flip flops were still on the pavement.”

Richards said she know Judd because she sees him every morning and afternoon doing crossing guard duty. The last day of school before Christmas break, Richards said, Judd wears a Santa Claus costume while guiding traffic.

“We’re so grateful,” she said. “We pray for him and that he’ll be alright. If if he hadn’t been there it would have been us. My two little girls are so tiny.”

“The incident this morning was certainly an act of heroism,” Ross said. “It doesn’t surprise me at all. He’s been a longtime employee and has demonstrated throughout his career his dedication to students and the school.”

Superintendent Malcolm Thomas said he was proud of Judd’s service to the schools.

“This is just another example of the dedication of our employees in this district,” Thomas said.

In 1999 Judd won the Elementary School Physical Education Teacher of the Year Award from the county.

Read more and see the family he saved: ‘An act of heroism’

“Spiderman” saves autistic boy’s life

An unusual disguise has helped a Bangkok fireman rescue an eight-year-old boy who had climbed on to a third-floor window ledge, Thai police say.

The firefighter dressed up as the comic book superhero Spider-Man in order to coax the boy, who is autistic, from his dangerous perch.

Police said teachers had alerted the fire station after the boy began crying and climbed out of a classroom window.

It was reportedly his first day at the special needs school.

Efforts by the teachers to convince the pupil back inside had failed.

But a remark by his mother about his passion for comic superheroes prompted fireman Somchai Yoosabai to rush back to the station, where he kept a Spider-Man costume in his locker.

The sight of Mr Somchai dressed as Spider-Man and holding a glass of juice for him, brought a big smile to the boy’s face, and he promptly threw himself into the arms of his “superhero”, police said.

Read more:  Thai ‘Spider-Man’ to the rescue

10-year-old crossing guard pulls child away from path of truck [Video]

For 10-year-old Matt Krause, it was all in a day’s work.

A member of the safety patrol at Waterville Primary School, Matt couldn’t help but notice a tearful kindergartner emerge from his mom’s car. The little boy, Cole Dorner, didn’t walk into the school as he should have, but ran down the sidewalk as his mother pulled into a parking spot.

One safety patroller called out to Cole to stop, but when he didn’t, Matt stopped him before he stepped into the path of an oncoming pickup.

“I just ran over and grabbed him by the shoulder with one hand,” Matt said, recalling that the driver of the pickup was talking on a cell phone and drove on by, apparently unaware of what had nearly happened.

 

“I told him, ‘It’s OK. Your mom’s coming,’ and then his mother came over and said, ‘Thank you, thank you, thank you,’” Matt said. 

Five-year-old Cole, for his part, was more interested in reuniting with his Mom than noticing that Matt had just saved his life.

 

Read more about this young hero: Waterville boy pulled child away from path of pickup

10-year-old chess king [Video]

A 10-year-old West Jordan boy has won the 2009 Utah Game/60 Chess Championship – and he could be ranked first in the nation in his age group.

Kayden Troff won $120 in prize money Saturday and has been invited to attend U.S. Chess School this summer.

Troff’s quick game is rated 2125, which is higher than any active tournament player in the state. His long game is rated 1933. He needs to reach 2500 to attain grandmaster status, the highest title a chess player can achieve.

Damien Nash, an expert-level player and director of the tournament, says he thinks Troff will be ranked No. 1 in the nation in the rapid chess category for kids under 13.

Kayden has been playing since he was 3, and practices up to seven hours daily.

Read more and watch that story: 10-year-old boy wins Utah chess tournament

Boy with 176 IQ is 1 in a million [Video]

Pranav Veera can recite the names of the U.S. presidents in the order they served in office. He can say the alphabet backward. Give him a date back to 2000, and he’ll tell you the day of the week.

He’s only 6 years old.

At first glance, Pranav is a typical young boy who is highly competitive at playing Wii video games and likes to play outside. A closer look reveals he’s anything but typical.

Pranav has an IQ of 176. One person in 1 million has an IQ of 176 or above. Albert Einstein’s IQ was believed to be about 160. The average IQ is 100.

When Pranav was 4-and-a-half, his parents noticed he seemed unusually intelligent while playing with alphabet sets. He could even recall which letters were certain colors.

“That kind of puzzled us,” said his father, Prasad Veera. “You have to have not a normal memorization, but some other means of recall.”

Now, he loves all kinds of alphabets.

“He loves to collect them, like different colors, different sizes, different materials,” said his mother, Suchitra Veera.

The Veeras decided to have Pranav tested three months ago at Powers Educational Services in Hyde Park.

“I said, ’Let’s try it out, because he seems to do a lot of stuff kind of not quite normal for his age,” his father said. “He tested 176.”

He seems to have a photographic memory, so keeping Pranav engaged and learning is a big challenge for his family.

His mother and grandmother, Shanta Sastri, work with him at home.

They’re guided by his focus and interests.

Read more and watch video of this amazing little guy: Boy with 176 IQ is 1 in a million

10-year-old golf prodigy [Video]

 

Here is a story from my buddy, sports reporter, Scott Eisberg.

Kyle Spencer is flat out good. 

He’s shot a 71 on 18 holes, something most golfers can never say they’ll do.  Kyle has done it, by age 10. 

 He started at age 2. By 4-years-old, he was taking lessons and soon after playing competitively. 

 His coach says he’s one of the top 300 kids in the entire world. 

For such an established golfer, one of the most important decisions in his life is picking a caddy.  Kyle’s decision, his grandma and Mary Ann Snyder–who is also a pro at Charleston National. 

 It’s a unique bond the two have, but every weekend, grandma follows grandson 18 holes.

Read more and watch the 10-year-old in action: Kyle Spencer–An Aged Golfer at 10

Photo: Flickr user JLMitch