Positive Good News Stories

Float Like a Butterfly, Sting Like a Bee.

The legacy of Muhammad Ali is alive in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky — and his presence is bigger than ever as the Muhammad Ali Index measures and encourages compassion across the country and around the world.

Muhammad Ali changed the sport of boxing with his deft moves, unconventional strategies, jackhammer punches and mouth that always seemed to be in gear. Read Story

For the Love of the Game.

Simon Keith was just 21 years old when he stood at the edge of life and death: He needed a heart transplant. Soon, though, the avid soccer player from Lewes, England, was determined to put his new heart to the test. Three years after the transplant, Keith became the first heart transplant recipient to play professional sports.

A gifted soccer player, born in Lewes, England, and raised on Vancouver Island, Simon Keith spent his youth chasing a ball and a dream. But that dream came to a shattering halt when doctors delivered a devastating diagnosis: cardiomyopathy, a degenerative heart disease. Read Story

Beyond the Game.

Willis Ward was benched on the Michigan Football squad for being Black. His teammate, Gerald Ford, stuck up for him and became his lifelong friend.

In 1934, Willis Ward was the only Black player on the University of Michigan football team. He was a very good student and an exceptional athlete. But when an opposing coach for Georgia Tech refused to play Michigan if they didn’t bench Ward, the controversy engulfed the entire campus. Read Story

Slopes and Wheels.

From the cold wilderness of Alaska to the inner workings of the heart, Preston Pollard is helping kids rethink the way they approach life.

Preston Pollard grew up in Alaska. Not exactly a mecca for skateboarders. But Preston isn’t one to follow in anyone else’s footsteps. Read Story

Tolstoy and the Power of Kindness.

“The more intelligent a person is, the more he discovers kindness in others,” Tolstoy once wrote. In all his great works that explore the indignity and misery brought upon the human race, this one truth stands out brightest in his writing.

Leo Tolstoy, the great Russian novelist, explored the deepest workings of the human spirit. His sprawling epic, War and Peace, depicts the Napoleonic invasion of Russia through five aristocratic families. Read Story

Disagree Better. Have More Friends. Be Happier.

Marianne Viray worked for nonprofits for years. She saw what worked and what didn’t, but at heart, something was missing. What she discovered in her research is that opportunities for people to improve their lives naturally follow when they have the skills to understand another’s perspective and work together.

Learning how to get along seems elementary to most of us. Conflict is unnatural and unwanted, but it seems to be the default when we feel threatened. If not defused, the conflict can widen, and we all suffer the consequences. Read Story

The Baseball Player you’ve Never Heard of is the Player we Should All Aspire to be.

David Ross played for three MLB teams, winning two World Series, hitting a home run to cinch the championship for the improbable Cubs, and solidifying his place in sports history as a great teammate.

Many of us dream of being the hero in a baseball game. Bottom of the ninth, bases loaded, the world championship on the line. The pitch. The swing. The hit … and it’s gone! Read Story

Surgery Without Anesthetic?!

Before the mid-1800s, surgery was performed without painkillers. That is, if you were brave enough to even opt for surgery. Then came along William T. Morton, a dentist who was troubled by the pain his patients felt and set out to do something about it. Read Story

Diamond Girls.

Nearly half of the young men in America — 16.5 million Americans — served in World War II. They left behind a lot of work to be done in fields and factories. And when families wanted to relax and enjoy a game of baseball, many of the clubs couldn’t field a full team. Read Story

The Autobiography of a Horse that Changed the World.

Anna Sewell wrote “Black Beauty” toward the end of her life. It was her homage to the beautiful animals that carted her around when ailments prevented her from walking. She died shortly after the book was published, not seeing the international success and sales of over 50 million copies. Read Story

On the Wings of Angels.

Angel Flight has picked up 7-year-old Itzy in her home in a small Kansas town and flown her to Colorado to see cancer specialists over 60 times — at no cost to Itzy and her family.

Drive into the parking lot of any major cancer hospital, and you will be greeted by a small village of RVs. Families bring their siblings and children to the hospitals for weeks-long treatments. Read Story

Challenge, Change and Complexity: The Big 3 Cs.

The three Cs seem to make us miserable, but they ultimately lead to greater life fulfillment and happiness. Dr. Taryn Marie, a leading expert in resiliency, teaches us that the hard things in life are not to be avoided, but to be embraced for what they teach us.

Dr. Taryn Marie was a determined 8-year-old. Early on, she struggled to read, but instead of letting her failing grades detour her, she allowed them to motivate her to do better. That’s the first life lesson: Never let anyone else tell you that you can’t do it. Read Story

Capturing Determination and Strength.

John Singer Sargent is noted for his ability to capture the essence of a person’s character. In his portrait of Elizabeth Winthrop Chanler, we discover the strength of a woman who has suffered tragedy, borne heavy responsibility and developed great character.

John Singer Sargent was born in the mid-1850s in Florence, Italy, to American parents. His elevated position in society allowed him to pursue the arts, not as merely a decorator, but as a painter determined to capture the essence of his subjects. Read Story

A Whale of a Story.

How Moko the dolphin led a disoriented mother whale and her calf through a treacherous channel and back out to sea.

Dolphins have long been recognized for their good deeds in the ocean, often rescuing stranded sailors or playfully surfing the waves behind fishing boats. Many cultures view dolphins as symbols of good luck and protection. Read Story

The Long Walk.

In rural Sierra Leone, where distance often stands between children and their dreams, Mustapha's journey from shoeless schoolboy to education pioneer began with a two-mile walk to school. Decades later, he's still moving forward.

As a young boy, Mustapha’s father gave him a choice: The little money they had could go to a pair of shoes or to school fees. Mustapha chose school, and every day he walked two miles to class, barefoot. Read Story