Good news for World Kindness Day.

About 280 neighbors passed 7,400 books down an Ottawa sidewalk

Volunteers formed two lines on Wellington Street West and moved The Spaniel's Tale, book by book, into a shop more than twice as big.

Neighbors handed a pangolin and a rare turtle back to the My Son forest

On October 27, rangers released a 4-kilogram giant Asian pond turtle and a pangolin into the protected forest after residents brought the animals in.

Three Saint-Brieuc bookshops are collecting children's books for Christmas

Until November 20, shoppers can buy an extra book and leave it for Secours populaire. Last year the three shops collected 70.

Three friends found a lost wedding ring and flew it home to Ireland

After nine days of searching an unnamed Italian mountain stream, the finders dressed as hobbits and handed the ring back in Ireland.

Ilkley volunteers are keeping 39 neighbors company

Ilkley & District Good Neighbours has 35 befriending volunteers who phone, visit, and help with shopping in Ilkley, Addingham, and Burley-in-Wharfedale. A local bakery is sending them treats for National Befriending Week.

A boater rowed out and brought a tired wallaby back from the sea

Matt Smith was on a visiting yacht at the Portland marina on Friday when seagulls led him to a wallaby swimming more than 100 metres offshore.

Ofunato put a shrine on a fishing boat for the first time in 16 years

Niiyama Shrine's autumn festival, paused since the 2011 tsunami, sent a mikoshi around Okirai Bay. Neighbors answered with dances they had practiced for months.

New Zealand towns honored people who helped young neighbors find work

At awards in Rotorua, a Whanganui orchard job that was extended four times sat beside a Hawke's Bay champion and a young security worker from Greymouth.

Copenhagen volunteers keep city hives and sometimes give the honey away

Bybi tends 80 to 100 colonies on roofs across Copenhagen and jars four to six tonnes of honey a year. Some of it is given away, with a request to share it and plant a flower.

A neighbor in Bauang moved a 110-egg olive ridley nest into a hatchery

Steve Llabaya saw tracks on the sand before dawn on October 24 and called the barangay captain. The nest is now in a hatchery, with hatchlings hoped for around Christmas Eve.

Pikine opened a city mediatheque paid for from its own budget

Senegal's state news agency reported that the Dakar suburb inaugurated the building on October 21, at a cost of 600 million CFA francs.

Jersey's red squirrels are thriving without a grey squirrel on the island

With no grey squirrels to bring squirrelpox, the island's introduced reds are widespread, legally protected, and watched over by neighbors with feeders and rope bridges.

Multan opened a seed library so neighbors can grow trees at home

The city's horticulture agency stocked free seed of local trees at Eidgah Park Triangle and handed packets out on opening day.

Kingston libraries will lend vegetable seeds as well as books

Seed Library Jamaica opened at the Kingston and St. Andrew Parish Library so people can borrow food seeds, grow them, and bring some back.

A nature library of books and seeds opened in Palermo

The Biblioteca della Natura at Terra Franca lends illustrated books on nature and permaculture, and its opening included seed bombs for a neighborhood garden.

The Tampon campus library opened a cabinet of free seeds

The University of Reunion said anyone may take seeds, grow them, and bring a new batch back, from a cabinet built with recycled materials.

A cocoa farmer on the Atewa hills is growing the crop under trees

Susana Afrifa Ankrah plants African mahogany among her cocoa, uses compost instead of clearing and burning, and says the plants do better in the shade.

Women in Uttarakhand are still keeping native bees in the walls

In the Kumaon hills, household wall cavities still shelter Indian honey bees, and the women who tend those hives are the reason many colonies remain.

Katlehong Primary opened the 100th library in a long reading project

A literacy partnership handed the school in Gauteng its library on October 27. The project says it now reaches about 125,000 learners a day.

211 Kenyan university students received tuition help and a laptop

I&M Foundation and Help Change Lives handed over laptops in Nairobi for scholars at 39 public universities.

Troy football players brought new shoes to Goshen Elementary students

For the second year, the Troy Trojans partnered with Lids and the nonprofit Shoes That Fit to give Goshen Elementary students new shoes and hats.

Alaska veterans come home to a welcome from Honor Flight

Bagpipes and a crowd met Last Frontier Honor Flight veterans in Anchorage after a free trip to war memorials in Washington, D.C.

