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A California mom saw Syrian refugees struggling to carry their babies, so she did something.

It's a positively heartbreaking situation: Syrian refugees are arriving in Greece by the boatload — quite literally. If they survive the first part of the journey, they can then face hundreds of miles of walking to reach their next destination.

If you watch the news footage, you may notice something:

There are lots of Syrian moms, dads, and caregivers with babies.

After crossing the Aegean Sea from Turkey, a Syrian couple holds their twin babies on the Greek island of Lesbos. Photo by Iakovos Hatzistavrou/AFP/Getty Images.

Babies too young to walk.

A Syrian mother, holding her one-month-old son after arriving in Lesbos from Turkey. Photo by Iakovos Hatzistavrou/AFP/Getty Images.

Babies that must be carried...

Remaining images in this article are via "Today."

...and carried. Despite cold and exhaustion.

California mom Cristal Logothetis noticed. After she saw the viral photo of the young Syrian boy who drowned as his family was trying to reach safety, she — like so many of us — was deeply moved.

"When I saw that picture, I didn't just see a little boy face-down on the sand," Logothetis told "Today." "I saw what could have been my son."

Logothetis and her son.

When we're so overwhelmed with emotion, it's easy to feel paralyzed. What can I possibly do in the face of so much tragedy?

So much! We can do so much.

Logothetis wasn't just moved emotionally; she was moved to do something. "It compelled me into action," she said. And action is what she took.

Logothetis started to collect baby carriers* to deliver to the Syrian families arriving in Greece with babies and young children.

*You know, those things we Americans like to use for convenience to keep our hands free or bonding with our babies, often referring to the practice as baby-wearing.

At first, she didn't think her plans would go very far. But she was wrong. So. Very. Wrong.

Tons of people were more than happy to help. In fact, they were honored to do so, with many attaching notes of encouragement and love to the donated carriers.

In addition to receiving donated carriers, Logothetis collected tens of thousands of dollars to purchase them.

After Logothetis had collected enough carriers to make a difference, she and 10 other moms headed to Greece.

There, they met families coming off boats and taught the moms and dads how to use the donated carriers.

One of the volunteers helping a family learn to use their new carrier. GIF by "Today."

Perhaps nearly as significant to the refugee families as the actual physical help is the simple knowledge that people care.

"All they're trying to do is get to a better place and protect their family," Logothetis said. "Not only do they have a problem solved for them by receiving a carrier, but they realize that people care about them, that people want to help."

One thing is for sure: A whole lot of people want to help.

"People out there, they really care. They do. They just need the right opportunity to get involved," Logothetis said. "If everybody does something, no matter how small or big, there will always be a positive impact on this planet."

It's easy to feel overwhelmed in moments of crisis. Sometimes, though, it's just a matter of looking in the right place.

As beloved TV personality Mister Rogers said: "Whenever there would be any catastrophe ... [my mom] would say, 'Always look for the helpers. There will always be helpers.' ... Because if you look for the helpers, you'll know that there's hope."

Well, we're looking at the helpers. And that means there's hope.

If you're interested in helping supply carriers for Syrian refugee families, you can visit the Carry the Future Facebook page to learn more about where to send your gently used carrier (or where to donate money).

And there are so many other easy ways to help! You can visit this page to find other organizations who are helping refugees and need support.

Watch the helpers from Carry the Future in this wonderful "Today" feature:

Joy

Sorry, Labradors. After 31 years, America has a new favorite dog.

The American Kennel Club has crowned a new favorite.

via Pixabay

A sad-looking Labrador Retriever

The sweet-faced, loveable Labrador Retriever is no longer America’s favorite dog breed. The breed best known for having a heart of gold has been replaced by the smaller, more urban-friendly French Bulldog.

According to the American Kennel Club, for the past 31 years, the Labrador Retriever was America’s favorite dog, but it was eclipsed in 2022 by the Frenchie. The rankings are based on nearly 716,500 dogs newly registered in 2022, of which about 1 in 7 were Frenchies. Around 108,000 French Bulldogs were recorded in the U.S. in 2022, surpassing Labrador Retrievers by over 21,000.

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dogs
Family

Pediatrician shares two simple tips that could save a child's life at a pool party

"The more folks present, the safer the pool is, right? Wrong."

Photo by Ash Dowie on Unsplash

If there's a body of water anywhere, a designated adult needs to have their eyes on it.

