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'It’s difficult to step out, but in the end, you’re going to be a stronger person.'

True

Heather McGhee received a rather unusual call from a self-proclaimed racist when she appeared on C-SPAN in August 2016.

McGhee is the president of Demos, a public policy organization that advocates for social change. As a black public figure, she's no stranger to receiving retorts from racially prejudiced individuals. However, the experience she had with the caller on C-SPAN's "Washington Journal" was altogether different.

[rebelmouse-image 19477090 dam="1" original_size="700x318" caption="McGhee on "Washington Journal." All photos provided by Starbucks." expand=1]McGhee on "Washington Journal." All photos provided by Starbucks.

After the caller announced himself as someone who is prejudiced, McGhee braced herself for a rant but was surprised to hear a simple ask instead.

"What can I do to change?" asked the caller, Garry Civitello. "You know, to be a better American?"

He said he thought he was getting good information from the news but would often see minorities portrayed in a negative way. He genuinely wanted advice from McGhee on how to alter his viewpoint.

Civitello.

McGhee was surprised by Civitello's question, but eager to help.

It was no doubt refreshing, given the escalating social and racial discord ignited by the impending presidential election, to come across someone eager to close the disparity gap. So McGhee offered him some places to start off the top of her head.

"Get to know black families. Turn off the news at night. Read about the history of the African-American community in this country. Foster conversation in your family and in your neighborhood."

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. statue.

Little did she know that Civitello would follow each and every suggestion she made to the letter.

He began opening up to the people of color in his community. It wasn't easy on the outset — the first few conversations were a bit awkward, but it was a start. He went to the black history section in his local bookstore and invested in a small stack of books. Slowly but surely, he began to get to the root of his prejudice.

Everyday, he continues to push through the misconceptions that used to blind him.

"I’m not proud, but I’m not going to be ashamed because I’m working on being different," Civitello says.

Since their on-air meeting, and because of his determination, McGhee and Civitello have formed an unlikely friendship.

Civitello and McGhee in Civitello's home.

They spoke on the phone a number of times and visited each other in their respective cities. They have talked through racial issues Civitello is having trouble with, and McGhee has tried to lead him toward the best course of action. His continued desire to grow inspires her to keep the conversation going.

McGhee hopes their connection will help other Americans see what positive things can happen when you step outside of your comfort zone and confront your prejudices head-on.

"There is something that connects us beyond our differences," McGhee explains.

Their experience is not the ultimate antidote to racism, but it's a pretty good step in the right direction.

Civitello meeting his neighbors.

The fact that their initial encounter was viewed over 8 million times shows there's at least a common interest in the idea of changing these prejudices to which so many people hold fast. If just a small percentage of those viewers go out and attempt to break through racial barriers, progress will have been made.

"It’s difficult to step out, but in the end, you’re going to be a stronger person," Civitello explains. "You get all that just from shaking somebody’s hand."

Learn more about Civitello and McGhee's friendship here:

He felt himself being prejudiced, so he asked for help. Then a beautiful friendship blossomed.
Posted by Upworthy on Tuesday, October 17, 2017

Together, these beachgoers saved the day.

There was no lifeguard on duty at the sunny Florida beach when two young boys suddenly found themselves caught in a dangerous rip current.

Stephen and Noah Ursrey, 8 and 11 years old, cried out for help. Roberta, the boys' mother, along with three other relatives, swam out to save them, only to find themselves swept into the same rip current, desperately in need of a rescue.

If it weren't for the quick thinking of horrified beachgoers watching from land, the entire family faced almost certain doom.

[rebelmouse-image 19476316 dam="1" original_size="750x418" caption="Stephen and Noah Ursrey. Image from CBS Evening News/YouTube." expand=1]Stephen and Noah Ursrey. Image from CBS Evening News/YouTube.

No single person could successfully pull off this type of rescue. It took a small army.

Nearly 80 people rushed to create a human chain from the shore to where the Ursreys were stuck. When the chain reached the family, the stranded swimmers were passed one-by-one down the chain until they made it safely back to shore.

[rebelmouse-image 19476317 dam="1" original_size="750x370" caption="Beachgoers stage a successful rescue operation. Image from CBS Evening News/YouTube." expand=1]Beachgoers stage a successful rescue operation. Image from CBS Evening News/YouTube.

