Photo by Emmanuel Ikwuegbu on Unsplash
To download these free stories, please enter the newspaper publication you represent with your email address.
We will email you when we add new stories each month. Thanks!
Note: We are committed to keeping your e-mail address confidential. We do not sell, rent, or lease our contact data or lists to third parties.
Please see our privacy policy for details.
Please enter your organization and email above before downloading these articles.
Download PDF
Word .doc
Download Photo .jpg
Twenty years ago, Gladys Hankerson, who lives in Florida, dialed up her sister in Maryland for a chat. Or so she thought. But she misdialed the area code and reached Mike Moffit in Rhode Island.
Mike says Gladys was a bit embarrassed but very sweet. Gladys loves her sister and, of course, tried to call again a few days later — and made the same mistake on the area code. Mike answered again and recognized Gladys’ voice. They had a nice chat and laughed about it.
Before long, Gladys started calling Mike just to say hi. And Mike began to call Gladys just to check in. Then one day, Gladys’ son called Mike to tell him a close family member had passed away. They realized their friendship had deepened — and it carried on for 20 years.
“He’s a very nice person,” Gladys says of Mike. “I love him to death.” They finally met when Mike was on vacation with his family in Florida and decided to stop by her house. “He made my day,” Gladys says. “I hugged him, he hugged me, and we took a picture.”
Across the country in Arizona, in 2016, Wanda Dench sent a text to her college-aged grandson inviting him to Thanksgiving dinner. But she got the number wrong and reached Jamal Hinton. When Hinton asked who had sent the message, Wanda sent a picture of herself.
“You’re not my grandma,” Jamal texted back. “Can I still get a plate tho?” Wanda replied: “Of course. That’s what grandmas do … feed everyone!” And for six years, Jamal has celebrated Thanksgiving with the Dench family.
For this group, 2020 was a tough year. The small family gathering was also to honor Wanda’s husband Lonnie, who had recently passed away from COVID-19. It meant a lot to have Jamal there to remember Lonnie. “We’re more of extended family and, best of all, friends,” says Jamal.
In yet another community, Robert’s wife asked him to drop some books off at a local elementary after a book drive. When he carried the books to the classroom on his lunch hour, the teacher mistook him for one of the volunteer tutors.
“Thank you for coming,” the teacher said. “Isabella is struggling with comprehension and is a grade level behind. Here is a book and her worksheets.”
Robert thought, “What the heck, I have time. I’ll just sit down and help.” Robert, an artist, sketched out drawings of words and illustrated their meanings. Isabella was delighted.
“I think that’s when the light went on for her,” Robert says. For a full year, Robert tutored Isabella on his lunch hours. Her reading comprehension quickly caught up and then shot past grade level. “It made my day, seeing her learn so fast,” Robert says.
Sometimes life puts us in places where we are supposed to be. Whether we were headed that way or not, we just need to make the best of it.
Make a New Friend... PassItOn.com®
Copyright ©2022 The Foundation for a Better Life. All rights reserved. Available under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License (international): https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License
The Foundation for a Better Life, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, gives your newspaper permission to publish these stories in print and electronic media (excluding audio and video), provided the stories are published in their entirety, without modification and including the copyright notice. For any modification, permission must first be obtained from the Foundation by emailing media-relations@passiton.com. Thank you.
Your CommentsThe Weight We Carry and the Burdens We Share.
The life of best-selling author Isabelle Allende is a mission to bring relief to the suffering and a call to join the effort.
Taking Responsibility.
How one high school student supported her family during the pandemic.
Curing Cancer, One Bar of Soap at a Time.
14-year-old Heman Bekele awarded the 3M Young Scientist Award for developing a soap that activates skin cells to fight cancer.
If You Love Dogs, You’ll Love this Story.
A German shepherd slept at his owner’s gravesite.
When the World Says You Can’t, Listen to the Inner Voice that Says You Can.
The legacy of Susan La Flesche, the first Native American to earn a medical degree.
The Curse of Texting and Driving.
How one father turned personal tragedy into triumph for thousands of teenagers by creating the Honor Connor Scholarship Fund.
Overcoming Fear Sometimes Requires a Patient Friend.
