Every time we try to catch up on the news, negative stories constantly seem to dominate the headlines. There’s a reason why we say some things “restore our faith in humanity” – it’s because we rarely get exposed to the wealth of good things happening around us every day.
That’s why every week, we bring you a roundup of some of the biggest news stories about good things that happened around the world to help brighten your day. Here are nine positive things that happened last week that you should know about (in no particular order):
1.Video of 10-year-old girl with autism singing ‘Hallelujah’ will give you goosebumps
Kaylee Rodgers, 10, of Northern Ireland has stunned people with her rendition of ‘Hallelujah,’ which she performed at her school choir recital. Rodgers has autism but she loves to sing. In just three days, the video has gotten over 170,000 views.
- Read more on Mashable
2. Five-year-old boy fighting leukaemia proposes to his favourite nurse
5-year-old boy battling leukemia proposes to his favorite nurse: https://t.co/BaAhBcFYna pic.twitter.com/t1aP9e1jcn
— World News Tonight (@ABCWorldNews) February 4, 2016
Gideon Robinson, 5, is currently battling leukaemia at Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego. Robinson’s favourite nurse is Sarah Richarson. She was about to go on her Christmas vacation and Robinson loves her so much that he decided to give her a ring (crafted out of pipe cleaners) and ‘propose’ to her. “I wanted to marry her to make her laugh like she makes me laugh,” Gideon told TODAY.
- Read more on TODAY
3. Vancouver woman and partner with Stage 4 Cancer wed on Aquabus
Image: Melissa Walters-Corfield
All it took was a ride on an Aquabus to make Jana Buhlmann and Chris Walters’ wedding dreams to come true.The couple eloped while taking a ride on Vancouver’s False Creek water taxi service on December 17.
“We have been together for about two years and we were talking about getting married anyway,” Buhlmann told Daily Hive. But last month, Walters, 40, was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer, prompting the couple to speed up their wedding plans.
“So we thought ‘you know what, let’s just grab life by the horns… and let’s just do this,’” Buhlmann said. They eloped on the Aquabus and in order to share the ceremony with their loved ones, the also Facebook Lived the event.“That felt really, really amazing, having so much love pouring in from all over the world.” Buhlmann said.
- Read more on Daily Hive
4. These senior dogs love to cuddle under the Christmas tree
These older dogs love cuddling under their Christmas trees. If this doesn’t get you into the holiday spirit, we don’t know what will!
5. Santa greets 4,000 children with special needs at holiday event
A hangar at New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport turned into the North Pole for some deserving kids. The annual Operation Santa Claus event allows children with special needs to meet Santa Claus and get into the holiday spirit. Three hundred buses with children pulled up at the hangar and the kids got to spend time with St. Nick.
- Read more on TODAY
6. Therapy dog wears Christmas costume to deliver smiles in motorized mini-Volkswagen
Sancho the Jack Russell Terrier likes to ride in style, all for a good cause. The 10-year-old pup works at the San Gabriel Walley Medical Centre in California as a therapy dog. He cruises through the hospital hallways in a remote controlled Volkswagen and even dresses up for the part.
- Read more on Inside Edition
7. Singing Home Depot greeter brightens customers’ spirits
Ken Williams is not your average employee. Williams– who works as a greeter at a Florida Home Depot–likes to sing to customers. Williams has been working at the store for five years and has never failed to make customers smile with his singing.
- Read more on Inside Edition
8. Indian software engineer takes in 735 unwanted dogs
Rakesh Shukla is a software engineer who has an amazing side-job. Besides his 9 to 5, Shukla takes care of over 700 unwanted dogs at his farm in the southern Indian state of Karnataka. Shukla, is known as the “Dog Father” and houses all kinds of breeds ranging from Golden Retrievers to Saint Bernards. “I’m the last stop for these dogs. They are no longer cute and cuddly. Many are sick and no longer wanted,” Shukla told BBC News.
- Read more on BBC News
9. Man befriends koala covered in prickles
Bruce Atkinson of Australia woke up on Saturday morning and was greeted by a koala on his porch. The koala looked distraught and Atkinson noticed that it was covered in prickly burrs. He wanted to help the animal so he decided to calm the agitated koala by offering it water.
“I grabbed a bowl of water and put it near it and it immediately got swatted out of my hand,” Atkinson told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Atkinson then took another approach, putting on a sturdy glove and grabbing a hairbrush. He calmly approached the koala and gently started to brush out the burrs. After a few minutes, the koala took a liking to Atkinson and they eventually became pretty good friends.