It's that time of year when the weather across the country is warm enough for families to enjoy outdoor barbecues, picnics and pool parties. That means it's also the time of year when tragedy will strike a certain percentage of families who get blindsided by how quickly and easily a child can drown in a backyard pool, even when they're surrounded by people who care about them and their safety.

We've all been at a gathering where adults are coming and going, chatting, setting up food, taking trips to the bathroom, all while kids are busy playing in the water. In such scenarios, it's easy to assume that someone else is keeping an eye on the pool.

But as pediatrician Diane Arnaout has shared, the harrowing reality is that the more people there are at a pool party the more likely it is that a child could slip into the pool or become distressed in the water without anyone noticing.

In a Facebook post that has been shared more than 77,000 times, Dr. Arnaout wrote:

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pool safety
Pop Culture

Crying fan embraced by Drew Barrymore explains why the moment was 'super special'

"Like myself, Drew has had a super hard life," she said.

via Eva Rinaldi/Flickr

Drew Barrymore speaks during the FLOWER Beauty launch at Westfield Parramatta on April 13, 2019, in Sydney, Australia.

Drew Barrymore, 48, has been in the public consciousness since she starred as Gertie in 1982’s mega-blockbuster, “E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial,” a performance that earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress. So, it makes sense that many people of a certain age feel as if they’ve grown up with her.

Now, she’s an even more significant part of people’s lives as the host of “The Drew Barrymore Show,” which runs every weekday on CBS.

On May 25, the show’s Instagram page posted a touching video of an off-the-cuff moment between Barrymore and a fan during a taping of her show. In the clip, Barrymore realizes that someone in the audience is crying. So, instead of ignoring the fan, she jumps to action to see what is the matter.

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drew barrymore
Pop Culture

Musician uses traditional Chinese instrument to create hypnotic cover of 'Hotel California'

There are literally hundreds of covers of this song floating around on the internet, but this one has its own unique flair.

Moyun/Youtube

Moyun peforms "Hotel California" on the guzheng.

The Eagles' hit song, “Hotel California,” has been covered countless times over the years by a variety of artists, including the likes of Nancy Sinatra, the Gypsy Kings and that guy at your local karaoke spot.

And while every rendition gives the song a fresh dynamic, one musician with a penchant for mystery has transformed the rock n’ roll staple into something entirely new.

Using a traditional Chinese string instrument called a guzheng, Moyun plays the song focusing mostly on its two guitar solo arrangements, creating a sound that has all the otherworldly beauty of an ancient folk tale.
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music
Pop Culture

Man rewatches shows from his childhood and his recaps of the bonkers storylines are priceless

Rob Anderson's hilarious recaps of shows like "Mighty Ducks," "Beethoven," and "7th Heaven" might make you wonder how they got made in the first place.

@hearthrobert/TikTok

These plots makes zero sense.

While there are no doubt some timeless classics from our childhood that remain every bit as amazing as we remember, many are straight-up cringey upon a later viewing. Really, it’s to be expected as societal viewpoints change…sort of a marker of how far we’ve collectively come.

And so, what do we do with these problematic pieces of old-school pop culture? Well, we can certainly update them to better reflect a more modern attitude, but that also comes with a set of potential problems. Or we could simply never watch them again. Certainly an option given all the content out there. But then we might miss an opportunity to better understand what seemed to work for the mainstream then, and why it doesn’t work now.

And then there’s the third option—allow ourselves to be entertained by their cringiness.

That’s certainly the route taken by Rob Anderson. Over on TikTok, Anderson has taken ultra-popular movies and television shows from his childhood and given them hilarious recaps capturing how absurd some of the storylines are.
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movies
Joy

Woman decides that she is the love of her life and marries herself at her retirement home

“I said, you know what, I’ve done everything else. Why not?”

KCEN|YouTube

77-year-old woman decides she's the love of her life and marries herself.

We joke about marrying ourselves or a platonic friend if some arbitrary amount of time has passed without a proposal from an imaginary suitor. And sure, some people do wind up marrying a friend in more of a business arrangement, but it's not very common that someone follows through with marrying themselves.

Dorothy "Dottie" Fideli, decided that she was going to break the mold. The 77-year-old sat down and thought about all of the things she had done in life and who was with her the entire time cheering her on. It was an easy answer: herself. She was her biggest cheerleader, the person who always showed up and the love of her life, so Fideli made the plan to marry herself.

On a beautiful May day, friends and family gathered in the O’Bannon Terrace Retirement Community, where Fideli is a resident, to witness the ceremony.

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