This is humanity truly at its best: people going out of their way to help other people because it's the right thing to do.

In this moment, it didn't matter what anyone's politics were, what god they worshiped, where they were from, what language they spoke, what their gender was, or who they loved. Those differences certainly existed (and differences are good, wonderful things), but when lives were on the line, those things didn't matter. People who joined forces to build a human chain out into the ocean because other people needed help.

When we work together toward a common goal, we are stronger than we are working apart. This is not a new idea (stories of it have been around for thousands of years), but it's always worth remembering just how true it is.

Thanks to those Florida beachgoers for reminding the world just how great humanity can be.

You can check out a CBS report about the rescue below.

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There’s a community in Ethiopia where everyone lives as equals. And it works.

True

Imagine a place where men and women are treated completely equally.

They share duties as co-heads of a household. Work duties and interests are not determined by gender, but by ability. The community works together, generating enough income to fulfill its needs and splitting the profits equally among all members. Contraception is available to women who want it.

A young woman in Awra Amba. All photos via the creative agency Write This Down , used with permission.

And it gets even better: Children go to school from the age of 3. Both boys and girls. They get the chance to be kids. Once they’re 18, they’re free to decide what they want to do with their lives. The minimum age for marriage is 19 for women and 20 for men. Women feel no shame proposing to men because there’s no invisible power structure to adhere to. The social standard is equality.

It might sound too good to be true — but it isn’t.

For over 40 years, Awra Amba has functioned as a small, egalitarian community in Ethiopia. There are around 500 community members who wake up each day with a simple mission: to work hard and treat each other fairly and as equals.

It all started with one man: Zumra Nuru. Nuru grew up in a small village in Ethiopia. He saw that inequality was baked into a lot of the traditions. Like the accepted norm in many Western countries, women in the village he lived in were expected to be both providers and caretakers. They worked during the day and tended to the house and the children at night. The same wasn’t expected of men.

A smiling little boy in Awra Amba.

It didn’t feel right. So he started to ask questions.

In an interview with filmmakers Paulina Tervo and Serdar Ferit, Nuru recalls asking, "Why is there a difference between them? Women are like servants; men are like masters. When I questioned this, my family would say, 'You want to be different from others.'" It wasn’t a compliment, but he felt confident that men and women could and should live as equals.

Nuru founded a community called Awra Amba where equality is the norm.

Initially, he was met with resistance. Like Nuru’s family, many of Awra Amba’s neighbors were skeptical of the community. They misunderstood Awra Amba’s way of life. But when faced with violent opposition, the Awra Ambans have reacted by extending their hands in peace.

They’ve built schoolhouses and encourage the kids from surrounding villages to attend because they believe that education is power. They engage in dialogue with their neighbors to teach them about the Awra Amban way of life to reduce fear and encourage understanding.

Image of a schoolhouse built by the Awra Amba community.

And the women who move to Awra Amba appreciate the chance to take the reigns in their own lives. Zeinab, a woman who lives in the village, told the filmmakers, "Before I came to Awra Amba, I was uneducated and oppressed. I didn't know about my rights. In our time, there was nothing called 'men's and women's rights.' Men oppressed women. They were superior to us." For many years, she ran the teahouse in the village, and with her support, her adult daughter joined the Awra Amba community. They are in control of their own fate.

The Awra Ambans have also worked hard to become self-sustaining and have been successful at it — they do not accept food aid from organizations. They do accept financial support for projects, like a mill, which helps them and their neighbors to be increasingly self-sufficient. No one has more than any other person. They all work hard, and they all reap the rewards. As their way of life has proven successful, they’ve become a model for neighboring villages.

Tervo, the filmmaker, first traveled to Awra Amba in 2004. It was an experience she couldn’t forget.

She returned home and told fellow filmmaker Ferit, her boyfriend at the time, that they had to return and make a documentary about the people. Little did they know that helping Awra Amba to tell its story would becoming such a big part of their lives.

Tervo and Ferit with Nuru and other members of the Awra Amba community.

Over the years, they’ve seen the community evolve rapidly, and they say that the egalitarian principles on which it’s founded have only strengthened with each generation. And most importantly, they’ve helped the Awra Amban people to use own their voice and tell their story.

They plan to launch "The Awra Amba Experience" soon; it's an interactive documentary that allows viewers to get a look inside the village and hear from community members themselves. Tervo explains that this project "basically started from the desire of the community to speak to the outside world ... they wanted to tell their story."