A Maricopa 18-year-old gave a stranger the shoes off his feet

Jordan Hope handed his own slides to an older man whose shoes were falling apart, bought him candy, and has checked on him every day since.

A Little Rock diaper drive collects nearly 80,000 diapers

The 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.

69 veterans came home to Fresno from the 36th Honor Flight

Two women and 67 men, with service years from 1947 to 2011, returned Wednesday night to a cheering crowd at Fresno Yosemite International Airport.

Arvada volunteers gave 450 hours to 14 local nonprofits

About 150 people painted a pediatric clinic, restocked a children's pantry, and got a family nonprofit ready for winter. It was the chamber's biggest Day of Service yet.

Connecticut Children's brings reverse trick-or-treating to patient rooms

About 70 staff members in costume at Connecticut Children's in Hartford carried treats to roughly 100 patient rooms so children could take part without leaving the hospital.

More than 1,200 Delaware volunteers hauled 21,000 pieces of trash off the coast

DNREC's 39th Coastal Cleanup, including Cape Henlopen State Park, pulled more than 3,800 pounds of litter a week before a nor'easter.

A half-acre farm in LeDroit Park lets neighbors pay what they can for fresh food

Common Good City Farm grows about 4,500 pounds of produce a year and turns no one away, saving customers about $20,000 last year.

A Tallahassee student has donated 2,000 stuffed animals

Kinsley Locke, a sophomore at North Florida Christian School, marked a decade of giving plush toys to local fire departments and is now sending them to children in foster care.

A Valdosta 10-year-old raised $400 selling bracelets

Graham Haskin made bracelets, raised $400 in two weeks, and bought food, water, and supplies for LAMP, which serves people experiencing homelessness.

Girl Scouts of Hawaii launched a career program for teen girls

The Girls In program gives high school Girl Scouts 8 to 10 weeks of workplace visits, skills training, and internship connections in health care, finance, real estate, and construction.

A Coeur d'Alene fifth grader gave her $500 trivia prize to cover classmates' lunches

Leah Weber, 10, won an Idaho Lottery contest at a University of Idaho game and donated all of it to Fernan STEM Academy for school lunch.

4-H kids deliver harvest thank-yous to grain elevator crews

Kendall County 4-H members packed bags with water, snacks, baked goods, and a note, then handed them to people working the grain elevators.

Coats for Kids turns 40 with more than 5,700 warm coats

The Salvation Army, Classic Cleaners, and WTHR handed out coats at the State Fairgrounds with no registration required. The program has passed 120,000 coats.

A fifth grader's call helps save her Cedar Rapids bus driver

When driver Christine Houston could not catch her breath on the ride home from Viola Gibson Elementary, fifth grader Bella Scott called her dad. He boarded the bus, called 911, and helped the children stay calm.

Neighbors tarped a Wyandotte County roof after a televised plea

A silver maple fell through Gilbert Kirk's roof and trapped him and his dog for hours. After he asked on television for a tarp, neighbors covered the hole. They did not rebuild the house.

Louisville got its first public, unlocked defibrillator

Karen Sheets-Mobley won a Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation contest to put a public-access AED on Bardstown Road after her husband made a full recovery.

Coats, hoodies, and blankets go out across central Louisiana

ReEntry Solutions in Alexandria gave away coats, hoodies, and blankets before the coldest weather, to anyone who needed them.

Bangor Floral handed out free flowers so strangers could pass one on

For the fifth year, florists in West Market Square gave people two flowers each, one to keep and one to give away, joining more than 700 shops nationwide in Petal It Forward.

Frederick hosted its first Capital Region Honor Flight to the memorials

The Veteran Services Center at Goodwill sent local veterans to Washington at no charge. Four of them placed a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

An Acton church's free Wednesday supper has passed 65,000 meals

Mount Calvary Lutheran Church has served more than 65,000 free community meals since 2012, about 110 every Wednesday, with a rotating crew of 20 to 30 volunteers cooking and serving.

Laundromat Love paid for everyone's laundry in Metro Detroit

Volunteers walk into laundromats, cover every load, and hand out hygiene kits. The visits are built around smiles and a chance to talk.

Hastings named a five-year-old its official greeter

Harvey Wetterlund's daily walks to say hello at the fire station, police station, and downtown shops earned him a key to the city.

Aberdeen barbers give about 100 free haircuts over fall break

Barbers of Aberdeen spent their break cutting students' hair so they would head back to class feeling looked after.

