Listen, I get it. When you listen to the news on a daily basis it can seem like…well, the world is going to crap.

I’m an eternal optimist, but I’d be lying if there weren’t many moments this last year that I didn’t want to hide from humanity in general. It’s very easy to start to feel like you are on a really bad game of The Price is Right and behind every door is just another global disaster.

The truth is that’s not true. On micro and macro levels there are good people doing good things every day. We just don’t hear about them as often. Which is sad because they are just as important if not more then the bad stories we hear repeatedly. They remind us that we too can do amazing things to make the world a bit better every day.

Good News Stories of 2018

So for our first blog post of 2019, I want to recap all the GOOD news stories of 2018. I hope you join in and share your favorite good news stories in the comments below or our Spin Sucks Community.

And let’s make it OUR responsibility to be characters in many more good news stories in the year ahead.

My Birthday (And Other Good News in January)

I mean, I was born in January, so if that wasn’t good news enough…I don’t know what is?

But some other awesome things just added to the celebration of our 2018 kick-off month.

• Atlas, the service dog, meets his idol, Pluto, at Disney World.
  
• Alzheimer’s can steal a lot from its victims, but it can’t steal love. This couple renews their vows…but it feels like the first time. (This is good news about good people, but man…did I bawl my eyes out reading this story.)
• This toddler meets the 24 people who saved her life.

Gini’s Birthday (And Other Good News In February)

Gini was born this month, so that’s also good enough news to last the entire month. Amazingly, other awesome good news stories happened too.

• This 79-year old learned to drive so he could chauffer his ill wife to the hospital and doctor’s appointments.
• The Puppy Bowl. Enough said.
• Childhood friends, on different sides of the WWII dividing lines, reunite after 70 years.

March Showers Bring Good News Flowers

Man, I love that subhead. Almost as much as I love our March good news stories. (And I know that saying goes with April, whatever…it’s my blog post.)

• This amateur astronomer witnessed the birth of a supernova. (I saw a cow being born once and was pretty pumped about that….but yeah, a supernova….Doesn’t moo, but still pretty cool.)
• A family donates acres of forest land to a non-profit. This is actually my dream. I want to be able to set up a hiking trail system for people to hike and enjoy nature for years after I’m no longer around to do it myself. So this one really hit home.
• College basketball star preserves the record of a fallen player. Because some things are more important than a school record.

Reunions, Baseball Heroes, and Flight Filled April with Good News

Good news was springing up everywhere! “Springing up!” Spring, get it? (I’ve got more of these folks, don’t worry.)

• Thanks to an amazing nurse, this cancer patient got his dying wish: to fly a plane!
• Kidnapped 24 years ago, this family finally reunites with their daughter.
• 71 years ago (as of April 2018), Jackie Robinson broke baseball’s color barrier to become the first black player on any Major League Baseball team. Every year on this day he is across the nation with every major league player wearing a #42 jersey.

May The Good News Be With You 

People are exceptionally resilient and remarkable. May’s good news stories prove that.

• This first grader took it upon himself to make sure his elderly neighbor was safe and healthy.
• Six decades of blood donation means that this 81-year-old donor has saved more than 2.4 million (and he’s scared of needles). What’s your excuse?
• Summiting Mt. Everest is quite the accomplishment for anyone…including this double amputee!

Raccoons and Flamingos Living Their Best Lives in June

A world where raccoons think they are superheroes, Flamingos jailbreak from zoos, and 99-year-olds try to save the world is a world I want to live in.

• This raccoon thought he was Spiderman.
• This rockstar of a 99-year old sewed dresses to help orphans in Puerto Rico. #99yearoldGOALS
• This Flamingo is living the good life in Texas after fleeing the zoo 13 years ago.

Celebrate Your Independence From Pessimism in July

July is a month of fireworks and freedom in American. Let’s appreciate that freedom by making the world a better place.

• This beautiful coral reef is taken off the endangered list.
• I love this story because it shows that progress and innovation can save our environment, not just destroy it. Scientists use LED lights to save seabirds and turtles from fishing nets.
• These first responders saved a man’s life and then came back to fix his yard.

Happy Notes for August

If we all left notes of inspiration around for each other like the middle schoolers below the world would have to be a kinder place, right? Let’s try it.

• Middle school can be hard….really hard. Heck, it was hard when I was a kid, I’m not sure I could deal in today’s world. So when these middle schoolers in Tennessee left notes of encouragement around the school campus, it mattered.
• The Miami Hurricanes (as an SEC girl it makes me sad to have to say something nice about them) became the first team to wear uniforms made entirely of recycled ocean waste.
• I’m a huge environmentalist. One thing I think the environmental movement struggles with is it all seems so overwhelming. People feel like the problem is so big they can’t make a difference in their day to day without some major, ground-breaking, expensive action. And that’s not true. So I love stories of people, like this man, who created a forest larger than Central Park by planting one tree a year for 35 years.

Back-To-School with September Good News

A textbook month of good news.

• This story is amazing. This man, who has put up for adoption by his high school sweetheart parents 36 years ago, tracked them both down, reunited them, and then officiated their wedding once they fell back in love.
• The diminished tiger population in Nepal is increasing back to healthy levels.
• A Wisconsin man spends every day taking cat naps with cats at a local rescue.

You’ll Fall Hard for These October Good News Stories

You’d think I’d run out of cheesy lines by the time we got to October, but no friends….not even close.

• I love so much about this story. A custom wheelchair made of legos helps an injured turtle get back on the road.
• As humans, we are amazing. We can accomplish anything we put our minds too and have this incredible ability to overcome setback, hardship, and failure. Stories like this are a symbol of the infinite power we have when we make a choice to grab it. An injured Army vet climbs Mt. Kilimanjaro.
• Not just books. This NYC public library helps job seekers by checking out clothes to help them make a good first impression at interviews.

Be Grateful for These Good News Stories in November

Always so much to be grateful for in November, including these stories.

• Thanks to the Montreal Protocol, signed by 180 countries in the 1980s with a commitment to phase out the use of CFCs, the ozone is repairing itself.
• An awesome example of how community art brings people together in Houston.
• This hiker played trail mom and saved another hiker’s life.

Deck the Halls with December Good News

Fa la la la la, la la la la

• In the past, when a food shipment was rejected by a grocery store it went directly to a landfill. A new program allows truckers to donate it to charity instead.
• This man used the cast on his broken arm to rescue his elderly neighbor from their burning home.
• This retired paramedic spent savings on overdose prevention kits, which have already saved close to a 100 lives.

Your Turn!

What are your favorite good news stories of 2018?