Here’s a sneak peek:

Awra Amba is an incredible example of what can happen when we all champion each other.

As we in the Western world continue to work to ensure that women aren’t limited by assumptions about gender, are paid as much as men, and allowed to take control of their own bodies, it’s neat to be reminded that this massive goal is possible.

The glass ceiling can be shattered. And there’s a village in Ethiopia that can help show us the way.

This little town decided to go green. And they did it without the government.

'By working together, we eliminated that feeling of being an environmental pressure group. Instead we made it normal to talk about energy savings.'

Welcome to Ashton Hayes — the small English town that's casually leading the way toward carbon neutrality.

Photo via Garry Charnock. Used with permission.

"Carbon neutrality" is a fancy way of saying that Ashton Hayes is working toward reducing its carbon footprint until it produces as much energy as it uses.

Upon first glance, Ashton Hayes may seem like any other countryside town, but when you take a closer look, you start to notice solar panels on roofs, clothes drying outside on clotheslines, and houses with glazed windows designed to improve insulation.

It might not sound like much, but these community efforts have effectively reduced the town's greenhouse emissions by approximately 40% in just 10 years.

The idea to make carbon neutrality a community-wide mission was planted by Ashton Hayes resident Garry Charnock, a former journalist and hydrologist.

He was attending a lecture at the Hay Festival of Literature & Arts, which called for the audience to think about what they could do to help curb climate change. While he said he was skeptical about a single individual being able to make any sort of significant impact, he wondered if his town as a whole could.

Photo via Ashton Hayes Going Carbon Neutral Project, used with permission.

Charnock asked the town's parish council if they would support a community-wide carbon neutrality pledge. On Jan. 26, 2006, in the presence of 60% of the town's adults (and a large percentage of the children as well), the idea was publicly proposed and accepted.

Ashton Hayes Going Carbon Neutral Project Launch in January, 2006. Photo courtesy of Garry Charnock.

Just like that, the people of Ashton Hayes took one significant step toward a greener future.

Members of the community started implementing small changes in their daily lives to promote carbon neutrality, and slowly but surely, their greenhouse emissions have shrunk.

They saved energy by turning things powered by electricity off as much as possible, switching to LED bulbs, relying on heat and air conditioning sparingly, walking more, and using public transport.

According to Charnock, they cut their emissions by 20% in the first year by doing so.

When neighbors started sharing what solutions were working for them, the ideas grew in size and scope. Soon, solar panels began to pop up all over town.

Photo via Garry Charnock, used with permission.

Community members, like Kate Harrison, are seeing their energy bills plummet, but even more exciting is how this collaboration has unified the town under one common goal. "What I really enjoyed was getting together with other people and talking about what we did," Harrison says in a video on Ashton Hayes' carbon neutrality project.

Community cohesion has increased significantly since the carbon neutrality mission was adopted. One reason for this, Charnock suggests, is that the carbon neutrality mission was created by and for the people in the town, without the influence or direction of politicians (who are only allowed to listen at meetings if they attend).

Photo via Garry Charnock, used with permission.

There were never any community-wide mandates to contribute to the cause — just neighbors inspiring each other to make an effort here and there.

"We also felt that by working together, we eliminated that feeling of being an environmental pressure group. Instead we made it normal to talk about energy savings," Charnock wrote in an email.

The children of Ashton Hayes are also incredibly involved in the town's work to reduce its carbon footprint.

Photo via Ashton Hayes Going Carbon Neutral Project, used with permission.

"The primary school has been a catalyst for the project," Charnock wrote. "All our major meetings are held there and the kids always do a project that they demonstrate to the public."

Aside from harboring an active eco-team, the school's roof is made entirely of community-funded PV panels (photovoltaic solar panels), which in turn have helped the building become carbon negative between the months of May and September.

Involving the children in the project gives the next generation a firsthand look at just how simple it can be to reduce one's carbon footprint and have a real impact on the community overall.

With Ashton Hayes' efforts proving so effective, other towns have gotten in touch to ask for advice on how to start similar initiatives. Ashton Hayes is only too happy to help.

People from Ashton Hayes have given talks to over 150 communities in the United Kingdom alone on their work to lower emissions and they've made award-winning videos that've reached many more.