A neighbor donated two defibrillators in Schuyler County

Dave Irvin gave two AEDs and the cabinets to hang them in. They are mounted at Cousins Cafe and Coffee and at Lancaster Senior Housing.

Flathead Valley's Great Fish Challenge raises a record $10.8 million

The Whitefish Community Foundation's drive brought in 34 percent more than last year for 89 local nonprofits, including a record $1.7 million in matching gifts.

A Husker fan meets the people who restarted his heart at Memorial Stadium

Wayne Howell collapsed at the September 5 game in Lincoln. Bystander CPR, Red Cross volunteers with an AED, and Lincoln Fire and Rescue revived him, and he met them again.

161 volunteers turned an east Las Vegas school garden into an outdoor classroom

Students, parents, and neighbors at Mendoza Elementary spread 44 tons of donated rock, built benches, painted a dinosaur mural, and laid a River of Kindness of painted stones.

A car wash attendant's window doodles became the highlight of a boy's week

Ben Pineiro draws Mickey and Minnie on car windows at ScrubaDub in Salem. For five-year-old Liam, who has autism, that made the car wash the family's favorite outing.

Three Ridge High students collected 3,200 pounds of food in Basking Ridge's first Foodstock

Elise Asay, Cole Marshall, and Nicole Zenchak ran an August bag drive and delivered the food to the Food Bank Network of Somerset County.

City buses took 32 Albuquerque veterans to the airport for an Honor Flight

ABQ RIDE carried veterans of World War II, Korea, and Vietnam to the Sunport. KOB reported a police escort and that Interstate 25 was shut down for the trip.

A teen who survived cancer is packing activity kits for kids in the hospital

Sammy Wechter, 17 and cancer-free for about 11 years, co-founded A Spark to Inspire. The kits hold crafts, books, and games for children in long hospital stays.

A second grader rubs a genie lamp and her mom appears

Isabella Myers rubbed a lamp in the office at David J. Jones Elementary, and her mother, servicemember Quiana Quiros, walked in.

Thea swam with turtles, then her family gathered 300 toys

Thea, a second grader in Beulah who has been cancer-free for nearly five years, used a Make-A-Wish trip to swim with turtles. Her family has since collected 300 toys for the Roger Maris Cancer Center.

Shelter dog Donny goes home after 426 days

Cincinnati Animal CARE's longest-waiting dog was adopted after a stranger paid his fee and others added a crate, a collar, and money for training.

A hospital housekeeper's kindness earned a surprise thank-you

A 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.

Project Lemonade lets Portland foster youth pick out their own clothes

Foster 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.

A homecoming king gave his crown to a classmate with Down syndrome

Moments after being crowned at a pep rally, Keny Cedanio Ramirez handed his crown and sash to his friend Axton Kuhl, making him Mahanoy Area's homecoming king.

A Hope man invited the whole street to his Pumpkin Spectacular

Mike Castelli, 25, hand-delivered invitations to his Halloween display. Neighbors turned out, met for the first time, and donated to his Special Olympics team.

Greer Soup Kitchen receives $2,000 for holiday meals

FOX Carolina's Surprise Squad and United Community gave Greer Soup Kitchen $2,000 as it prepares holiday meals. The kitchen serves hot food every day of the year, and more than 100 people come through daily.

A Sioux Falls vet's Saturday table hands out food, coffee, and toiletries

Veterinarian Lisa Coder started Feed Sioux Falls last November after worrying about families going hungry. The Heritage Park giveaway began with coffee and grew to sandwiches, toiletries, and more.

Volunteers donated more than $600,000 in work to expand Gallatin's Shalom Zone

DPR Construction and trade partners renovated a closed wing of the old Union High School, adding a computer lab, a robotics room, and a game room.

A North Side grad's Linking Hearts keeps Fort Worth families supplied

Natalie Martinez's nonprofit hands out backpacks, clothes, prom attire, and holiday toys without an income test. This year's back-to-school event alone included 375 backpacks.

Coats, costumes, and cocoa for more than 500 Taylorsville families

The Family Support Center gave out free winter coats and Halloween costumes for children from newborns to teens, and plans another costume giveaway on October 21.

Eighth graders in Manchester handed out dahlias and handwritten notes

Maple Street School students made bouquets from Fleur Farm and gave them, with personal notes, to employees and shoppers at Shaw's.

