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7 powerful photographs of terminally ill patients living out their final wishes

Few gifts are greater than having your final wish granted.

All photos by the Ambulance Wish Foundation, used with permission.

She wanted to see "my favorite painting one last time."

Before 54-year-old Mario passed away, he had one special goodbye he needed to say ... to his favorite giraffe.

Mario had worked as a maintenance man at the Rotterdam zoo in the Netherlands for over 25 years. After his shifts, he loved to visit and help care for the animals, including the giraffes.

As Mario's fight against terminal brain cancer came to an end, all he wanted to do was visit the zoo one last time. He wanted to say goodbye to his colleagues — and maybe share a final moment with some of his furry friends.

Thanks to one incredible organization, Mario got his wish.

Kissed by a giraffe.

All photos by the Ambulance Wish Foundation, used with permission.

"To say goodbye to the animals."

The Ambulance Wish Foundation, a Dutch nonprofit, helps people like Mario experience one final request.

It's a lot like Make-A-Wish, only it's not just for kids.

In 2006, Kees Veldboer, who was an ambulance driver at the time, was moving a patient from one hospital to another. The patient was a terminally ill man who had spent three straight months confined to a hospital bed. During the trip from one hospital to the other, the patient told Veldboer that he wanted to see the Vlaardingen canal one last time. He wanted to sit in the sun and wind and smell the water again before going back inside.

Taking in the sunset.

All photos by the Ambulance Wish Foundation, used with permission.

"To see the ocean again."

Veldboer made the patient's last wish happen, and as tears of joy streamed down the man's face, Veldboer knew he had tapped into a powerful way to bring peace to people in their final days.

Soon after, the Ambulance Wish Foundation was born.

Based in the Netherlands, Veldboer's organization scoffs at the logistical hurdles of transporting terminally ill patients who need high levels of care and, often, lots of medical equipment. The Ambulance Wish Foundation employs a fleet of custom-built ambulances and always has highly trained medical staff on hand for emergencies.

wellbeing, friendship, love and grief, memories

Saying goodbye.

All photos by the Ambulance Wish Foundation, used with permission.

"To visit my best friend's grave."

Their message? Positive end-of-life experiences are far too important to pass up.

Today, the AWF has over 230 volunteers and has fulfilled nearly 7,000 wishes.

Even more beautiful than the work this organization does, though, are the things its patients are asking for.

illness, life-threatening illness, living, adventure

Some tasty treats.

All photos by the Ambulance Wish Foundation, used with permission.

"To enjoy a delicious ice cream cone."

The Make-A-Wish Foundation specializes in granting wishes for children with life-threatening illnesses, many of whom have barely begun to live. The children's wishes run the gamut, from starring in a music video to a day as a hero soldier in the Army.

But what does Veldboer do for older folks who have already experienced so much? What do their wishes look like?

Mostly, it's the little things they cherish, like seeing their home one last time or spending a few hours just looking at something beautiful.

Veldboer, in an interview with the BBC, describes one woman who had not been home for six months. When they brought her into her living room on a stretcher, she hoisted herself up and stayed there for hours, doing nothing but looking around — likely replaying an entire lifetime worth of memories — before quietly asking them to take her away.

Another patient simply wanted to see her favorite Rembrandt painting again.

Taking in some amazing art.

All photos by the Ambulance Wish Foundation, used with permission.

"To see my favorite painting one last time."

And another just wanted to spend an afternoon watching dolphins play.

dolphins, beach, ocean, nature, connection

Hello to the dolphins.

All photos by the Ambulance Wish Foundation, used with permission.

"To watch the dolphins play."

On and on the wishes go — about four of them fulfilled every day. People who just want to see their grandchild for the first time, or stand on the beach again before they can't anymore.

Turns out that life's simplest pleasures just might be its most meaningful.

Sometimes it feels like there's never enough time. Not in a day. Not in a year. Not in a life.

Getting to be at the wedding.

All photos by the Ambulance Wish Foundation, used with permission.

"To attend my granddaughter's wedding."

But maybe it's better to cherish what we have rather than spend so much time thinking about all the things we haven't done yet.

Maybe the things we remember at the end aren't the time we went skydiving or the time we hiked across Europe. When our time is up, maybe what we'll remember most is more mundane — the tacky wallpaper in the house we grew up in, a sunny day spent on the water, or those little everyday moments spent with the people we love the most.

Whatever it is, it's comforting to know there are people out there who want our last memories of this place to be good ones.

I can't think of a more wonderful job.

This article originally appeared on 09.30.15

From Your Site Articles

inspiration

Heroes

The inventors of this could have made a fortune. Instead, they're making kids happy.

He didn't want just any arm.