Photo via Ashton Hayes Going Carbon Neutral Project, used with permission.

According to the detailed diary on the Ashton Hayes town website that chronicles their progress, they've been contacted by towns all over the world that are looking for ways to lower their own carbon footprint. Little by little, the Ashton Hayes carbon neutrality movement is picking up steam.

With the onslaught of alarmist news about how harmful climate change is becoming and all the things we've done wrong up to this point, the mission to try to turn things around for the planet can often feel hopeless. When you look at a town like Ashton Hayes and see all that its members have accomplished in just 10 years, however, it's clear that hopelessness is far from true.

Sure, Ashton Hayes is just one small town, but imagine if every small town the world over followed in its footsteps. Sometimes all it takes is one simple, well-implemented idea to start a powerful trend that could change everything.

Heroes

What happens when a Muslim center opens up across from a Christian church? Community.

True

It all started when the Memphis Islamic Center purchased land across the street from Heartsong Church.

It took Pastor Steve Stone of Heartsong Church by surprise. "When I saw that, my stomach kind of tightened up. ... I felt that ignorance and that fear," he said.

He wasn't sure how to respond. But more than that, he wasn't sure how his congregation would respond. Would they welcome their new neighbors with open arms? Or would their arrival only lead to backlash?

Like Stone, Dr. Bashar Shala of the Memphis Islamic Center was unsure of what to expect.

The goal of the Islamic center was to create a place for people to "pray and play" and have a sense of community, but he knew they'd likely face resistance from the other churches in the area. The site would be surrounded by more than five Christian churches on what's been referred to as "Church Road," so the newcomers were sure to be noticed — especially at a time when mosque construction projects across the country were facing opposition.

"It is a difficult time for Muslims in America," he said. "We did not expect to be welcomed."

Some members of Heartsong Church were clearly uncomfortable.

"Me and my wife both were thinking about leaving church because I just did not accept what was going on," said Mark Sharpe, a member of the church.

Sharpe looked to Stone and asked him what he should do. The reply? Just read the gospels. Which Sharpe did. And they helped him reach a pretty emotional realization about the situation.

"I figured out I was the problem," Sharpe said. "What was going on with the world today, I was the problem."

Things started to take a turn during the holy month of Ramadan.

Shala wanted to kick it off with the grand opening of the new complex. But with delays in the construction, he knew they weren’t going to make it in time. So he reached out to Stone, asking if they could pray in Heartsong Church while they waited. He figured his congregation would only pray there for a few nights.

They ended up staying at Heartsong Church the entire month of Ramadan.

All images via Starbucks.

The experience brought both communities closer together unlike anything else.

"Ramadan brought us much closer. People started knowing each other on a personal level," Shala said.

Interacting with a group of people they probably wouldn't have otherwise and getting to know them as individuals helped some members of the church confront biases and prejudices. Sharpe explained, "It's kind of like my world got bigger."

Now the two groups work and socialize together frequently.

They support those in need by doing coat and food drives together.

In honor of 9/11 every year, they have done a blood drive and shared their facilities.

They’ve even combined their Thanksgiving dinners into one giant celebration.

And in spring, they throw an amazing picnic to gather the entire community.

Their inspirational friendship serves as an important reminder for all of us.

Even though about 1% of Americans (3.2 million people) are Muslim, they're still a very polarizing topic in the United States. But at the end of the day, who we pray to (or pray with) shouldn’t get in the way of loving and accepting each other.

Simply put, we’re all just people, ready to welcome new friends into the neighborhood.

Remember 'Shutter Island'? Now it's an urban farm for low-income families.

After years of vacancy, this island is returning to its original 1600s purpose as a farm.

You might recognize Boston's Long Island as the basis for the thriller movie and book "Shutter Island."

Based on a Dennis Lehane novel and set in an isolated asylum in the Boston Harbor, the movie is probably best remembered as Leonardo DiCaprio's second theatrical attempt at a Boston accent, for better or for worse.

Photo via ENTRTNMNT/YouTube.

In real life, though, the 225-acre Long Island has served a number of interesting purposes over the years.

Local Native American tribes used it as a farm when the English settlers first arrived in the 1600s. And yes, it was once home to a mental institution — though not quite as intense as the one depicted in the movie.