A weedy Roanoke alley is now a certified Monarch Waystation

Jean Quade turned a weedy back lot on Avenel Avenue into pollinator habitat large enough to be certified as a Monarch Waystation. Neighbors who had not met before now garden there together.

A Seattle teen found a hidden message in a stranger's paper crane

Rika Matsuda kept an origami crane a man folded for her in Japan when she was 7. Ten years later, an English assignment led her to unfold it.

Kids flip trick-or-treating and hand candy back to their town

Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Bluefield members dressed up and delivered candy to downtown shops as a thank-you, instead of collecting it.

Northeast Wisconsin scouts are lining up a 38th food drive

Bay-Lakes Council scouts will hang collection bags on October 10 and pick them up on October 17 for more than 80 local pantries.

A ranch family throws a 100-square-mile block party

The Double Rafter Ranch near Parkman hosted neighbors from across sparse ranch country for a potluck and a kids' rodeo, with horses welcome and extras to borrow.

A Coeur d'Alene fifth grader gave her $500 trivia prize to cover classmates' lunches

Leah Weber, 10, won an Idaho Lottery contest at a University of Idaho game and donated all of it to Fernan STEM Academy for school lunch.

Read aloudLeah Weber, a 10-year-old in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, won $500 at a football game by answering a potato-themed trivia question, with the crowd helping. She did not know her class would be surprised with the check. She had already decided to give all of it to her school so families who cannot afford lunch can still eat. She had written the principal to say that was the plan. She told the paper she has a friend without much money and does not want anyone to miss lunch. Her classmates applauded.

A Tallahassee student has donated 2,000 stuffed animals

Kinsley Locke, a sophomore at North Florida Christian School, marked a decade of giving plush toys to local fire departments and is now sending them to children in foster care.

Read aloudKinsley Locke, a sophomore in Tallahassee, Florida, has spent about ten years collecting stuffed animals and giving them to fire departments in her county. She has now passed 2,000 donations, a project she calls Kinsley's Cuddles for Kids. She is widening the giving to children in foster care, and she hopes to donate another 1,000 stuffed animals this year. Firefighters often keep a plush toy for a child at a hard scene. The milestone is a long string of small comforts, counted one toy at a time.

Hastings named a five-year-old its official greeter

Harvey Wetterlund's daily walks to say hello at the fire station, police station, and downtown shops earned him a key to the city.

Read aloudFive-year-old Harvey Wetterlund walks through Hastings, Minnesota, saying hello. After his family moved from Washington state, the walks became a routine of hellos and hugs at the fire station, the police station, a coffee shop, and other stores. The mayor gave him a key to the city and named him an honorary greeter. She said kindness is free. Friends built him a child-sized chair painted with first-responder logos. A shop owner said Harvey yells hello to each mechanic by name, and it makes the day better. Harvey's advice is short: be a friend to everybody.

More than 200 ski items are donated for Rumford kids

Gary Savage and his mother, Sandra, collected more than 200 ski and snowboard items for River Valley Kids Ski Too. The free giveaway for ages 3 to 18 is November 1 at Mountain Valley High School in Rumford.

Read aloudRiver Valley Kids Ski Too gives free ski and snowboard gear to children in the Rumford, Maine, area. On November 1, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., families can pick gear up at Mountain Valley High School. It is first come, first served, for ages 3 through 18, and people can also drop off equipment to donate or trade. Gary Savage of Mexico and his mother, Sandra, collected more than 200 gently used items since January, mostly from people in Bethel and Newry. Founder Josh Hodsdon said helmets were the most important part of the pile. This is the program's fourth year. He said it has probably helped about 400 kids, and he also received 50 pairs of new ski boots through a contact in New York.

Milford teens saw a boy sitting alone and asked him to play

At Urban Air in Bellingham, a game of catch with 7-year-old Tristan Caron turned into 40 minutes of hide-and-seek and slides. The park plans a celebration day.

Read aloudTeenagers from Milford, Massachusetts, noticed 7-year-old Tristan Caron sitting by himself at an indoor play park in Bellingham and asked if he wanted to play. A short game of catch became about 40 minutes of hide-and-seek and time on the slide. His mother later found the teens so she could thank them. The teens said they had not known Tristan has autism. They saw a child on his own and wanted him in the game. One teen said she was glad he felt included. Another hoped people would think of that the next time someone is left out. The park plans a day to celebrate the teens.