True

This article originally appeared on 03.19.15

Last Christmas, Alex got exactly what he always wanted: a new "robo" arm.

Sure, it's basically like having a second hand, but it also does something equally important: It totally reflects his personality. How? It's a "Transformers"-themed arm.

How did this come about?

Engineering student Albert Manero leads a team at the University of Central Florida that works closely with kids and their parents to provide arms for children at no cost.

They work with kids who were born with physical differences, as well as those who have had amputations and survived accidents. He explains:

"We thought kids just wanted to blend in, and that they wanted to feel 'normal.' But it turns out it's much more about personal identity and expression."

The team is called Limbitless Solutions.

And they're not only working with Alex — in fact, they've gotten requests for arms from 22 different countries. Each arm is crafted by the team of engineers, artists, and designers to be carefully tailored to the recipient's unique requests. As team member Dominique Courbin explains, "It's a facet of their personality."

Check out the rest of Alex's story below:

Why let good flowers go to waste? She made it her mission to recycle discarded wedding flowers, and the result is beautiful.

True

Shawn Chamberlain was tending the gardens at a hospice care facility one day when she noticed something unusual about one of the patients.

The woman, standing on a nearby patio, caught her off guard. Most of the patients Shawn had seen at the facility were older; hospice care is typically for those who are given six months or less to live, after all.

But this patient was young — a young mother.

A young mother herself, Shawn felt compelled to do something for the woman. Looking down and seeing the flowers in the garden, she quickly clipped a few and had a charge nurse deliver them to the patient.

Gathering up some love. Image via Rogue Heart Media.

In addition to being beautiful, flowers may actually lift people's moods.

According to a 2005 research study at Rutgers University, every single person who received flowers as part of an experiment had a positive response. Every. Single. Person.

Admit it: Flowers make you feel loved, special, adored, and remembered. Image via Shawn Chamberlain.

As a landscape designer, Shawn had seen the power of flowers to bring people delight. In that moment, she knew she wanted to bring flowery happiness to other people. But not just anyone: long-term care patients, people who could really use a few moments of unexpected joy.

There was only one problem — where on Earth could she obtain a massive amount of flowers without going completely broke in the process?

If you've ever had to buy flowers for any event, you know they're, uh, not cheap. Shawn was a young mom of five kids — not a millionaire by any stretch.

But then it came to her: weddings.

Wedding flowers — gorgeous, expensive, and only used for one day. Image via Shawn Chamberlain.

Weddings are a treasure trove of floral arrangements, bouquets, and other lovely things ... that often go straight in the trash once the event is over.

Shawn started making calls around town to wedding planners, event spaces, florists, anyone who dealt in bulk flowers. Amazingly, there was no hesitation; people were on board. The Full Bloom was born.

Flowers. Flowers everywhere! Image via Shawn Chamberlain.

Brides and grooms really took to the idea, thrilled that they could use their time of joy and happiness to give back. (All without a lot of effort because, as we know, weddings are super stressful!)

Something old, something new, something borrowed, something recycled! Image via Shawn Chamberlain.

Another cool thing? Through postings to The Full Bloom's Facebook page, donors can be connected with the receivers.

As Shawn put it, "They can see their flowers (through posting) actually go somewhere."

Brides, grooms, and other donors get to see how their contribution has brightened someone's day. And patients know someone was thinking of them and that, for a moment, they're feeling a little better because, you know, science.

Volunteers of all ages get involved and deliver arrangements to long-term care facilities. Image via Shawn Chamberlain.

To find out more about The Full Bloom and recycling the love, check out this video from Rogue Heart Media.

From Your Site Articles

She could do anything she wanted with a half a million dollars in prize money. This is what she chose.

True

Imagine you won half a million dollars for being a genius.

Heather did.

Image by Macarthur Foundation.

Heather McHugh is a poet from Seattle. She is also a genius.

The MacArthur Foundation gave her over $600,000 in unrestricted grant money for her poetry, which the foundation calls "intellectually challenging, yet emotionally engaging verse that balances gravity with humor."

Winners of this "genius grant" can do whatever they want with the cash.

I give you ... awesomeness.

No regulations on the cash. No nothin'. That's what makes the MacArthur genius grant so exceptional.

Some winners have started businesses, funded films, taken off on a passion project the grant allowed them to focus on, or just continued their vocations with a really nice nest egg. Heather chose something a little different.

Heather gave away all her $600k genius grant money to strangers.

But not just any strangers.

You see, Heather was kinda freaked out by the prospect of spending over $600,000 on herself alone. So she looked around her life for people who might also be in need of funding.

She didn't need to look far.

Reflecting on the massive efforts of her godson and his wife as they raised a baby with severe disabilities, she decided what to do with her grant money.

