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Graduation is a big deal. It’s the moment when a young person is recognized for their dedication and hard work and a time to celebrate the beginning of an adult life. It’s a big deal for kids to have their support system cheering them on at graduation, which is why this story of a father flying across the world to see his son at grad is so heartwarming.
Everyone wants to feel seen and appreciated in life. Knowing and feeling your purpose can be essential to our overall well-being and our mental health, which is why it’s so important to show people that you appreciate them and care.One small town in Pennsylvania did exactly that one year when they saw just how hard their local UPS driver was working for them and how he went above and beyond to ensure they had the best experience possible.An Exemplary EmployeeDauphin, Pennsylvania, is the type of town you might picture in a Hallmark Christmas movie. There are no traffic lights, and everyone looks out for one another. As of 2021, the population was less than 800 people, making it a tight-knit community.“Blink and you’ll miss it,” resident Joe Calhoun told Today. “But there is something so special here. It’s a small town with a big heart.”UPS driver Chad Turns doesn’t live in Dauphin, but the town is part of his delivery route. Over the years, the driver has endeared himself to the residents with his thoughtfulness and kindness. He carries dog treats for the local pups, for example.“The whole town has had personal experience with Chad,” Adam Shickley told CNN about Turns. “He once thought a package was a gift, and there was a picture on the front. My kids were playing outside, so he waited until his shift was done and came back to make sure they didn’t see it.”“On Facebook, another friend mentioned there was a package that needed signing and they weren’t home,” Jenny Shickley added to Today. “Chad was nervous that it was important, so he went to their parents' house to get it signed for them.”Rough Times for DriversIn 2020, when the pandemic hit, and stay-at-home orders were in place, Turns was still out there making his deliveries. In fact, because so many people were ordering things to their homes, he was busier than ever. That didn’t stop his sunny disposition, but it did make his job a lot harder.The residents noticed and began commenting on how great Turns was doing on the town's Facebook page.“He’s been working 60-80 hour weeks for a year,” Jenny Shickley told Today. “He’s been working Christmas-style hours for 365 days.”Eventually, Shickley was inspired to do something to show Turns how much he meant to all of them. So she organized a “Thank You, Chad” event through social media and rallied everyone to contribute to a group gift.“The funny thing is I meant to set it up for $300, but it set to $500,” she shared. “It hit $500 within two days, and the total wound up being a little over $1,000.”An Epic SurpriseOrganizers worked with UPS dispatch to surprise Turns. One day, the company arranged for Turns' last stop to be an on-demand pickup at the municipal building. The driver thought he was heading out to pick up a box, but when he arrived, community members were standing there holding signs.“It was very overwhelming,” Turns told Today. “The idea that they even thought of me to do anything... to go above and beyond and do what they did was truly amazing to me.”Turns added that he always feels the town’s generosity and noted people often offer him water or cookies as he goes about his route. But this particular act of kindness was a true gift that made him tear up.“I cried,” he said, adding that his wife also teared up. “I always call her when I leave work, and she asks me how my day was. It was a tearjerker. It was very touching and humbling.”“Chad is a great UPSer and has been delivering to Dauphin residents for more than a decade,” UPS spokesperson Jackie Fajt told CNN in a statement. “Celebrations like this really highlight the bond our drivers have with their customer base. We appreciate that UPS drivers like Chad are being recognized for how they are moving our world forward.”Spreading KindnessSo often, we forget about the people in our lives who help make our daily routines easier. The people who make our coffee at the drive-through. Those who deliver our parcels or pick up our trash. The teachers who help to educate our children.This story reminds us that by taking time to thank people, even through small gestures, we can help to make them feel seen and appreciated. Whether that’s offering someone a glass of water, giving them a thank you card, or organizing something bigger, like this town did, every action matters.After all, acts of kindness can make the world a happier place for us all.More from Goalcast:Mom Notices UPS Driver Leave a Message on Her Door Cam – What He Said Changed both Their LivesUPS Driver Goes Viral for Taking Adorable Selfies With Dogs He Meets During Delivery RouteUPS Driver Trusts Instinct And Stops To Check On Resident – Ends Up Saving A Life
