Tag Archives: Inspirational

Arson Survivor Receives 480,000-plus Christmas Cards, Disney Trip

The 8-year-old arson survivor whose story about her desire for Christmas cards prompted an outpouring of holiday cheer from around the world is getting a lot more than she ever asked for.

Sa’fyre Terry was the only survivor of a May 2013 blaze in Schenectady, New York, that killed her father and three siblings. Family friends say Terry suffered burns on more than 75 percent of her body and had her right hand and left foot amputated as a result of her extensive injuries.

This Christmas, she received a tree-shaped Christmas card holder and wanted to receive enough cards to fill up the tree. After family friends shared Terry’s photo and story on Facebook, the story went viral and she began receiving cards, donations and support from around the globe.

In a Facebook post on a page monitoring Terry’s recovery, supporters wrote she received more than 480,000 Christmas cards through Monday, a number that has undoubtedly increased. Supporters wrote she had received a card from all 50 states — including one from the Obama family — as well as countries like Dubai, Malaysia, Australia, France, Brazil, China and India.

Students at the nearby University of Albany also presented her with a robotic right hand.

According to a Facebook posting, Terry also recently learned that she’ll be spending part of February at Walt Disney World, courtesy of Baking Memories 4 Kids. The nonprofit organization sells chocolate chip cookies online at BakingMemories4Kids.com and uses the proceeds to send children with life-threatening illnesses to amusement parks in Florida.

A crowdsourced fundraising page that had been established to help Terry’s caregivers with a host of expenses had a goal of $15,000, but had generated more than $398,000 as of Thursday.

Christmas Cards Arrive En Masse After Arson Survivor’s Wish Goes Viral

An 8-year-old girl who lost her father and three siblings in an arson fire two years ago is receiving Christmas cards from around the world this year after a Facebook post went viral.

Sa’fyre Terry was the only survivor of a May 2013 blaze in Schenectady, New York, that killed her father, sister and two brothers. Family friends say Terry suffered burns on more than 75 percent of her body and had her right hand and left foot amputated as a result of her injuries.

Last week, a family friend posted a picture of Terry to Facebook, showing the girl standing next to a tree-shaped Christmas card holder. The friend, Kevin Clark, wondered how many people would send a card to Terry, who simply wanted to receive enough cards to fill up her tree.

She’s probably going to need a bigger tree.

Clark’s post has been shared more than 25,000 times, and Terry’s story been covered by many national media outlets, including CNN, The Today Show, Buzzfeed, The Washington Post and People Magazine. Pro wrestler Hulk Hogan shared Terry’s wish on his Facebook page, which has about 5 million likes. Even publications in England were reporting the story.

Family friends had set up a fundraising page on youcaring.com to help Terry’s caregivers with expenses. The page had a goal of $15,000, but had raised more than $155,000 as of Wednesday.

The address to mail Christmas cards is P.O. Box 6126, Schenectady, NY 12306.

The fundraiser page can be accessed through this link.

Carolina Panthers Hire Six-Year-Old Coach

He barely reaches the waist of most of the players, but the Carolina Panthers were listening to the orders of their new coach.

Braylon Beam, 6, has been battling cancer since February.  He signed a one-day contract to be the head coach of the team for the annual “Fan Fest” practice August 7th at Bank of America stadium in Charlotte.

Braylon is a big fan of Carolina quarterback Cam Newton.  The first-grader wore a Newton jersey during an appearance on the Ellen TV show where he talked about his #JustKeepDancing movement to raise money for pediatric cancer.

“He’s a real energetic young man who has got a real good sense for being around people. He showed that,” Panthers regular head coach Ron Rivera said. “He’s got a great fight about him and I hope our guys got the message and understand who this young man is.”

Beam held a team meeting, telling the Panthers: “Be brave, be positive, never give up, have a heart, go Cats.”

Beam told ESPN after the event that it was the “best day ever.”

Teen Goes For Swim, Ends Up Rescuing 20 Hikers

Sonny Boiser is your typical 15-year-old who wanted to kick back in the evening and swim at a swimming hole near the Blue Hole hiking trail in Kauai.