As told to KPLU. Image via Wikimedia Commons.

She started the nonprofit Caregifted, which gives vacations to people who have spent a decade or more taking care of a family member full time.

Speaking of her personal experience in watching her godson and his wife care for their daughter, who were told she would never be able to walk, talk, or feed herself, she said, “It was obvious to me when that baby was born that in 10 years, they were going to need a break."

To put this in perspective, consider this example: In 2014, friend and family caregivers of folks with Alzheimer's and other dementias spent an estimated 17.9 billion hours on unpaid care. There's no paid vacation (or even just vacation) for this more-common-than-you-think job.

In steps Caregifted. They have already given vacations to 30 caregivers.

Says one recipient, “It was the first time in many, many years that I only had to worry about myself."

So selfless. I'm sharing this so that more people recognize the work of our caregivers. You matter. <3

From Your Site Articles

What makes someone a genius? - Upworthy ›

When Colbert saw a wish list of hundreds of teachers from his home state, he delivered.

Stephen Colbert became a hero of political satire for fans all over the country. But his latest act of badassery has made him a hero to a bunch of kids.

Stephen Colbert is a badass.

His show, "The Colbert Report," ran strong for nine years, earning him a pile of awards, a multi-generational cult following and the chance to take over "The Late Show" when David Letterman retired in 2015. Like I said, he's a badass.

Image via "The Late Show with David Letterman."

While he's between gigs, Colbert has mostly kept all that badassery out of the public eye. But then I heard about this:

GIF via GreenvilleOnline.

In a live-streamed announcement to Alexander Elementary School in Greenville, South Carolina, Colbert had happy news to share.

"I am happy to say that as a product of the South Carolina public school system ... using the proceeds from the sale of my old set on 'The Colbert Report' that we auctioned off, and with generous matching funds from the Morgridge Family Foundation and ScanSource, DonorsChoose is going to flash fund all 1,000 projects in South Carolina."

DonorsChoose is a charity crowdfunding site for "classrooms in need." Teachers from schools with tight budgets can use the site to generate funds for the supplies they need to offer the best education they can to their students.

Hundreds of South Carolina teachers posted thousands of project requests totaling $800,000.

Their needs ranged from books for girls to exercise equipment for special-needs students to custom tables and other items that would make a big difference for South Carolina's cash-strapped public schools.

Colbert, who grew up in South Carolina, wanted to see every one of their goals for the year fulfilled.

GIF from "The Colbert Report."

And with the support of a few big sponsors, he raised enough money to meet the funding goals of every outstanding grant request posted by a South Carolina teacher on DonorsChoose this year.

I know what you're thinking: This is great. Stephen Colbert is such a badass.

And that's exactly how I feel about it. But a little context really accentuates the greatness of Colbert's initiative.

South Carolina has one of the lowest-ranked public school systems in the U.S.

According to WalletHub, the South Carolina public school system ranks 42nd (out of 51) in overall performance, which takes into account factors like drop-out rates, teacher-to-student ratios, test scores, graduates' likelihood of completing a college degree, and even reported incidents of bullying.

Image via WalletHub.

And the state isn't making the investments it needs to step up its public education game.

WalletHub ranks South Carolina 36th in K-12 public school spending.

Image via WalletHub.

South Carolina would be wise to change that — as would every other low-performing state when it comes to education.

According to the Economic Policy Institute:

"States can build a strong foundation for economic success and shared prosperity by investing in education. Providing expanded access to high quality education will not only expand economic opportunity for residents, but also likely do more to strengthen the overall state economy than anything else a state government can do."

Hopefully they'll figure it out. But meanwhile, send your digital high-fives to Stephen Colbert for being one badass of a do-gooder.

GIF via "The Colbert Report."

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Chef José Andrés told Stephen Colbert how we can all use our talents to change the world - Upworthy ›

Small acts of kindness can go a long way.

Are kids born with a sense of right and wrong?

Or is that something we develop along the way?

I certainly spent much of my childhood selfishly yelling, "Finders keepers, losers weepers!" or "It's mine, I found it first!" — anything to claim victory before my sister beat me to it. And I'm sure I wasn't the only little kid who wanted to keep things for myself no matter the cost. (Right, guys?)

In an utterly adorable social experiment, the Japanese Red Cross put little kids' kindness to the test.

Hey kid. I see you seeing that. All GIFs via Japanese Red Cross.

Here's what they were testing: When kids are by themselves and a stranger next to them drops a wallet, what will the kids do? Will they take the wallet, leave it, or let the person know?

And it's not just about the wallet. It's about helping others. It's about what's morally right and wrong. And it's about young kids who are all just figuring it out as they go.