Aberdeen barbers give about 100 free haircuts over fall break

Barbers of Aberdeen spent their break cutting students' hair so they would head back to class feeling looked after.

Read aloudBarbers in Aberdeen, Mississippi, used their fall break to cut students' hair for free. A local station reported about 100 haircuts, so children could go back to class feeling looked after. At one shop, students were still in the chairs ahead of Monday. A student in a chair said the barbers were using their own break for kids who could not afford a cut. A community volunteer said it was kindness toward people the barbers did not already know. The report stops at the chairs and the reason. It does not list a sign-up for a repeat event.

Troy football players brought new shoes to Goshen Elementary students

For the second year, the Troy Trojans partnered with Lids and the nonprofit Shoes That Fit to give Goshen Elementary students new shoes and hats.

Read aloudFootball players from Troy University visited Goshen Elementary School in Alabama with new shoes and hats. They partnered with a hat company and the nonprofit Shoes That Fit. It is the second year those three partners have done this together for the school. The news report is short. It does not say how many students received shoes, what sizes were offered, or what the visit cost. It does say the team came back. College players, a shoe nonprofit, and a store showed up again with new shoes and hats for elementary students.

Eighth graders in Manchester handed out dahlias and handwritten notes

Maple Street School students made bouquets from Fleur Farm and gave them, with personal notes, to employees and shoppers at Shaw's.

Read aloudEighth graders at Maple Street School in Manchester, Vermont, spent an afternoon on a small kindness. They took dahlias from a local farm, before the first frost, made individual bouquets, and wrote notes to go with them. They walked to a grocery store and handed the flowers to employees and shoppers. People told the students the flowers had made their day. The paper described the walk as a lesson in empathy, not a fundraiser. The students found out what it feels like to do something small for a stranger and watch it land.

Neighbors and teenagers are growing food in a Kansas City, Kansas garden

Build WyCo and St. Peter CME Church planted 11 raised beds and a young orchard at Boulevard Lofts. About 15 young people help, and residents take the produce as fast as it ripens.

Read aloudIn Kansas City, Kansas, a church and a neighborhood group turned unused garden beds into a place to grow food. Build WyCo and St. Peter CME Church planted 11 raised beds with vegetables and herbs, plus a young orchard. The beds are at Boulevard Lofts. About 15 young people and 10 adults help plant, water, and weed. The nearest grocery store is a drive away. Residents take the vegetables as soon as they are ripe. One neighbor said the young people frowned at first, then liked eating what they grew and taking it home.

Arvada volunteers gave 450 hours to 14 local nonprofits

About 150 people painted a pediatric clinic, restocked a children's pantry, and got a family nonprofit ready for winter. It was the chamber's biggest Day of Service yet.

Read aloudOn October 12, about 150 people in Arvada, Colorado, spent a day helping 14 local nonprofits. Together they gave more than 450 hours. One crew painted and repaired a clinic that cares for children. Another group restocked a pantry for kids and sorted clothes. At a family nonprofit, volunteers switched a closet from summer clothes to winter clothes. A historic flour mill got weeds pulled and trash picked up. The business group that organized the day said this was its biggest service day so far. In earlier years, about 100 people usually came.

A Valdosta 10-year-old raised $400 selling bracelets

Graham Haskin made bracelets, raised $400 in two weeks, and bought food, water, and supplies for LAMP, which serves people experiencing homelessness.

Read aloudGraham Haskin is 10 and lives in Valdosta, Georgia. He made bracelets and sold them for two weeks. He raised 400 dollars. With that money he bought food, water, and supplies for LAMP, a group in Valdosta that helps people who do not have a home. He did the making and the selling himself. The supplies are what the money turned into.

A Little Rock diaper drive collects nearly 80,000 diapers

The 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.

Read aloudFamilies in central Arkansas can get free diapers from the Central Arkansas Diaper Bank, which is based at Pulaski Heights United Methodist Church in Little Rock. The seventh Spirit of Arkansas Diaper Drive just finished. Over six weeks, people donated nearly 80,000 diapers. Volunteers from the church, a TV station, a car dealer, and a grocery store spent a day sorting and packing them for the bank's monthly giveaway. Pastor Katye Chambers said it mattered to see people give up part of a workday to help. Diapers are something babies need every day, and they cost more than many families can cover.