The trail is located along the second rainiest spot on Earth, so there is always  plenty of fresh water in the hole to swim.

That’s when Sonny suddenly heard cries for help.

He walked from the trailhead where he parked his car to find 20 hikers stranded on the other side of a stream flooded with raging water.  The stream, which earlier in the day had been so dry the hikers could walk across it, filled after a light rain turned into a downpour.

“We couldn’t cross the river even if we tried to,” Micah Phillips-Lam told the Garden Island newspaper. “When we got there, my friend Will, he tried to swim across and he almost got swept away, so we didn’t try again. It was raining and we were all cold, the whole group of us, and we just waited. We didn’t know what to do, honestly.”

“There was this brown rushing water and giant logs going downstream,” Phillips-Lam added. “We didn’t want to take our chances.”

Boiser took a rope that one of the hikers carried and tied it to the back of his truck as the hikers secured another end to a tree.  Boiser then kept pulling the truck forward to keep the rope taut for the hikers to use to cross.

“It was a crazy experience. We got so lucky,” Phillips-Lam said. “[Boiser is] a really cool kid.”

“I was glad I got there and they didn’t have to spend the night there,” said Boiser, who has his learner’s permit and was driving with his older sister.

Mailman Delivers Much More To Boy Who Asked For Junk Mail To Read

Mathew Flores is 12 and he loves to read.

The boy, who lives in a suburb of Salt Lake City, asked his mailman Ron Lynch if he could have any junk mail that no one else wanted so he could have something to read.

Lynch asked the boy why he was asking for the junk mail and then posted to Facebook the boy’s heartbreaking reply.

“Today while delivering mail to his apartment complex, I saw him reading ads, and then he asked me if I had any extra mail he could read,” Lynch wrote. “He told me his wish is to have books to read. I told him the library had many, but he said they don’t have a car, and couldn’t afford the bus.”

Lynch implored his friends to provide books for the boy because in an age where most kids want electronics or other gadgets, Matthew wanted books to read.

Lynch’s request went from a few friends to around the internet according to KSL-TV.

“It’s gone crazy from there. I’ve heard from the U.K., Australia, from India,” Lynch said.

Now, Flores has been overwhelmed with an outpouring of books.

“They said, ‘These books are for you,'” Mathew said Sunday. “I thought they were mistaken, but they were for me.”

Mathew says that he is “super happy”, that he will read every book that is delivered to him and then he will donate them to other children who can’t afford to go to the library or obtain books.

If you would like to send a book to Mathew, here is the address:

Mathew Flores
8870 S. State St. F106
Sandy, Utah 84070

School Choir Surprises Cancer Stricken Teacher

The children’s chorus from P.S. 22 in Staten Island, New York has made sure a teacher stricken with cancer knows she is not alone in her fight.

The 5th grade students sang the Martina McBride song “I’m Gonna Love You Through It” to Adriana Lopez, who recently was diagnosed with breast cancer.

“For a dear friend and teacher at PS22 whose bravery and dedication to her students amidst a difficult fight with breast cancer has inspired us all… We love you, Mrs. Lopez!!” chorus director Gregg Breinberg said on Facebook.

The song is about standing beside a woman who has just received a breast cancer diagnosis.  The choir changed the lyrics to include Lopez’ age and number of children to personalize the performance.

The peformance, shown in a YouTube video, ends with the kids giving Lopez pink roses.

The choir has been around since 2000 and has performed with superstars like Jennifer Hudson and even performed for President Obama at the White House.

Christian Restaurant Chain America’s Favorite

The Christian restaurant chain Chick-fil-A has been named America’s favorite fast food restaurant by the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI).

The ACSI’s 2015 report says that not only did Chick-fil-A debut on the list at number one, it had the highest score ever achieved in their customer experience category.

Chick-fil-A’s score of 86 out of a possible 100 was closely followed by another newcomer, Chipotle, which scored an 83 on the survey.  They tied with Texas Roadhouse at 83, although Texas Roadhouse is considered a “full service” restaurant.

