Five Local Feel Good Stories For Your Friday

As time goes by and I get older and a little wiser through experiences, I have come to realize how many selfish and bad people are in the world - but when I need some positive perspective again I look to stories like these to show that there is so much good out there too. Below you will find four stories from Idaho and one from Utah showing the love, compassion and graciousness of people helping people over the last year or two.

Caldwell Officer is Helps Caldwell Teen in Special Way

A teenage student at Caldwell Highschool had a couple of bad days in a row that ended with his bike stolen at the high school. -Shame whoever did that!- The teenage boy then while at wrestling practice suffered an injury to his leg or foot. The injury happened just after having his bike stolen so he was forced to walk, quite a ways, home after school. As he was limping home, poor guy, Caldwell police officer Defur stopped to see if he could help and gave the boy a ride home. According to Idaho News Channel 2, "Defur reached out to Ross Garvin with the Canyon Bike Project and asked if there were any spare bicycles for the teen. The officer told the teen's father about the bike and ended up scheduling the bike delivery earlier this month." The teen ended up receiving a fantastic new bike thanks to the officer and the amazing work and contributions done through the Canyon Bike Project. "They rehab hundreds of bikes and give them to kids who need or want them, free of charge."

Idaho Man Donates Bone Marrow 11 Years After Testing for Match

An Idaho man named Andrew from Driggs did a cheek swab in 2010 to have his DNA put into a database. He registered with a company called Be The Match. Over a decade later, when it probably isn't even in his mind anymore he gets a call from St. Luke's in Boise. There is a DNA match for a Idahoan in need and Andrew did the painful process of donating bone marrow to help the individual in need. Be The Match has been around for over 30 years. Donors from around the country are DNA matched with patients who need healthy bone marrow. If you feel compelled to be in the registry it is a simple cheek swab to get started and you could end up saving a live down the line. Heck, you may not get a call for 11 years like Andrew. Find out more here

Idaho Couple Leaves $2,400 Tip to Single Mom Waitress

There is an Idaho couple, Michael and Kelly Wolsten who were out eating dinner at Pho Le 1 in Coeur d'Alene. The couple, as many do, started chatting with their waitress. After some friendly conversation the waitress reveled that she was working 3 jobs and was a single mother. She was doing what she needed to in order to provide for her three cuties and to make sure they were going to have a wonderful Christmas. The Waitress wasn't saying it at all in a woes me type of fashion. It was simply conversation. Her kindness, sweet nature and dedication to do whatever it took to create a happy life for her youngsters touched the Wolstens. They left her a good tip and the waitress was over the moon gracious. But they weren't done yet.... That still wasn't quite enough for Michael and Kelly, who after getting home decided to post about it on facebook asking their friends to contribute if they were able to help this mother and her little family out. Dozens of contributions came in along with kind messages of cheer, joy and encouragement. In total the waitress got a $2,400 tip and over a 100 messages to the single mother. "We just wanted to bless you, and over 100 people wanted to bless you," Kelly Wolsten told the woman in a video.

Boise Boy's FREE Flower Project

Two amazing and adorable little boys here in Boise that are getting some national kudos for being so giving, thoughtful and fantastic. Max and Miles Adams are 9 year old twins. The boys love all of the beautiful flowers that their mom has in their backyard and the little sweeties wanted to spread some love, joy and color to the Treasure Valley. They call it the "Free Flower Project" and after months of hard work, dedication and delivering smiles to total strangers, they received quite the national award. The Adams family entered the “Free Flower Project” into the national A World of Joy contest in September, put on by Cost Plus World Market and they won! Not just notoriety either but a hefty prize of $25,000 for their “acts of service and kindness." According to Idaho Channel 7, Max and Miles and their mom are using the money to purchase a bigger garden so they can hand out even more free bouquets.

Utah Community Surprises 89-Year-Old Pizza Delivery Man with $12,000 Tip

89-year-old Derlin Newey is a pizza delivery driver in Utah. At 89 the man is kind, friendly and just trying to make ends meat by delivering pizza and smiles to customers. He was working about 30 hours a week and had no idea that one delivery would changes his life. One afternoon Derlin delivered to a home he had never been to before. He had no idea that the family he was bringing pizza and smiles to were Tik Tok stars with a big following. What seemed like the start of a simple money for pizza exchange turned into a heartwarming, friendly conversation that Derlin didn't realize was being recorded. The Tik Tok stars (@vendingheads) adored the man and his kindness and felt compelled to share his story. They posted the video of the interaction online and it went viral. People fell in love with Derlin and wanted to know how they could help. The couple created a Venmo account exclusively for Derlin - he had no idea. Just in the first day it earned about $900. They let it keep rolling and it got up to $12,000. Most people were only donating from $1 to $5 with a few $10 and $15s in there. Thousands of people donated. When they presented the money to the kind man at his home, his initial shocked reaction was "no. How Come? Why Would you do such a thing?" Then the video shows him getting emotional "My gosh. I don't believe this." Hugs, love and appreciation filled the home and sweet Derlin now only has to deliver when he wants to.