Customers recently surprised a beloved bagel shop employee with a random act of kindness that stuns and inspires.
Shirley Ratliff has been taking three different buses to get to work every day at Bruegger’s Bagel Shop in Raleigh, North Carolina where she has worked since 2006. The 47-year old worker had been saving for a car but that money was consumed by the cost of cancer treatments she was faced with a few years back.

 
Ratliff has a group of loyal customers, who call themselves “The Shirley Fan Club”, wanted to make things a little easier for her. They decided to pool their resources and get her a car. Last week they delivered the car to her in a moment she described as unforgettable.

 
She told local reporters who were on hand for the event, she had no idea her customers would go to such extremes for her.
It is Shirley’s positive attitude that has won her so many loyal and devoted customers. One of those customers, David Burton, masterminded the plan. When he invited other customers to pitch in for the new car, they were enthusiastic.

 
He said none of them even blinked and most asked how much money he wanted them to contribute. Most offered up $100 or $200, proving the Christmas spirit is alive and well in Raleigh.

 
In just two days, Burton had secured enough cash to purchase a used 1992 Buick LeSabre. He was also able to pay the taxes and provide automobile insurance. Though Ratliff is currently without a driver’s license, that is something she will changing quickly.
When asked why the customers did this for Ratliff, Craig Boyd explained that Shirley always has a smile and that she takes care of all of them. Perhaps it was their way of taking care of her, too.

Things got a bit too excited when a friend wheeled basketball fan Will Privette onto the court to celebrate a victory after a Wolfpack game. Will was actually the one who suggested that he and his friend rush onto the court.

Other people had the same intention. Loads came swarming in excitedly into the middle of the court and before Will knew it, he’d been knocked off his chair, trapped by an extremely exuberant crowd.

Within all the commotion, basketballer C.J. Leslie noticed Will on the floor. He pressed through the crowd and lifted him up.

You’d think Will would appear quite distressed. But no. When he was picked up, he immediately put a cheerful fist in the air and just continued celebrating with everyone else like nothing ever happened!

Leslie and Will cheered together along with the crowd for a few more minutes before Leslie’s arm started to hurt!

It’s a relief Will was noticed and helped out. Things could have panned out differently. All he lost was his glasses, which he recovered anyway. It looks like he’s gained a friend as well.

Meet Melinda, the hugger! She’d moved to North Carolina, was feeling really lonely and was missing her family and friends terribly. They all used to hug each other a lot. She wanted that connection and warmth she had with her friends and family back home. So you know what she did? She decided to foster a similar connection with strangers she met in North Carolina by vowing to hug at least one person everyday for a year. Yep. Every single day. For a whole year.

It takes courage and a certain amount of openness and vulnerability to go up to someone and offer a hug. But look at what it’s done for her and the people she’s met. Looks like smiles all round. Plus she mentioned that when she hugs people who look like they’re having a bad day, she can feel their stress melting away.

What a beautiful gift in motion she is.

What’s more, she said some of the people she’s hugged are hugging other people more. It’s having a domino effect.

Melinda got through her whole year of sharing hugs and isn’t planning on stopping! It’s changed her life, she’s making people feel good and is feeling good in the process, so why should she stop?

“I feel like a millionaire that’s giving away their riches to someone who really needs it.”

Indeed she is. A million times over and then some.

Whoever invented that old expression about there being no such thing as a free lunch never met Brenda Watford of Thomasville, North Carolina. In charge of the school cafeteria, more than 88% of the children in her charge receive free or reduced price meals when the schools are open. The summer presents an obvious dilemma, and it would be one without resolution if not for Brenda Watford.

Once the furniture capital of America, Thomasville has hit hard times since the plant closed and thousands of jobs went to China and South America. It currently has a very high unemployment rate of 10.8%. Brenda herself remembers the days of her childhood when her mother boiled water for dirt soup. It is for this reason that she has given up her summer to devote it to making sure that all the local children who need it can come for a healthy, free meal.

The 32 million children enrolled in the school lunch programs for poor students used to go hungry in the summer, but they don’t anymore. Brenda Watford and her team of volunteers simply refuse to let the children in their hometown feel any hunger pangs. Every weekday during the summer months, they take free meals to 1,500 children in Thomasville, North Carolina.

For Brenda it’s all about being there for these children who depend on her. For the almost 20 million other children throughout America who qualify for free and reduced lunch, she can’t be there and it makes her sad.

Good for you, Brenda Watford and your team.

Check out this video that shows all the good this woman does for hungry children.

Photo Source:

http://blogs.usda.gov/tag/thomasville-primary-school/

The last thing that Jonathan Robinson expected when he offered to keep his 3 month old cousin Aydan was that a tornado would rip through his mobile home. But that was exactly what happened in the deadly storm that hit North Carolina.

Jonathan lives in Dunn North Carolina and when the tornado hit he quickly made for the bedroom closet with his 3 month old cousin Aydan. He placed his body over the baby’s as the wind ripped the back half of his trailer off and flung it away.

However as hard as Jonathan fought to hold onto baby Aydan the wind ripped the infant from his arms and swept him away with the storm. When 5 minutes later the tornado was gone it left Jonathan frantic and expecting the worst.

He dug his way out of the rubble and started hunting for baby Aydan finally hearing a baby crying. That is when he found that the baby had been dropped on a pile of wood. He was alive and unhurt.

After checking him out at the local hospital the 3 month old was released to his family’s waiting arms with only minor bruises.

When asked what he would call what happened to Aydan Jonathan didn’t have an answer. A relative beside him did. She said it was a miracle.

In the devastating aftermath of these storms, as North Carolina struggles to rebuild, this is a story that gives them the hope and the courage to move on. Baby Aydan is an inspiration to everyone in these trying times.