Chick-fil-A’s Christian roots have long been hailed by the company as the reason for his success.  The company has a large statue of Jesus on the property of their corporate headquarters that greets visitors to the complex.  The company has closed on Sundays from the beginning and they have printed Bible verses on cups.

The company’s mission statement says they are to “glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us.”

The survey showed Americans eat out an average of four times a week.

Man Says Power of Prayer Saved Him During Robbery

It’s all in the power of prayer.

That’s the statement of 21-year-old Shaquille Hairston after an attempted robbery turned into something remarkable.

Hairston had just finished his shift at a Cleveland hotel when he stepped off a bus at 3 a.m. near the border of Cleveland and Euclid.  A man was waiting in the dark for him just past the bus stop.

“He stopped me. He said ‘Aye bruh’ and I turned around and he pulled out a gun and said ‘gimme everything you got,” Hairston told Fox 8 Cleveland he told the robber.  “I told him, I was like, I don’t have anything. I really don’t have anything and he took the gun; he swung and he hit me in my head really hard and I had a bump right here on my head.”

Hairston said he began to pray out loud as he handed over his wallet and phone.  He believed that if this was his last moment on Earth, he wanted to go out praising God and wake up with Him in heaven.

Then he prayed for the robber.  And the robber’s family.

Then he invited the robber to church.

The robber, shaken by Hairston’s faith, apologized for robbing him and gave back the wallet and cell phone.

“He said ‘man, you’re like really blessed’ and I said ‘no, you’re blessed’ and I said ‘I’ll be praying for you and your family; and then he was like ‘ok’ and he shook my hand and he went about his way,” Hairston said.

Hairston is praying the robber will come to church.

Bully Repents After Being Given Bible

A pair of elementary school children used the Bible to get a bully to change his ways.

Phoenix Walywyn, 8, and her brother Kingston, 7, were being bullied on their school bus and were becoming very angry because of the constant taunting and harassment.  Phoenix says that the bully would call them names and try to make them get drawn into physical confrontations.

“It made me feel like I wanted to yell at him,” Phoenix Walwyn said.

“I wanted to say (something) back to him,” Kingston Walwyn said.

The children’s parents met with school administrators and things stopped for a few weeks before the bully began again with name calling.

The children’s father Vaughaligan is the pastor of CT Legacy Church in Pasadena.  He said that he was about to confront the bully on his own because the school’s action was not enough to make the child stop harassing his children.  Then, as he was praying for God to give him a solution, an idea flashed into his head.

“God said, ‘You know what? Let’s get this kid a Bible. Tell him Jesus loves him and invite him to church and see what happens.’”, Pastor Walywyn said.

The children gave the bully a Bible and within minutes the bully came over and apologized for everything that he had done to them.  The bully hadn’t harassed the children in any way since they gave him the Bible.

Tebow Care Hospital Opens In Philippines

A hospital built by the foundation of Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Tim Tebow and his family along with the Christian organization CURE International has opened in the Philippines.

The ribbon cutting on the hospital took place in Davao City Friday.  The hospital is going to focus on treating children who have orthopedic conditions according to CURE.

The hospital has been planned since 2012 and had been treating some patients since last year but formally opened this past week.  The hospital features what is called “Timmy’s Playroom,” a place for the children to escape the seriousness of the hospital and “enjoy being a kid.”  The room was decorated by the Tim Tebow foundation.

“We’ve been looking forward to this day for a long time,” CURE President and CEO Dale Brantner said. “After many years of prayer and much hard work, I am thrilled to be able to say the Tebow CURE Hospital is officially open! In this place, we will share the love of Jesus and bring physical healing to children and families who desperately need it.”

“The Tim Tebow Foundation is so honored to be working with CURE International and so many incredible donors to make this hospital a reality,” said Erik Dellenback, executive director of the Tim Tebow Foundation. “Tim, who was born in the Philippines, has always had great passion for this country and its amazing people.”

The Tebow CURE Hospital is the 12th hospital CURE International has helped open around the world.