This grandma heard kids would be going lunch-less. So she went to a pub and cooked up a storm.

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This grandma heard kids would be going lunch-less. So she went to a pub and cooked up a storm.

True

Phyllis Shaughnessy was dismayed when she learned the local meal program for low-income students would be cut for the summer.

Shaughnessy is a retired postmaster and a part-time substitute teacher in Copalis Beach, Washington. From her experience working with children, she would know that there are 15,000 kids and teens living below the poverty line in Grays Harbor County, where her town is located.

During the school year, low-income students can get their lunches through free or discounted meal programs at school.

But this year, the North Beach School District was forced to cut summer meals when the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) made a change to their grant requiring the meals be served in a single location — a nearly impossible task in a region with a spread out rural population.

Realizing that local low-income families couldn't afford to fill this gap, Shaughnessy decided to fill the gap herself.

Shaughnessy acquired a caterer's license and began bringing lunches to kids who were affected by the summer lunch program cut. She called the program "Green Lantern Lunches" after Green Lantern Pub in Copalis Beach, whose owners offered the pub's kitchen to prepare meals.

The pub does other cool stuff too, like host Harley-Davidson weekends:

Maybe they could deliver lunches? Green Lantern Pub/Facebook, used with permission.

Every morning, Shaughnessy and a handful of volunteers delivered lunches to more than 200 low-income children. 90 of those lunches were delivered by Shaughnessy herself.

Parents told reporters for USA Today how much their children enjoy seeing Shaughnessy each morning. The kids have come to anticipate the sight of her navy blue car with the custom-made "Green Lantern Lunches" signs on its doors.

All GIFS via USA Today/YouTube.

In USA Today's video, Shaughnessy says she doesn't just do it to give the children food, she does it for the human connection it brings, for "love and hope".

"They need to know that somebody cares," she says.

As of August, Shaughnessy and other volunteers reported delivering 6,851 meals. A recent feature on the show "The Real" put an updated estimate at 10,000 meals. That's amazing.

The program is now looking to purchase school supplies and provide the kids with meals on weekends and holidays.

They have set up a GoFundMe page to raise funds to keep their awesome program going.

I'm from Seattle and my mom and I have taken trips to Copalis Beach since I was a little kid. I remember driving past Green Lantern Tavern with its vibrant green walls and trim (and finally going in for a drink after I'd turned 21). This area gave me a lot of happy memories, and I wish its residents all the best.

Cheers to Phyllis Shaughnessy and her team, for all the happy memories you're giving to your community's kids.

You can check out this video for more on Green Lantern Lunches:

P&G Good Everyday

Let's Do More Together

Husband-wife pastor team built a network of support across Houston

Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash

True

Glenda moved to Houston from Ohio just before the pandemic hit. She didn't know that COVID-19-related delays would make it difficult to get her Texas driver's license and apply for unemployment benefits. She quickly found herself in an impossible situation — stranded in a strange place without money for food, gas, or a job to provide what she needed.

Alone, hungry, and scared, Glenda dialed 2-1-1 for help. The person on the other end of the line directed her to the Houston-based nonprofit Bread of Life, founded by St. John's United Methodist pastors Rudy and Juanita Rasmus.

For nearly 30 years, Bread of Life has been at the forefront of HIV/AIDS prevention, eliminating food insecurity, providing permanent housing to formerly homeless individuals and disaster relief.

Glenda sat in her car for 20 minutes outside of the building, trying to muster up the courage to get out and ask for help. She'd never been in this situation before, and she was terrified.

When she finally got out, she encountered Eva Thibaudeau, who happened to be walking down the street at the exact same time. Thibaudeau is the CEO of Temenos CDC, a nonprofit multi-unit housing development also founded by the Rasmuses, with a mission to serve Midtown Houston's homeless population.

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Clip of Biden comforting the son of a Parkland school shooting victim has Americans in tears

Michelle Kinney/Twitter

Empathy. Compassion. Heart-to-heart human connection. These qualities of leadership may not be flashy or loud, but they speak volumes when we see them in action.

A clip of Joe Biden is going viral because it reminds us what that kind of leadership looks like. The video shows a key moment at a memorial service for Chris Hixon, the athletic director at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida in 2018. Hixon had attempted to disarm the gunman who went on a shooting spree at the school, killing 17 people—including Hixon—and injuring 17 more.

Biden asked who Hixon's parents were as the clip begins, and is directed to his right. Hixon's wife introduces herself, and Biden says, "God love you." As he starts to walk away, a voice off-camera says something and Biden immediately turns around. The voice came from Hixon's son, Corey, and the moments that followed are what have people feeling all their feelings.

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P&G Good Everyday

Let's Do More Together

Husband-wife pastor team built a network of support across Houston

Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash

True

For nearly 30 years, Bread of Life has been at the forefront of HIV/AIDS prevention, eliminating food insecurity, providing permanent housing to formerly homeless individuals and disaster relief.

Glenda sat in her car for 20 minutes outside of the building, trying to muster up the courage to get out and ask for help. She'd never been in this situation before, and she was terrified.

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covid-19

popular

Merriam-Webster's 'Time Traveler' reveals what new words appeared the year you were born

The English language is constantly evolving, and the faster the world changes, the faster our vocabulary changes. Some of us grew up in an age when a "wireless router" would have been assumed to be a power tool, not a way to get your laptop (which wasn't a thing when I was a kid) connected to the internet (which also wasn't a thing when I was a kid, at least not in people's homes).

It's interesting to step back and look at how much has changed just in our own lifetimes, which is why Merriam-Webster's Time Traveler tool is so fun to play with. All you do is choose a year, and it tells you what words first appeared in print that year.

For my birth year, the words "adult-onset diabetes," "playdate," and "ATM" showed up in print for the first time, and yes, that makes me feel ridiculously old.

It's also fun to plug in the years of different people's births to see how their generational differences might impact their perspectives. For example, let's take the birth years of the oldest and youngest members of Congress:

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