There’s a rush that comes with finding that perfect piece of antique furniture. Winning one at an auction can make it feel extra special, especially if you’re trying to save some money. But when Phil LeClerc brought home a Governor Winthrop secretary desk from an auction house in 2014, he had no idea it would be life-changing for someone else.An Unexpected DiscoveryLeClerc was a frequent visitor at the Holbrook auction house in Massachusetts. So he didn’t think twice about bidding $40 on an old desk, which he won. Once he brought the piece of furniture home, however, he decided to have a closer look.Naturally, there were a few imperfections, but LeClerc noticed there was a missing knob. So he began searching through the desk and tapping it to see if anything would come out. Governor Winthrop desks are a common auction house item and known to have plenty of secret compartments, so the man figured the knob may have fallen into one. He didn’t initially find the knob, but what he discovered instead was mind-blowing.According to WTKR, LeClerc began discovering mature bonds -- and lots of them. “We found 50s, and then we found 100s, 200s, 500s, and then we found a stack of six $10,000 bonds,” he told the publication. All in all, when the desk had been thoroughly examined, he was holding $127,000 worth of bonds that had just been tucked away. Not a bad return for a $40 investment.“First I said, 'Oh, this can't be real. This doesn't happen,'” he later told The Boston Globe.It was really a fluke that it was found. If I wasn't looking for the knob…I never would have found it.Phil LeClercA Searching FamilyLeClerc was obviously excited by the discovery, but after some self reflection he felt as though the money wasn’t his to keep. Knowing that was his motivation to contact the auction house so they could alert the previous owners. As it turns out, a man (who chose to remain anonymous), had auctioned the desk as well as other items in his 94-year-old father’s house as he prepared to sell it.According to Marg-E Kelley, the auction house owner, the man was trying to cover his dad’s medical expenses and the cost of an assisted living facility. The family knew about the bonds but hadn’t been able to locate them.The family had been looking for them for years. He was so happy. It could not have happened to a nicer guy.Marg-E Kelley to WTKRThe Power of AntiquesDiscovering nearly $130,000 inside a $40 desk may be a rare story, but it seems as though heartwarming moments that connect families or invoke memories happen quite often at auction houses.We love stories like this. It’s why we do what we do. It’s going to change their lives, you know? Completely change their lives.Marg-E KelleyIn an interview with the Globe, the owner drove that point home. “I've been doing this for 10 years and every day the stories get stranger and better and (more) fabulous," she said. “The gentleman whose family the bonds belong to, he can't even believe it. He said, 'I'm over the moon.'”Follow Your InstinctsLeClerc could have chosen to keep the bonds for himself or his family, but he did what he thought was right and tracked down the rightful owners instead. In the end, that integrity helped out a family with an ailing father, but it also made LeClerc feel good for doing the right thing.“It was a great find,” he told WTKR. “It was even better after hearing the story of the family.”The story reminds us that there are still plenty of good people in the world, but it also goes to show you that doing the right thing isn’t always easy. LeClerc probably could have used that money, but it was also an effort to track down the owners and ensure the bonds got back into the right hands.Few of us would ever be in that situation, but maybe the next time you find a lost wallet, an article of clothing, or another piece of property, maybe you could do more to find the owner. Look for a name, post about the item in a local social media group, or even hang a piece of clothing in a visible place to help reunite it with its owners.After all, you never know how meaningful your discovery might be to someone else.More from Goalcast:Man Attends Auction to Buy Back His Beloved Family Farm – His Heart Sinks When He Sees 200 Farmers Who Can Outbid HimFallen Sheriff’s Son Loses Auction For Father’s Old Car — Then The Most Unexpected Thing HappensFallen Police Officer Leaves Eight Children Behind – 13 of His Colleagues Then Show Up at His 8-Year-Old Daughter’s Home
We never know what others are going through, which is why it’s always important to lead with compassion and kindness. Sometimes our actions can make or break a stranger’s day, so putting our own best foot forward and keeping that in mind can go a long way.A TikTok user named Neenib Youkana is aware of the power of such kindness. But even he was blown away when one of his latest attempts at spreading love lined up in the most beautiful way possible.Spending Her Birthday AloneTikTok/@neenibIn a video posted to Youkana’s account, he walked around a department store asking random people whether they had celebrated their birthday this year. Most quickly answered yes, but then he came across a woman named Debra.Debra was roaming the aisles of the store looking aimless. When the influencer approached and asked whether she had celebrated her birthday, she looked off to the side. “I was kind of like by myself,” she admitted. When Youkana asked her why, her response took him off guard.“Because my son died last year and my mom died, and I’m here kind of by myself,” she said. At that point, Youkana put his plan into action.A Belated Birthday SurpriseAs Debra revealed that her birthday had passed just a couple of days ago, Youkana handed her a red birthday hat to wear. Then he and a friend blew noisemakers and sang “Happy Birthday” while holding a small cake covered in rainbow sprinkles.Debra smiled and sang along and then Youkana handed her a gift-wrapped box with some cash inside. “If my son could fit in here I would love that,” she said, revealing he had died in a car crash and was unrecognizable upon his death. “I couldn’t see him.”She explained how she doesn’t have any more children, and then she shared a bit about her late son. How he was a singer and dancer, and how now he’s probably “up there entertaining people.”At the end of the video, Debra hugged Youkana and thanked him for uplifting her day with his kindness.