Lion, Tiger and Bear Are Best Friends, PLUS, The Top 10 Good News Stories of the Week!

1. Knitters Answer a Call for Nests to Save Baby Birds
   A California nonprofit that treats a thousand wild baby birds each year, made a request in April for local knitters to weave bird nests for the orphaned chicks the organization cares for every spring. Knitters went wild, donating 540 nests to keep the orphans warm with the soft feeling of a natural nest. (Photos)
2. Dutch Man Leads Dehydrated Swan Family to Pond
   A 63-year-old Dutch man was surprised but worried when he awoke to find a family of nine swans drinking from the ditch. A local drought had dried up most of his yard so Jos Maas decided to help. Believing them to be lost, he asked them to follow as he walked toward the road. Father, mother and seven chicks waddled after him.
3. Foster Families Find Support with Elders in Housing CommunityAbout 15 percent of seniors in the U.S. live near the poverty line and many struggle to find affordable housing. But a unique community in Oregon is offering low-income seniors reduced rents, in exchange for volunteering their time with foster families.
4. Photo of the Day – Lion, Tiger and Bear Are Best Friends
   A lion, a tiger and a bear (oh, my!) have all become best friends at Noah’s Ark Animal sanctuary in Georgia, since being rescued as cubs from a drug dealer’s basement. The trio is known collectively as BLT.
5. Restaurant Owner Pays $144K to Employees Out of Pocket After Fire
   40 employees of Culver’s restaurant in Platteville, Wisconsin wondered if they would still have a job after the building was destroyed by fire last November. Bruce Kroll owned Culver’s for 19 years. Instead of forcing all his employees to find new jobs, he made the decision to continue paying them.
6. Orphaned Elephant Thrives With Buffalo Family That Adopted Her
   An elephant named Nzou, orphaned when poachers killed her parents for their ivory, has become the towering gentle giant among her adopted family, a herd of water buffalo. For years Nzou eschewed the nearby elephant herd, preferring to stay with the buffalo.
7. Oyster Shell Recycling Program Opens for New Orleans Restaurants
   A new oyster recycling program for restaurants in New Orleans will be helping to restore oyster reefs and shoreline habitat along the the Louisiana Gulf coast.
8. Teen Creates Backup Emergency System for Local Fire Station
   An 18-year-old in Palm Harbor, Florida came up with a project to earn his Eagle Scout rank that also will provide critical backup communications for emergency responders should 911 communications ever fail.
9. The YMCA Changes One Family’s Life Forever
   The local YMCA summer reading program did much more than help 7-year old Joy to improve her reading skills. Involvement in the Tampa, Florida Y gave her courage to come out of her shell and to let people know about the hardship that she, her mom, and brother, were facing.
10. Kind Woman Pays for Diapers in Mom’s Cart After Price-Match Fails

    An energetic grandmother decided to step in and help a thrifty young mother who had been ‘counting her pennies’ at a South Dakota Walmart store. It was a random act of kindness, a private moment between the two women, but a watching stranger caught the scene on video.

Top Video: Guy Pretends to Be Homeless, Then Rewards Whoever Gives Money

A young man with a YouTube channel wanted to reward people who were handing money to homeless people because, he says, "Thousands of people give everyday and it goes unnoticed." (Watch them get their rewards)

"Good timber does not grow with ease; the stronger the wind, the stronger the trees."