But over the years, the island has also functioned as a military fort, a hotel and resort, a refuge base for ex-Nazi scientists, a home for unwed mothers, and an addiction rehab center.

Photo by Doc Searls/Flickr.

For nearly 20 years, until 2014, the island even served as the city's largest homeless shelter.

It once housed more than 700 people. But it wasn't just any shelter: Residents also worked a large farm plot while they lived there, growing their own food and learning crucial new skills for after they left the island.

However, in 2014, city engineers condemned the only bridge out to the island as being unstable. And as a result, people without homes and in recovery were rushed off the island and into various group homes on the mainland, leaving farm fields, equipment, and other facilities abandoned.

Photo by Monika Schroeder/B.good, used with permission.

But now, after several years of vacancy, Long Island has returned to its original 1600s purpose as a farm ... with a clever modern twist.

It all started when a local restaurant chain called B.good screwed up while catering a 700-person event for Camp Harbor View, which creates summer programs that cater to at-risk Boston youth from low-income communities. B.good co-founder Jon Olinto figured that he owed an apology and a personal visit to the organizers of the event.

But when he went to speak with the staff at Camp Harbor View, Olinto ended up in discussion about the potential for that abandoned farm on Long Island instead, where the camp used to host some of their programs.

"It was all about, how we can build community, how can we keep this relationship," Olinto said. "It was never about, 'We can launch a farm.' I mean, getting on a boat? That's ridiculous." (Yes, the bridge is still out, so all transportation for now to and from the island is done by boat.)

Photo by Monika Schroeder/B.good, used with permission.

The Hannah Farm project came together fast and furiously.

The main idea was simple: B.good would take over management of the three acres of abandoned farmland on Long Island to grow a wide range of produce, from green and yellow beans to cherry tomatoes to kale and beets and radishes and herbs.

During the summer, they'd also be helped by local teenagers through Camp Harbor View. The teens would help out around the farm while also learning skills for potential future employment.

The summer camp aspect of the program would include a "Farm Club," where campers would learn how to prepare wholesome and delicious meals from the produce that they themselves had farmed. And campers would be provided with breakfast and lunch while working on the farm, too.

75% of the food grown at Hannah Farms would go to the working teenagers and other low-income families in the area, with the other 25% going to local B.good restaurants.

Photo by Monika Schroeder/B.good, used with permission.

The farm's first harvest at the end of August 2016 provided nearly 700 pounds of food to over 250 low-income families. And that was just the beginning.

Due to a late start, Olinto only expects about 20,000 pounds of produce by the end of the first fall harvest. But he fully expects to double that in 2017.

"At the core of B.good from the beginning, we've always tried to do something positive and I think we have a history for that," Olinto said.

In the future, they also plan to partner with Fair Foods, a long-running Boston-based nonprofit that sells fresh, affordable produce to families in low-income areas. And they'll continue their "Farm Club" food education program through the school year, too, as part of a new teen center initiative in Boston's Roxbury neighborhood.

Photo by Monika Schroeder/B.good, used with permission.

Can a for-profit company do good, help others, and help themselves? Olinto believes it's possible.

"Entrepreneurial spirit creates change, and it can be a force for good," he says. "And I hope in some small way that there can be a model for how companies can help improve communities."

For the hundreds of families being fed by the once-defunct farm on the former Shutter Island, that mission is certainly making a difference.

Check out what the folks at B.good are up to, below:

Our weather may be getting stronger, but that doesn't mean we're getting weaker.

Over the weekend, Maryland was hit by a historically epic flood. Ellicott City saw over six inches of rain in under two hours.

The flash floods tore into buildings and turned the city's streets into rivers, putting anyone stuck in a car in a dire situation.

Jamie Knight was one such driver, who was pulled from her car by a few brave locals acting quickly to form a human chain.

Jason Barnes, a local toy store owner, had just lost all his merchandise in the flood when he decided to risk his own life for a complete stranger. Barnes' stepfather, Chris Penning, told WBAL-TV that owning a toy store had been his stepson's dream 10 years in the making, second only to writing comics about superheroes.

In the face of all his efforts being washed away, however, Barnes became a real-life superhero. He didn't think twice as he plunged into the raging flood waters to save Knight, who had gotten locked in her car as it was being carried away.

Barnes heading out into the flood waters. GIFs via Ark News/YouTube.

