Photo: Port of San Diego via Flickr.
1. Pads for Parkinson’s is a nonprofit group that trains dogs to sniff out Parkinson’s Disease. Based in San Juan, the dogs are trained four times a week and live locally with owners and trainers. This nonprofit was formed after a woman in Scotland claimed (and was then verified) that she could smell Parkinson’s disease. Upon hearing the news, the founders of Pads for Parkinson’s knew that if a human could smell Parkinson’s, dogs surely could as well. The hope of the nonprofit is to be able to detect the disease earlier, as well as research what the dogs can smell and use the information to learn more about the degenerative disease.
See more information at: https://www.padsforparkinsons.org
2. The Ocean Cleanup organization recently announced the first collection of plastic for recycling from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. It was collected by their new System 001/B, which uses passive removal techniques to pull garbage away from the patch before rounding it up. This is part of Boyan Slat’s plan to make the patch obsolete within 10 years. Slat has raised millions through crowdfunding and investors. System 001/B will return to the coast to recycle the collected plastic before repeating it’s job.
See more information at: https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/ocean-cleanup-collects-first-plastic-from-great-pacific-garbage-patch/
3. On October 1, a group of young children in Roseville, California were responsible for finding a 97-year-old woman with dementia who had wandered away from home. The woman, Glenetta, lived in their neighborhood and had been reported missing that afternoon. When the children saw the police helicopter searching for the woman, they “wanted to investigate” and soon were on the case. After an hour of assembling other bikers and biking throughout the neighborhood, Glenetta was found unharmed in bushes along Oakcreek Boulevard. When asked why they did it, the children said it just seemed like the “right thing to do.”
See more information at: https://gooddaysacramento.cbslocal.com/2019/10/01/missing-roseville-woman-dementia-kids-find-her/
4. The Veterans Community Project, a nonprofit based in Kansas City, provides healthcare and counseling to local veterans that might otherwise be overlooked. The VCP Center is nestled in a village of over 50 tiny homes that houses once-homeless and returning veterans, all of which are stocked with appliances, linens, pots and pans, and other home amenities. Not only are the tiny homes cost effective, but are also conducive to those coping with PTSD, allowing residents to conduct a perimeter check of their surroundings. Veterans that live in or outside of the community have access to VCP services such as job-hunting assistance, therapy, addiction counseling and countless other amenities. The project is completely donation-funded and has plans to expand to more cities over the next three years.
See more information at: https://people.com/human-interest/hero-group-veterans-community-project-tiny-homes/
https://www.veteranscommunityproject.org/vcpkc
5. The Siesta Key Oyster Bar in Florida is known for the dollar bills it had tacked to the walls, support beams and ceiling. However, employees at the notable establishment have spent the last month gently removing and collecting the decorative cash. Every couple of years, the bar removes the money tacked to the walls and donates it to a local charity. This year the money will be donated to hurricane relief organizations in the Bahamas. Upon hearing the news about the donation, community members began to staple bigger bills to the restaurant. The project will take place until mid-October as the employees work their way across the ceiling, carefully removing staples without ripping the dollar bills, some of which are old and on the edge of crumbling. However, the payoff looks promising, with the current total cresting over $15,000.
See more information at: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/thousands-dollar-bills-florida-bar-s-walls-ceiling-donated-dorian-n1061761
Caroline Helms is a first-year student majoring in English. CH923621@wcupa.edu