The way these kids reacted gave me loads of hope for our future.

When each kid saw a wallet dropped next to them, they hesitated for a second.

WHAT A LOOK. Ha-ha!

Some looked around or quietly tried to alert the stranger whose wallet was dropped.

It almost worked!

But they all eventually broke through their shyness and uncertainty to do the thing they knew was right: They alerted the stranger to the dropped wallet. Every. Single. Kid.

Ahhh, I love it.

The kindness of little kids has even been proven by science.

According to research conducted at Yale University's Infant Cognition Center, babies can identify mean behavior (in puppets) when they're just three months old. Not only that, but when given the choice, they'd rather hang out with the, um, puppets with nicer behavior.

Babies have morals? Holy crap.

This experiment is a heartwarming and beautiful display of what happens when we look out not only for ourselves, but for each other.

Doing the right thing can have such a huge impact — no matter how big or small the situation may seem. Heck, it might even be the natural thing to do!

5 exceptional women who give so much — and show us all the power of caring.

True

When we look out for each other, incredible things can happen.

These five women demonstrate that beautifully.

From left to right: Alison, Maria, SuEllen, Teri, Kathy. All images by L'Oréal Paris.

Through their tireless work and compassion for helping others, they have each been selected from over 6,000 submissions as L'Oréal Paris Women of Worth. They are women who recognize some of the unique issues affecting our communities and choose to be part of the solution.

A total of 10 women were selected as 2015 Women of Worth honorees. Here are five to know about right now.

They so deserve it.

1. Maria Rose Belding from Washington, D.C.

She's making food for the hungry a lot easier to access.

Maria is bringing food pantries into 2015.

While many 19-year-olds only have college on the mind, American University student Maria is putting her focus on those who struggle to put food on their table every night.

She developed an interactive website called MEANS (Matching Excess And Need for Stability) that provides a super-simple way to coordinate food exchanges between donors and local food pantries and soup kitchens.

The most amazing part: In just two years, the site has expanded to include users in 50 cities in 12 different states, representing more than 1,600 partner agencies. THAT is impact.

2. Teri Kelsall from Laguna Woods, California

She's helping veterans join the workforce and start their own businesses.

Too many think veterans “lack real-world skills" when it comes to getting a job.

Teri's organization The Jonas Project began as a way to honor her son Jonas, a Navy SEAL who was killed while serving in Afghanistan. Teri and her husband wanted to give back. And after they realized how hard it is for veterans to find work or start their own business ventures upon returning to the states, they knew just what to do.

The Jonas Project is helping veterans who want to become entrepreneurs develop business plans, get advice from mentors, and seek angel investors for start-up capital.

So far, they've been able to provide assistance to 18 veteran-owned companies, four of which are open for business right now.

How cool!

3. Kathy Koenigsdorf from East Islip, New York

She's helping recovering addicts and their families with resources and support.

She has experienced the struggle firsthand.

Kathy's story comes with tragedy. In 2013, her son passed away from a heroin overdose.

Today, the Jake Koenigsdorf Foundation serves as a support network for families trying to help their children overcome addiction and raises money for substance abusers who want help but can't afford treatment. In only two years, they've been able to help 105 people access treatment. The beginning of a new start at life.

4. SuEllen Fried from Prairie Village, Kansas

She's helping prisoners see a different way.

Reducing recidivism, one conversation at a time.

SuEllen has been visiting prisoners in Kansas for more than 30 years, and she's making a lasting impact. Her organization, Reaching Out From Within, reaches more than 500 prisoners a year in Kansas and North Carolina and aims to help prisoners reduce their chances of relapsing into criminal behavior once they've served their time.

Through weekly groups and now GED classes, she's showing inmates that there are different roads ahead for them.

5. Alison O'Neil from Atlanta, Georgia

She's providing fun aesthetic services to seniors to give them the attention and support they deserve.

They deserve so much support!

Alison O'Neil remembers her father saying to her, "Beauty becomes you," right before he passed away. She took it to heart.

She created a new a mission: to help the often-overlooked elderly population discover their self-worth and feel better about the way they look and feel.

Her professional background in health mixed with those words from her dad helped her create Beauty Becomes You. She and her team have been able to provide more than 15,000 hair, skin, nail care, and massage therapy services to over 5,000 seniors.

A little attention can go a long way.

These women are helping others to help themselves, and there is nothing more empowering.

Their genuine belief and support in complete strangers is a small peek into a stronger, more compassionate world that we should all want to live in.

Bravo, ladies!

Celebrate these incredible ladies and this year's 2015 Women of Worth honorees by reading their stories and voting for the 2015 National Honoree to receive an additional $25,000 toward her cause!