“There’s no stronger love than a mother for her son,” he captioned the post.Spreading Your Own KindnessWhile some questioned Youkana’s motives (he did gift Debra a present for his social media account after all), the important thing is that he still made a difference in someone else’s day. He didn’t know what kind of person he was going to give a gift to that day, only that he wanted to uplift someone who didn’t get a chance to celebrate their birthday.It’s such a good reminder that we never know what anyone else is going through and that everybody has their own struggles. It makes us appreciate the things and people we do have in our lives and the time we had in the past with people we’ve lost.It’s also great motivation to be kind in our own ways in everyday life. That could mean something simple like smiling more, making eye contact, and genuinely asking about someone’s day. Or it could be a more thought-out kindness like giving change to a homeless person, volunteering your time in a community, or running errands for a sick or elderly neighbor.After all, small acts of kindness don’t just empower and uplift us, they also help our corner of the world shine a little bit brighter.More from Goalcast:Stranger Records Homeless Man Playing Piano on the Street – No One Could Have Predicted What Happened NextStranger Gives Homeless Man $100 Outback Gift Card – What Happens Next Completely Changes His LifeRecently Widowed Woman Struggles to Provide for Her Young Son – Then, a Stranger Gifts Her a Brand New Car
As Drew Barrymore talks with them, he's in tears and she's on the brink of crying too."You see so many people who don't put in the effort, and I just like to see my reward," the woman beams proudly. While she's speaking about the guest sitting next to her, in a few moments the spotlight will shine brightly on her.A Drive-by Shooting Goes ViralPhoto by Katia MiasoedIt was a regular day at the office for Myles Harris, at least it was supposed to be. He's standing at the intersection, about to get started when a car pulls up unannounced. "I’m trying to work!" shouting to the driver, "Don't be holding up traffic!"Recalling the moment to GMA, Harris pieced together what he thinks happened that day. "She was running an errand and she saw our marked cars, so she said ‘Let’s take a look and see,' and next thing you know, the video kind of tells the rest of the story.”It sure does, as the voice shouts "Hi baby!"The passerby is none other than Harris's mother, Sandy. Her son is a reporter at ABC's affiliate station in Columbus, Ohio and was about to go live when he spots her. "That's my mom, hold on," he deadpans to his photographer, Deangelo.The sweet maternal moment went viral with over 500,000 views on his Instagram. Yet, it's about to land a primetime news slot.Drew Barrymore Moved by a Mother’s DevotionAs the video blew up, talk shows came clamoring to speak with mother and son. One of them was Drew Barrymore, who had them both in her studio. Speaking with Sandy, the hostess marvels that she's worked three jobs. "I've always worked three jobs," she answers, adding that she put him through private school and sent him through college. She adds that while it wasn't easy, her motivation makes it all worth it. "He played tennis, which is not a cheap sport, but I wanted him to have everything I didn’t have," she recalled, as tears streamed down her son's face.But the real kicker comes when mom reveals just how much her son's success means to her. "He’s doing what I wanted to do. I went to school for journalism, I raised him, he’s doing it, so I'm living through him," she says proudly as the crowd breaks out in applause. That's when Barrymore asks her a question that sets up some beautiful closing credits to this story. How a Mother Proves That Devotion Builds DreamsPhoto by The Travel Nook“Is it true that you haven’t had a vacation in 5 years?” asks that hostess. Sandy replies that sadly she broke her ankle and had 4 painful surgeries that have left her houseridden for close to five years. "This is my nurse," she says, pointing to her son. Shockingly, Myles adds that he's never been out of the country.That's about to change, big time. Barrymore tells them that she's sending them both on an all-inclusive trip Cabo. There, they'll stay at the brand new Villa La Valencia along with a cool $1,000 spending money. “You know in case you need some new suits or chocolates,” adds Barrymore. The crowd absolutely erupts in hollers and applause for the beachbound mother-son duo. Myles is slackjawed as his mom waves her arms. "Oh my God, thank you so much!" she says, as she hugs Barrymore. Parents can probably relate to Sandy's tireless devotion to her son and making all of his dreams come true. For someone who isn't a parent, this is a priceless reminder of my mother's unconditional love and those of millions like her.Now, back to you.More from Goalcast:What Drew Barrymore’s Surprising Post-Divorce Celibacy Can Teach Us About LoveWhy Drew Barrymore’s Raw Revelation About Divorce Shaming Will Empower You