The whole ordeal was caught on camera, and the resulting video is pretty incredible. At one point during the rescue, Barnes lost his footing and almost got swept away in the raging floodwaters.

Thanks to teamwork and gumption, the two other men anchoring him to the building got him back on his feet and the trio managed to get Knight out through her car window and onto slightly dryer land.

It's inspiring to see people banding together to save a life, especially in the face of a natural disaster so extreme it only happens once in 1,000 years.

There really are heroes everywhere. And while this incredible rescue is worth celebrating, it's important to remember these dangerous weather situations are happening more and more often as a result of our changing climate.

Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images.

As such, it's time we use this heroic nature so many of us possess, pool our collective efforts, and pull our planet back from the proverbial precipice.

If these three men were strong enough to save one life from flood-force currents, then surely the rest of us banding together have enough power to turn things around on a global scale too.

working together

'It’s difficult to step out, but in the end, you’re going to be a stronger person.'

Heather McGhee received a rather unusual call from a self-proclaimed racist when she appeared on C-SPAN in August 2016.

McGhee was surprised by Civitello's question, but eager to help.

Little did she know that Civitello would follow each and every suggestion she made to the letter.

Since their on-air meeting, and because of his determination, McGhee and Civitello have formed an unlikely friendship.

Their experience is not the ultimate antidote to racism, but it's a pretty good step in the right direction.

Together, these beachgoers saved the day.

There was no lifeguard on duty at the sunny Florida beach when two young boys suddenly found themselves caught in a dangerous rip current.

No single person could successfully pull off this type of rescue. It took a small army.

This is humanity truly at its best: people going out of their way to help other people because it's the right thing to do.

You can check out a CBS report about the rescue below.

Imagine a place where men and women are treated completely equally.

It might sound too good to be true — but it isn’t.

Nuru founded a community called Awra Amba where equality is the norm.

Tervo, the filmmaker, first traveled to Awra Amba in 2004. It was an experience she couldn’t forget.

Awra Amba is an incredible example of what can happen when we all champion each other.

'By working together, we eliminated that feeling of being an environmental pressure group. Instead we made it normal to talk about energy savings.'

Welcome to Ashton Hayes — the small English town that's casually leading the way toward carbon neutrality.

The idea to make carbon neutrality a community-wide mission was planted by Ashton Hayes resident Garry Charnock, a former journalist and hydrologist.

Members of the community started implementing small changes in their daily lives to promote carbon neutrality, and slowly but surely, their greenhouse emissions have shrunk.

When neighbors started sharing what solutions were working for them, the ideas grew in size and scope. Soon, solar panels began to pop up all over town.

The children of Ashton Hayes are also incredibly involved in the town's work to reduce its carbon footprint.

With Ashton Hayes' efforts proving so effective, other towns have gotten in touch to ask for advice on how to start similar initiatives. Ashton Hayes is only too happy to help.

It all started when the Memphis Islamic Center purchased land across the street from Heartsong Church.

Some members of Heartsong Church were clearly uncomfortable.

Things started to take a turn during the holy month of Ramadan.

The experience brought both communities closer together unlike anything else.

Now the two groups work and socialize together frequently.

Their inspirational friendship serves as an important reminder for all of us.

After years of vacancy, this island is returning to its original 1600s purpose as a farm.

You might recognize Boston's Long Island as the basis for the thriller movie and book "Shutter Island."

In real life, though, the 225-acre Long Island has served a number of interesting purposes over the years.

For nearly 20 years, until 2014, the island even served as the city's largest homeless shelter.

But now, after several years of vacancy, Long Island has returned to its original 1600s purpose as a farm ... with a clever modern twist.

The Hannah Farm project came together fast and furiously.

The farm's first harvest at the end of August 2016 provided nearly 700 pounds of food to over 250 low-income families. And that was just the beginning.

Can a for-profit company do good, help others, and help themselves? Olinto believes it's possible.

Our weather may be getting stronger, but that doesn't mean we're getting weaker.

Over the weekend, Maryland was hit by a historically epic flood. Ellicott City saw over six inches of rain in under two hours.

Jamie Knight was one such driver, who was pulled from her car by a few brave locals acting quickly to form a human chain.

It's inspiring to see people banding together to save a life, especially in the face of a natural disaster so extreme it only happens once in 1,000 years.

Watch the entire awesome rescue below: