Today's Good Newsz Quote of the Day...

Anonymous couple discovers more than $10 million in old coins buried in cans in their backyard...

Some dream of roaming the Earth to hunt buried treasure. One Sierra Nevada couple didn't have to go that far. They dug it up in their backyard - about $10 million worth, in 19th century U.S. gold coins stuffed into rusty cans.

It's believed to the biggest hoard of gold coins ever unearthed in the United States. And it's going on sale soon.

The bonanza emerged last year as the man and woman were walking their dog on their property in the Gold Country and noticed the top of a decaying canister poking out of the ground.

They dug it out with a stick, took it to their house and opened it up. Inside was what looked like a batch of discs covered in dirt from holes rotted through the can.

They weren't just discs.

A little brushing revealed nearly perfectly preserved $20 gold coins with liberty head designs on the front, dated from the 1890s. They ran back to the same spot, and when they were done digging, they'd found a total of eight cans containing 1,427 coins - with a face value of $27,980.

A total of 1,373 were $20 coins, 50 were $10 coins and four were $5 coins. They were dated from 1847 to 1894, and after sprucing up they shone like, well, gold - which fortunately never corrodes. About a third of the coins were in pristine condition, having never been circulated for spending. Most were minted in San Francisco.

"It was a very surreal moment. It was very hard to believe at first," the man said in an interview taped by the rare-coin dealer he eventually consulted to make sense of the find. "I thought any second an old miner with a mule was going to appear."

The amazing story of Larry Ragsdale and Kelcie Yeoman...

Four years ago, Larry Ragsdale planned to propose to his high school sweetheart, Kelcie Yeoman, during a vacation with her family to Disneyland. But just a week before the trip, their lives were turned upside down. While driving home from showing Kelcie's sister, McKenzie, the engagement ring he'd chosen, Larry's car was struck by a drunk driver, and he nearly lost his life. He was thrown into a coma, and for months, no one knew if he'd ever recover.

But Kelcie never gave up on him. She was by his side every day until, at long last, he awoke. They learned that the former football and track star was left partially paralyzed from the accident; he had a long road to recovery ahead of him, filled with countless surgeries and exhaustive physical therapy sessions. Determined to be with him every step of the way, Kelcie even got a job at the facility where he was recovering.

In August, three years after coming out of the coma, Larry proposed to Kelcie with the same ring he'd chosen before that fateful night. But with their bank accounts drained from the arduous recovery, the wedding of their dreams (in Disneyland) seemed completely out of reach - until McKenzie launched a fundraising campaign and reached their goal of $20,000 in just 11 days!

Watch the video of their incredible journey (warning: Grab the tissues first!):

Today's Good Newsz Only Quote of the Day...

Love Your Melon, a One for One giving program started by two college students, is dedicated to improving the lives of kids battling cancer...

The Love Your Melon Foundation is a non-profit 501(c)(3) dedicated to improving the lives of children battling cancer through therapeutic treatments.  Through its Buy One – Give One program, Love Your Melon provides comfy hats to give them something to wear during this difficult time. Our hats do more than keep them warm, they restore confidence. Love Your Melon’s gifts create smiles on the faces of children battling cancer and make them feel comfortable after losing their hair due to chemotherapy treatment. For every product purchased, another of equal value is given to a child battling cancer.

Love Your Melon was founded on October 22nd, 2012 at the University of St. Thomas in Saint Paul, MN by Zachary Quinn and Brian Keller.  Zachary is from Afton, MN.  He attended Mounds Park Academy and is currently pursuing a degree in Entrepreneurship at the University of St. Thomas.  Brian is from Andover, MN and attended Andover High School.  He is currently pursuing a degree in Finance at the University of St. Thomas.

Love Your Melon was founded in an entrepreneurship class at the University of St. Thomas. Since its founding on October 22nd, 2012, Love Your Melon has been able to give and sell over 5,000 hats. It was founded on the simple principle of giving and has continued to evolve into the non-profit it is today. On December 23rd, 2013, it received 501(c)(3) status and is now a fully established non-profit. The Love Your Melon Foundation has big plans for the future.

The Love Your Melon bus returned to St. Thomas on Friday, Feb. 7, after a monthlong trip across the United States. Founders and UST entrepreneurship students Brian Keller and Zachary Quinn, along with their documentary crew, traveled 5,000 miles to bring their organization’s mission to a national audience.

The culmination of the Smile Tour prompted producers of NBC’s Today Show to visit St. Thomas during the organization’s homecoming celebration on John P. Monahan Plaza.

Watch the Love Your Melon appearance on the Today Show (See Above)

Mystery donors deliver enough flowers for ALL 276 residents of Holy Family Home nursing home...

Floral deliveries are commonplace at Holy Family Home, a Ukrainian Catholic-run nursing home, so it was no surprise to receptionist Luba Micno when a delivery came on Christmas Eve.

"I told them to bring them in and I would give them out," said Micno. "But they said 'No, we're at the loading dock.' "

The two delivery men, who refused to name themselves, had brought a semi-trailer packed floor to ceiling with boxes of flowers, including eight packages of two dozen roses each, hundreds of carnations and mini-roses, and more than enough pre-made arrangements for each of the 276 residents.

Academy Florists estimated the cost of such a delivery to be between $7,000 and $14,000, depending on the type of arrangements.

"We asked who delivered them, but they just kept naming places the flowers were grown," said Micno.

Sister Darleane Pelachaty said the staff was so taken aback by the unexpected delivery no one thought to press any further.

"When they came, these guys were so generous and so friendly and in such a good spirit," she said. "They just shook their hand then said, "Merry Christmas" and left."

The flowers were given to residents, their families and staff.

"It really cheered everybody right up," said Katherine Skotnicki, a Holy Family Home resident.

"I had some delivered right to my room," she said leaning forward. Then she laughed and straightened up. "For me, I was wondering what was happening for us to get that many flowers."

Skotnicki said she's thankful for whomever was behind the generous delivery.

"I thought it was just great," she said, looking at one of the arrangements on the table in front of her and smiling. "It's really nice to see the flowers on every table. It seems like everyone was quite happy with them."

Mary Woloshyn, another resident at Holy Family Home, said the flowers are "a nice mystery."

"I was coming to the (Holy) Family Home from mass and I saw all these boxes," she said, her eyes growing wide. "We didn't know where they came from."

Woloshyn, who had just won a game of bingo, said she'd never seen anything like the Christmas Eve delivery.

"We were amazed that we had all of these nice flowers," she said as her smile pushed her red cheeks upward.

Even Holy Family Home CEO Jean Piché didn't expect to find a semi full of flowers when he returned to the home after Christmas mass.

"It came as a huge surprise to all of us," he said. "But at the same time it was a real blessing. I could just see the smiles on their faces, even those who have severe cases of dementia or Alzheimer's disease. Their faces lit up."

Once the flowers were delivered to residents and their families, Piché made sure the rest went to staff.

"It really gave us an opportunity to express gratitude to our staff," he said.

Today's Good Newsz Quote of the Day...

Jayci Glover, a 13 year old with terminal cancer, grants her Make - A - Wish to her school...

Jayci Glover could’ve taken a quick trip to Disney World or met her favorite pop star. But instead, the 13-year-old decided to give her final wish away to her school so that she could leave something behind for her friends.

Jayci has been valiantly battling a rare form of lymphoma for a year, according to KSL. She's undergone numerous types of chemotherapy, radiation and a bone marrow transplant, but her cancer is progressing quickly and has spread throughout her body, according to her mother's Caring Bridge journal.

Left with no viable treatment options, Jayci and her family decided to leave the hospital in Salt Lake City, and return to their small town a few hours away so that Jayci "can have some fun," her mom, Heather Glover, told KSL earlier this month.

Part of the "fun" included getting a special experience from the Make-A-Wish Foundation -- a nonprofit that grants wishes to kids diagnosed with life-threatening conditions.

Jayci asked the foundation to give her school a gift they sorely need: a new scoreboard, Yahoo News reported.

Before the basketball game at Kanab High School last Wednesday night, the organization presented a $7,500 check to Principal Brenan Jackson in Jayci’s name.

It’s her ability to see the bright side of any situation -- no matter how dire -- that is helping her family cope with Jayci’s fate.

"Make no mistake, Jayci has won her battle with cancer," Heather Glover wrote on her blog. "Even when doctors and specialists thought there was no way she would/could tolerate another brutal treatment, she did it. And she did it with a smile on her face. She never let cancer into her spirit."

Jayci’s family was proud of their daughter for giving away her Make-A-Wish, but they are still struggling to pay her mounting medical bills and have begun preparing for the funeral costs. Find out how you can help the Glover family here.

84 year old Tinney Davidson - a/k/a the "waving neighbor"

In today's edition of the "Good Stuff,"  we see proof that the smallest gesture can have the biggest impact. CNN's Chris Cuomo reports.

Tinney Davidson, 84, and her husband moved into their Ontario, Canada, home in 2007.  Little did they know, it was on the way to a school.

Each day, the kids would walk to and from school, and each day, Tinney and her husband would wave at them.

"I love it," she says. "And they seem to like it also. So it's been a fun few years."

When Tinney's husband passed on a few years ago, she continued the tradition.

Recently, the students at the school were so touched by her waving day after day, year after year, the entire school recently held an assembly in her honor.

They presented her with a Valentines Day gift and  a special video presentation, and of course, plenty of hugs.

Today's Good Newsz Quote of the Day...

15 year old Caleb Acosta has his dream come true thanks to "Ricochet" and the Make a Wish Foundation...

A Florida teen with terminal brain cancer recently had one of his dreams come true, thanks to a surfing dog named Ricochet.

Last July, when 15-year-old Caleb Acosta was diagnosed with stage four brain cancer, he told Make-A-Wish Foundation that he wanted to catch waves with a surfing dog he once saw featured on ESPN.

According to Ricochet's website, she is the "only dog in the world who surfs with kids with special needs, people with disabilities, wounded warriors, military families and veterans with PTSD."

Acosta joined those special ranks last week when the foundation flew him and his family from Apopka, Florida to San Diego, Calif., to meet the famous four-legged surfer.

"My son is an amazing kid," the teen's mother said in a video posted on Ricochet's YouTube. "Despite all his pain and all of his difficult situations, that smile that you see, it's always there. He always has it."

Acosta was definitely all smiles as he was wheeled out into the ocean and helped onto a longboard, with Ricochet always nearby.

When he was asked how it was out in the waves, he replied, "Super fun!"

"I just felt almost normal, finally. It felt really good to be free, not worrying about anything, having someone to keep my balance."

Acosta's family adventure was more than just an awesome surf session. According to the PrayForCaleb Facebook page, the family was able to experience all that southern California has to offer. They stopped by Disneyland and California Adventure and went fishing at Huntington Beach pier and sightseeing around Hollywood.

Cathy says that the family doesn't know what Acosta's life expectancy is and that they "are not interested in hearing it" so they can continue "believing and living each day to it's fullest." [sic]

After his surf session, a news reporter asked Acosta how he stays so strong.

"It's just, I don't know," he replied with a smile. "Just with God's help, everything is possible. So I know he has a plan for me."

Clowns Without Borders bringing smiles to the faces of children of disasters around the world...

An Australian group, Clowns Without Borders, travels the world on a mission bringing smiles to the faces of children in refugee camps and natural disaster zones.

They recently returned to the Philippines after performing for thousands who were recovering from Typhoon Haiyan.

Today's Good Newsz Quote of the Day...

English teacher Don Wettrick is helping 14 year old 510 pound high school student Eric Ekis student change his life...

For Eric Ekis, high school was a struggle.

The 14-year-old entered his freshman year at Franklin Community High School in Franklin, Ind., weighing 510 pounds, making him an easy target for his peers to pick on, the Indianapolis Star reported.

Not only was Eric struggling with bullying and his weight, but he was dealing with difficult family issues as well. In 2010, his father died from a brain aneurysm, according to the Star. Later that year, Eric fell in the shower and shattered his leg,Today reported. He eventually underwent a slew of surgeries, which left him bedridden while also mourning his father's death.

"After that is when he started putting weight on. Bedridden and upset and depressed," Laura Ekis, Eric’s mother, told Today.

It was Eric's English teacher, Don Wettrick, who came to the rescue, according to the Indianapolis Star. Under his guidance, Eric and Kevin Stahl, a senior on the school's swim team, began to take walks together. Now, the two say they are best friends. Eric also met with a dietitian to develop healthier eating habits, the outlet reported.

"I'm proud of him," Kevin told the Star. "This is how peers can help out and influence each other in a positive way."

Eric hopes his story will inspire other kids who are having a hard time.

"From the beginning, I wanted this to help other kids just like me -- overweight kids that need the help and the support," he said, according to Today.

In addition to his lifestyles changes, Eric has also gained a new sense of confidence.

"I feel a whole lot better about myself," he told the Star. "I'm not the kid that hides anymore."

Bikes Not Bombs - an organization that sends 1000's of bicycles to countries around the world...

The Jamaica Plain organization Bikes Not Bombs loaded a shipping container with more than 500 hundred bikes and spare parts on Feb. 2 to be sent to its partner in Koforidua, Ghana, Ability Bikes Cooperative. BNB uses bikes as vehicle for social change both in Third World countries and within the community. 

“Impoverished nations have high labor and low amounts of raw material,” said Farid Quraishi, a volunteer at BNB. “A bike is raw material. You can solve a problem with a simple piece of technology.”

Since 2008, Ability Bikes Cooperative in Ghana, a small bike shop with owners and mechanics, has been run entirely by physically disabled employees. 

“It’s really two big impacts,” said BNB Operations Director Arik Grier of the shipment of bikes to Ghana. “One is providing thousands of bicycles to the city of Koforidu, and advanced mechanic skills and the tools to have bicycle repair. Then, on the other hand, it’s also an employment for the people running the business.”

Each partner project is different, but in Koforidua, Ability Bikes is a workers’ cooperative. BNB sent over the first shipment of bikes in 2008, along with a mechanics trainer to help set up the business. The money made from selling the bikes goes towards paying the workers and future shipping costs.

The next shipment will be sent in April to Bici-Tec in San Andrés, Guatemala. Founded in 2012, Bici-Tec is a small family-run business that sells “bicimáquinas” or a stationary, pedal-powered machines made out of bicycle parts. The contraptions are able to de-grain corn, grind corn, work as water pumps, pulp coffee, shell nuts and much more.

“These machines are mostly used by farm families or farm cooperatives,” said Grier. “It’s a cheaper way, rather than paying for electricity or gas for machinery.”

All of the machines are re-built, in Guatemala, out of donated bicycles. Throughout the year about 5,000 to 6,000 bikes go through BNB, Grier said. Out of those bikes about 80 percent are donated overseas and 20 percent goes to youth programs here in Boston, the BNB bike shop, and metal recycling. To prepare the bikes for shipments, volunteers come in every Thursday night to sort donated gear or “flatten” bikes – position each bike so it will take up as little space as possible when shipped. 

“Most people come here repeatedly,” said Quraishi.

Dan Reid, who just recently moved back to Boston, said he volunteers almost every Thursday night. Reid said that even though the donated bicycles may be broken down or worn out, they are better than the bicycles most people have in Third World countries. 

“Not all of the bikes have all of their parts, but they may be useful somewhere 

along the line,” said Reid.

Reid said that typically there are about 30 people who come to volunteer nights, but in the winter it can be kind of slow. All of the bikes are donated by people in Massachusetts and through BNB’s annual Bike-A-Thon, which will take place this year on June 8, where about 500 riders participate in a 10, 30, 50, or 80-mile ride.

Quraishi said he first got started with BNB when he participated in the Bike-A-Thon about two years ago. He met a lot of cool people along the way and stayed in touch with the people he met. Ever since, Quraishi said, “I’ve always tried to make it a point to come.”

For more information go to https://bikesnotbombs.org.

Today's Good Newsz Only Quote of the Day...

Injured teen Boston Marathon survivor Gillian Reny and her family are giving back through the Gillian Reny Stepping Strong Fund

When Gillian Reny arrived at the University of Pennsylvania last August, she longed to be an ordinary freshman. She moved into a dormitory, took psychology and writing courses, and checked out fraternity parties. But it was hard to keep the past at bay.