How a flight attendant took the time to comfort a passenger who was having panic attacks.
It’s Not Your Lifespan, it’s Your Wingspan.
How one girl’s 16 years of life impacts thousands.
Including Everybody Means Everybody.
How Inclusion Films is making movies using crew with developmental disabilities.
The Little Things that Make the Biggest Difference.
How one man created a forest the size of Central Park by planting one tree a day.
From Homeless to Johns Hopkins.
Life is never fair. But if you work hard enough, and help someone along the way, you give yourself a better chance to make it.
Running to Win isn’t Always Running to Come in First.
Jacqueline Nyetipei Kiplimo demonstrates what really matters in life and in sports.
Bigger than Life.
How Premier League superstar Sadio Mané is changing the world beyond soccer.
Laughter is the Best Teacher.
How humor and history go together in this classroom.
Road Trip Across America.
A discovery of what unites us.
Cross Safely.
How one man made sure his retirement years were spent helping kids move safely through life.
Matter In Motion.
How a physics professor is igniting the scientific passions of her female students.
How to Land an Airplane Without Landing Gear.
17-year-old Maggie Taraska landed her airplane without landing gear on her way to flying solo cross-country.
Dream Big.
How a young artist from a remote mountainous tribe came to illustrate one of the most popular books of our time: ‘The Archer,’ by Paulo Coelho
Trusting Those Who Guide Us Through Life.
The amazing brotherhood of aviation navigators.
A Legend On and Off the Court.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar sold his four championship rings and three MVP trophies for $2.8 million. Then he donated all of the money to support youth education programs
From First Response to 11 Years of Friendship.
How EMTs saved a life and then enjoyed living it together.
Getting 100 on her Final Exam.
Nola Ochs went back to college at 95 years old. At age 100, she had earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees and was still taking classes.
An Impossible Journey.
How John Wesley Powell navigated the Colorado River and Grand Canyon in wooden boats.
If You Don’t Know Anything About Orangutans, You Don’t Know Jack.
Meet Jack Dalton, Gloria Barron Prize Winner and the nature conservationist who started by saving the orangutans at age 8.
Living Alone doesn’t Mean you Have to be Lonely.
How a community in Maine supports those who want to be left alone.
For the Cost of a Box of Cereal.
How just noticing makes all the difference in the world.
Recognizing the Need.
How a neighbor took a disaffected young man under his wing and taught him how to be a man
A Lesson We Should Never Forget.
The incredible story of American POWs smuggling rations to Russian prisoners at Stalag-B.
To Stay or Run?
The courageous story of a collegiate wrestler who fought a grizzly bear to save a friend. With thanks to the Cowboy State Daily.
Don’t Let a Bad Day Trick You Into Believing You Have a Bad Life.
Allie Newman not only survived cancer but also helps hospitals better meet the needs of teenage cancer patients.
Ramping Up to Help those in Need.
How a community came together in a time of tragedy.
Bringing the Moon to your Living Room.
How 14-year-old Philo Farnsworth tinkered his way to the technology that broadcast the moon landing.
Out of the Village and On to Break Records.
The incredible story of Makazole Mapimpi, the first South African to score in a Rugby World Cup Final. Against almost impossible personal odds, Makazole succeeded, a triumph of the human spirit.
Using the Write Words
How an African American Woman Wrote her Way to Freedom.
Finding Our Way.
Using the natural elements around her, Kala Baybayan Tanaka navigates the ocean in a canoe for up to three weeks using nothing but observations of the natural elements around her.
Let the Music Move You.
Bob Geldof has spent a lifetime seeking harmony in the world.
Finding a New Family at the Mountain Man Rendezvous.
How a Vietnam vet pulled himself out of drug addiction by going back in the past.
Taking Care of the Most Vulnerable.
Pam Tully dedicates 6 months a year to rescuing baby flying foxes alongside the volunteers who help her.
A Voice for Our Time.
The improbable dream journey of singer-songwriter Kodi Lee.
Courage in a New World.
The story of Stagecoach Mary, the first Black woman to deliver mail in the Wild West.
Respecting Your Customers.
As the Great Depression impoverished the country, many families stretched their budgets by making clothes out of flour and seed sacks. What companies did next may surprise you.
Never Give Up.
Lessons learned from Preston Tucker, creator of one of the most innovative cars in American history.
The Calm in the Storm.
Being that one voice of encouragement in a community makes all the difference.
No Strings Attached.
How a 7-year-old girl brings joy to neighbors with her violin.
Born to Make a Difference.
Kids who are changing their world.
The Mistakes We Learn From and Build On.
Every year, a handful of students in prisons across America take stock of their lives and make changes. Many earn their diplomas, ensuring better options and choices when they get out.
Stay Curious.
The remarkable underwater life of Jacques Cousteau.
A Custom of Respect.
How the Japanese soccer team brings sportsmanship to the game.
The Art of Doing Good.
How 18-year-old Gloria Barron Prize winner Austin Picinich is saving the salmon of Seattle by painting community murals.
Everybody Can Be a Hero.
How window cleaners brightened the day at a children’s hospital.
Bear with Me!
The story of Wojtek the bear, who joined the Polish Army in WWll.
From the Beach to the Desert.
How a group of ambitious kids from Laguna Beach High School in California are digging wells in Kenya.
Fix it Yourself.
How one couple moved hundreds of miles from home to run a center for pregnant teenage girls.
Never, Ever Give Up.
The incredible story of the 12-year-old cancer patient who brings joy to half a million children fighting cancer.
Doubling Back for a Friend.
Two teammates paused their 5K race to help a fellow competitor.
Love Rules.
How Rick Moranis shrunk his role as an actor to be with his kids.
The Taming of the West Featuring Diamond Kitty.
It’s time to give cowgirls their due. Kitty Canutt was a bronc rider in the early 1900s who wore a diamond in her tooth that she occasionally removed and pawned when she needed contest entry money.
For Soccer Superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, Every Day is Mother’s Day.
Fortune and fame have allowed the soccer great to take care of his mother after all she has done for him.
Education is for Everyone.
Reading and writing are the basics of an education. See why a 90-year-old Kenyan great-grandmother went back to primary school.
The Art of Pitching.
A little confidence at the right time goes a long way.
Reach for the Stars…
No Matter How Long it Takes.
Family of 7 Adopts a Grandpa.
Friends come in all shapes, sizes, and ages. But love is universal.
Bee Productive.
17-year-old Gloria Barron Prize winner Anna Devolld is helping small things make a difference: Pollinators.
The Legacy of Dorothy Vaughan.
The Hidden Figure who Helped Put a man on the Moon.
Not Out of the Way, Along the Way.
Taking the long way to school makes for a long friendship.
How to Honor Your Mother.
Warrick Dunn played in the NFL for 12 seasons. His most impressive stat: He’s built 200 homes for single mothers. And he’s not done.
Winning at the Game of Life.
College football player gives up his scholarship to make more possible for a teammate.
Give Peace a Chance.
How a Mexican-American Marine negotiated peace speaking Japanese during WWll.
Overcoming Our Own Worst Mistakes.
Kaelin Clay made an unpardonable error in football. And he owned it.
The Science of Happiness.
How a high school senior made sure an entire elementary school got Halloween.
Beatrice Shilling
The motorcycle daredevil who became a mechanical engineer and saved the lives of countless pilots in WWll.
Playtime is for Everybody.
A dad sells off his business and builds a theme park for disabled kids.
Everybody Gets on Base.
Measuring the victories of life, one single at a time.
Hope. Dream. Become.
Expressing emotions in a healthy way helps us see the world for what it is and, more importantly, how we choose to engage with it. Check out these young poetry winners from the WPSU poetry contest in Pennsylvania.
Our Local Heroes in Scrubs.
How health care workers saved the day.
Being a Mother…
The roundabout journey to a dream fulfilled.
No Matter Who You Are, You Can Always Help.
The day Muhammad Ali rushed to save a stranger who was about to take his own life.
Understanding Our Universe.
In a suburban neighborhood, the angst of the world still reaches a group of elementary kids. Bob stares at the stars with them and explains the universe and how there is order to everything.
A Diamond in the Making.
How an everyday superhero saved the day by taking time to go through the garbage to find a stranger’s wedding ring.
More Than Just Dancing
How inclusion helps overcome mental illness.
The History of Us.
How a football coach develops young men by teaching them their own history.
Going Deep to Deliver Kindness.
Free-dive record holder Enzo Maiorca rescues a trapped dolphin, then watches as it gives birth.
The Least Likely to Help.
How a bedridden attorney still fights for the rights of others.
The Future Belongs to Kids.
So far, things look pretty bright.
Lift Your Voice, Use Your Mind, Lift Others.
How a spark plug of a teacher ignites possibilities within her students in classroom 161.
Photographs that Changed the World.
How the searing photographs of Walker Evans’ America during the Depression created a national change in attitude toward the poor.
How To Be Free.
Eliza Zenger teaches dance, music and arts to adults with disabilities. Their performance is the most beautiful you will ever see.
Let the Kids Give it a Try
How 17-year-old Dasia Taylor developed sutures that detect infection.
A Most Unlikely Friendship.
How the war in Ukraine brought two families together from opposite sides.
The Birth of Superman.
How two awkward teenage boys dreamed up the world’s most popular superhero.
Rescuing a Vessel — and a Family’s Memories.
A boat at the bottom of the lake for 30 years and a renewed appreciation for life when it is restored.
To the Coaches of Pint-sized Athletes.
All year round, you’ll find brave dads and moms standing in the rink, on the field and in the gymnasium — surrounded by eager eyes and short attention spans. Here’s to the volunteers in our communities who teach our kids life lessons and never forget the orange slices.
The Last American Explorer.
Norman Vaughan trekked Antarctica with Admiral Byrd, completed the Iditarod 13 times and climbed the 10,000-foot, icy mountain named after him at age 89.
Turning Tough News Into Hope.
How 11-year-old Jordan Phillips raised $120,000 to help fund cancer treatment.
To All who are Lost: You will be Found Again.
The amazing story of the missing marathon runner who turned up 54 years later.
Going the Distance.
Why top collegiate and professional athlete Dillon Shije will never stop running for his people.
Beyond the Moon with an Eye on Mars.
The story of a young woman who dreamed of pushing the boundaries and now designs launch systems for NASA.
Are You Smarter Than a Seventh-Grade Business Owner?
How Kidpreneur Alejandro Buxton is making money for college and helping others.
The World Awaits You.
The story of the first woman to circumnavigate the world.
Listening to the Music Inside.
The long journey of Maria Tallchief from the Osage Nation in Oklahoma to prima ballerina in New York City.
Walking and Learning and Appreciating what we Have.
Neil King’s walk from Washington, D.C., to New York City uncovered the gems of slowing down.
Taking Care.
How one woman turned a life of neglect into a lifetime of taking care of people.
A Hero for Accessibility.
How an 8-year-old girl captured the attention of the nation and motivated Congress.
You’re Never Too Old to Make a Difference.
British WWll veteran Captain Tom Moore raised over $45 million for charity at age 100.
Billy Mills
The story behind America’s first and only 10,000-meter Olympic champion.
Teamwork that Saves Lives.
How a high school baseball team lifted a car off one of their classmates pinned underneath.
The Last Person you Think of Should Probably be the First.
How a group of high school boys practiced the art of inclusion.
From Russia, With Love.
The incredible story of Russian sculptor Andrey and his mission to bring unity to Ukraine and Russia through art.
Something Healthy for All of Us
How 17-year-old Gloria Barron Prize Winners Annie and Shirley Zhu provide fresh food for 1,400 people a year.
Teach Your Children.
How Graham Nash is still leading children into a better future.
Laughter is the Best Medicine.
While filming ‘Schindler’s List,’ weekly calls from Robin Williams helped Steven Spielberg ease the weight of directing such a heavy film.
Taking the Fear Out of Surgery.
How one doctor helps children face their hospital fears by dressing them up as superheroes.
How Far Would you go for a Friend?
The story of Dindim, the penguin who travels 5,000 miles every year to visit with its rescuer.
The Brotherhood in Sports Goes Beyond the Field.
How a men’s rugby team supported one of their own.