Today50 States of Thanks
Thanksgiving 2026
Thanksgiving good news, gathered for November 26. One verified story of gratitude from every state and Washington, D.C.: kindness, neighbors helping neighbors, giving back, veterans, or a thank-you. The page updates with each morning edition, so an open state can fill in through the month. Good news from every state, with a way to help when the story has one.
Gold marks a story that is ready. A white state is still open.
HeroesA local contractor, Owens Corning's Roof Deployment Project, and Purple Heart Homes replaced John Joyce's tree-damaged roof. He had expected to borrow to pay for it.
Verified · FOX10
HeroesBagpipes and a crowd met Last Frontier Honor Flight veterans in Anchorage after a free trip to war memorials in Washington, D.C.
Verified · Alaska's News Source
CommunityMore than 60 volunteers with the San Luis Frontera Rotary Club packed meals at Colibri Supermarket on Saturday morning for the Salvation Army.
Verified · KYMA
CommunityThe seventh annual Spirit of Arkansas Diaper Drive wrapped up a six-week collection with volunteers sorting nearly 80,000 diapers for the Central Arkansas Diaper Bank.
Verified · KATV
HeroesTwo women and 67 men, with service years from 1947 to 2011, returned Wednesday night to a cheering crowd at Fresno Yosemite International Airport.
Verified · FOX26
HeroesFreedom Alliance and U.S. Bank gave Marine veteran Dustin Gabehart, who coaches football at La Junta High, a new car that was already paid off. His children had not been told.
Verified · KRDO
CommunityHouse of Heroes Connecticut and about 15 Johnson Brunetti volunteers painted and fixed Bob Sheffield's Newington house. The 83-year-old usually volunteers with them.
Verified · WFSB
CommunitySaving A Place For You opened a transitional home on South Saulsbury Road. Veterans can stay while they connect with services, and application fees are waived.
Verified · Delaware LIVE
CommunityCapital Yacht Club members and Wharf restaurants served a thank-you lunch to police, firefighters, EMS crews, and National Guard members at the Wharf.
Verified · WTOP
CommunityThe Neighborhood Center of South Lake took delivery of a 2026 refrigerated truck after Central Florida donors covered the cost.
Verified · The Clermont Sun
HeroesRebuilding Together Atlanta and a roofing crew replaced Deborah Scott's leaking roof and took down a failing chimney. The job would usually cost a homeowner close to $30,000.
Verified · Atlanta News First
HeroesKorean War and Vietnam War veterans returned to Honolulu after an all-expenses-paid trip to memorials in Washington. Vietnam veteran Stanley Salangdron traveled with his daughter as guardian.
Verified · Hawaii News Now
HeroesSamantha Lee, 25, left Daytona Beach in March and has raised more than $17,000 for Back on My Feet. People along the road have offered rides, food, and water.
Verified · KREM / Coeur d'Alene Press
HeroesGreater Peoria Honor Flight's fourth trip of 2026 left around 6:45 a.m. on October 20. The day in Washington was free for the veterans, and a public welcome was set for that night at the airport.
Verified · 25News Now
CommunityYoung & Established's weekly giveaway on Vann Avenue is open to anyone in need. Retailers including Walmart and Target donated meat.
Verified · WFIE / 14 News
HeroesVeterans flew from Des Moines to Washington, visited memorials, and came home to a surprise welcome. Gov. Kim Reynolds met two uncles and a cousin, including one celebrating his 77th birthday.
Verified · KCCI
HeroesThe last Kansas Honor Flight of 2026 returned to Wichita on Wednesday. Herb Duncan, who volunteers with the group, still remembers the welcome he received 18 years ago.
Verified · KWCH
CommunityVolunteers at Crescent Hill Baptist Church rearrange flowers donated from weddings, galas, and shops into about 100 vases a week for nursing homes, a VA hospice, and shelters. They have passed 90,000 vases since 2006.
Verified · WTOC (Aging Untold)
CommunityClearing Chloe Historic Cemetery uncovered family plots, the founder's long-lost great-grandmother, and cousins who had not known they were related.
Verified · KPLC
HeroesEvan Hunter, his mother, and 27 volunteers spent Saturday writing thank-you notes to veterans. They have held the card-writing day every year since 2020.
Verified · FOX Bangor
CommunityChristina Allen founded Maryland's first Cycling Without Age chapter and rides about 2,000 miles a year, taking people to the market, the trail, or out with their grandchildren.
Verified · Southern Maryland Chronicle
CommunityWCVB gave its first public-service award in Karen Holmes Ward's name to a nonprofit that has spent 35 years repairing homes for seniors, veterans, and families.
Verified · WCVB
CommunityVolunteer Valerie Atkinson is in her ninth year knitting Halloween costumes for babies at Henry Ford Hospital, with help from Knit-Picky & Hooked and the Monroe Center for Healthy Aging. Families keep them.
Verified · WILX
CommunityThe Ottertail Lions Club spent about a year collecting 1,000 pounds of plastic film for Trex's recycling program and gave the resulting bench to the Fergus Falls Veterans Home, its third bench through that partnership.