It was just days before classes began when Reny started walking again — on crutches. Her scars were still healing. And she struggled with how to answer when new acquaintances asked what had happened to her leg. Before long she made close friends on her hall and shared her story: She had nearly lost her right leg in the terrorist attack on Marathon Monday.

In the minutes after Reny, now 19, was whisked into the Brigham and Women’s Hospital trauma unit, doctors were confident they could save her life. They were not so certain they could salvage her mangled leg. For the next few days, that question hung in the balance.

But through a series of fortunate turns and critical medical decisions, the teenager was able to avoid amputation. Though her rehabilitation is ongoing, and she could require more surgery, Reny rarely needs crutches anymore. Now, 10 months after two bombs exploded near the finish line, her family is launching a campaign to raise $3 million for trauma research at the hospital, which they hope could help others at risk of losing limbs.

Homeless man down to the last coins in his pocket buys a lottery ticket....and wins.

Unemployed, in debt and facing another year living on the streets in Hungary, László Andraschek spent his last remaining coins on a lottery ticket. Now the formerly homeless man has a choice of accommodation around the world after becoming one of Hungary's biggest lottery winners, with a prize of about £1.7m.

Photograph: H Baranyai Edina/BorsOnline

Andraschek's win last September went unnoticed until he made a significant donation to a hostel for the homeless this month. He said buying the ticket was a chance decision at a railway station on his way to Budapest for a workshop for recovering alcoholics.

"I had only picked six numbers and the female shop assistant reminded me that I needed to pick a seventh," he said. "I told her to make it 24 – it doesn't matter, anyway."

But he was wrong and now plans to use his winnings to establish a foundation for addicts and women abused by their husbands.

The 55-year-old resident of Gyor, north-west Hungary, said his first act was to repay his debts, before cycling to a car dealer. "When the car salesman asked me how much I would be willing to spend, I held up three fingers. As I had arrived on a bike he assumed this meant 300,000 forints, but actually I meant 3m."

As neither he nor his wife can drive, the car will be driven only by his children.

Andraschek has since bought flats for each of his three children, paid off the debts of his relatives and is planning to travel to Italy, having not previously held a passport.

He and his wife, Anikó, said they will invest their money cautiously and avoid the ruinous spending splurges of many a lottery winner. "I have become rich but I have not become a different person. I could buy a large-screen TV because I can afford it, but I won't buy three because I can afford it."

Having struggled with alcoholism, Andraschek finally quit five years ago and says he "now has no need to return".

Today's Good Newsz Quote of the Day...

Rutgers grad Gabe Hurley, who was blinded in devastating crash, is building a new life..."Life is a Gift"

"Too often we tend to focus on what we don't have, as opposed to what we do have," according to Gabe Hurley, whose life was changed dramatically after he was struck by a reckless driver. "I want people to understand that life is a gift."

He says he'd like to wake up, walk outside and gaze at the blue sky, get into his car, and drive to the gym. Now blind, all he can see is blackness, and there will never be a car in his driveway.

Music helped Hurley recover from the devastating accident, which occurred a year after graduating from Rutgers University. Playing guitar helped him remain positive enough that he started speaking to groups, inspiring them with his story.

"Time is something you can never get back," he says. "So if you have an opportunity, or a door opens, walk through it."

He has given more than 60 talks throughout the state to juvenile delinquents, and middle and high school students, and whenever he speaks during an assembly, you can hear a pin drop.

Hurley tells the students who can't wait to get behind the wheel that crashes such as the one that left him blind can be prevented. He refuses to call it an accident because that implies it wasn't the result of reckless behavior.

"Even though I'm very aware of what's been taken away, I also see it as an opportunity to help save lives and to empower people," Hurley told Rutgers Today.

Following his 25-minute talk about safe driving he plays a song from the CD released by his rock band, The New Black.

Except for his guitar playing, a passion that has ignited him since he was six years old, everything was taken away in an instant by a teenager celebrating the last day of high school. But a door was opened. A new opportunity was presented that wouldn't have been there before.

"Considering that in four and a half years so much has happened, who knows where this is going to go?"