Verified · Perham Focus
CommunityThe National Storm Chasers Society and Oz Saferooms installed Mississippi's first Oz shelter at Brad Nicholson's home in Rolling Fork and a second one at a local church.
Verified · WLBT
HeroesKorean War and Vietnam War veterans from Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma left Springfield before dawn. Army veteran Jerry Parks said he had not expected the trip.
Verified · KOLR
CommunityErnest Doty and AJ Tiam finished a mural of more than 6,000 square feet on the Clark Fork Riverside building, now the tallest in Missoula.
Verified · NBC Montana
CommunityFirst National Bank of Omaha gave the money to Honor Homes at Patty's Place. The Connection said it will pay for electrical work and restart four homes that had been waiting on funds.
Verified · KNOP
HeroesRebuilding Together Northern Nevada and Lowe's gave Army and Air Force veteran Floyd Payton a working oven, a new porch, lighting, and smoke detectors.
Verified · KOLO 8
HeroesKorean War and Vietnam War veterans gathered at Manchester-Boston Regional Airport on May 31 for a free flight to Washington. The send-off put the chapter past 2,600 veterans flown.
Verified · WMUR
CommunityElise Asay, Cole Marshall, and Nicole Zenchak ran an August bag drive and delivered the food to the Food Bank Network of Somerset County.
Verified · Patch
CommunityAgri-Cultura Network opened Raices Sagradas Community Farm on 9,000 square feet that used to be an illegal dump, with solar power, greenhouses, pollinator habitat, and a native seed program.
Verified · KUNM
HeroesHonor Flight Rochester's Mission 99 brought veterans from several eras back from the memorials in Washington. One Air Force veteran flew with his son as guardian.
Verified · News10NBC
AnimalsCanines for Service paired Patrick Walker with Basil and Anne Leanos with Bogey at a ceremony on the battleship North Carolina. Each dog is trained for one veteran and given at no cost.
Verified · WECT
CommunityVolunteers turn donated flowers into bouquets for memory-care residents, recovery centers, and cancer treatment centers. A Caters Taters fundraiser is backing a rural expansion.
Verified · KVRR
HeroesOfficer Elizabeth Mote took over after a neighbor started chest compressions on a 1-year-old who was not breathing. The child coughed, went to the hospital, and later made a full recovery.
Verified · WHIO
HeroesA patient's family nominated Integris housekeeper Anita Martin for KFOR's Pay It 4Ward. She received the award on her floor, along with a $400 gift.
Verified · KFOR
CommunityFoster children can shop for free up to three times a year and leave with a week's wardrobe. The nonprofit's new Albina District hub is also running a Sock-tober drive for more than 18,000 pairs of socks.
Verified · PDX Parent
HeroesBurns and Scalo Roofing replaced Mike Seybert's roof, more than 30 years old, through its Roofs for the Red, White and Blue program. He said he had not been sure the offer was real.
Verified · WTAE
CommunityMike Castelli, 25, hand-delivered invitations to his Halloween display. Neighbors turned out, met for the first time, and donated to his Special Olympics team.
Verified · NBC 10 WJAR
CommunityVolunteers at the county library mended lamps, fans, clocks, and a Roomba bought for $20. The cafe will return every other month.
Verified · Live 5 News (WCSC)
CommunityThe Veterans Community Project village is finished after five years. One of its newest residents is an 80-year-old who had been without a home for 11 years.
Verified · SDPB
HeroesDream Flights gave three residents of Beò of Chattanooga free rides in a restored biplane. Air Force veteran Joe DePrimo, 79, flew after a stroke that left him paralyzed on one side.
Verified · NewsChannel 9 (WTVC)
HeroesFifteen veterans from the Longview area and fifteen from Tulsa returned from a trip Brookshire Grocery Company paid for. Families filled East Texas Regional Airport on Wednesday night.
Verified · Longview News-Journal
CommunityMountaineer Jenn Drummond launched a statewide gratitude drive through November. Her first two card-writing parties, in Salt Lake City and Park City, produced nearly 700 notes in a day.
Verified · KSL.com
CommunitySleep in Heavenly Peace's Chittenden County chapter spent Friday assembling new beds in local homes so children no longer sleep on floors or couches.
Verified · WPTZ
CommunityRebuilding Together Richmond and more than 100 volunteers rebuilt porches, steps, and safer entries for older homeowners on fixed incomes in Petersburg.
Verified · WTVR CBS 6
HeroesInland Northwest Honor Flight took veterans from the Spokane area to Washington at no cost. They spent a day at the memorials, rested, and flew back the next day.
Verified · KHQ
CommunityThe state's largest free clinic offered eye exams and glasses, 21 mammograms, 56 flu shots, 57 prescriptions, and 225 meals, with no questions about income or insurance.
Verified · West Virginia Public Broadcasting
CommunityBay-Lakes Council scouts will hang collection bags on October 10 and pick them up on October 17 for more than 80 local pantries.
Verified · WBAY
CommunityMelody Rupple's TrekAbility lends all-terrain gear for free. Joe Stone's Unified Dirt is adding joystick trail chairs for Grand Teton and checking trails so they can be made accessible.
Verified · Cowboy State Daily