The legacy of 8 year old Boston Marathon victim Martin Richard will continue through a new family foundation in his memory...

The family of Martin Richard — the 8-year-old Dorchester boy killed in the Boston Marathon bombings — has launched a foundation to promote his message of peace and kindness, and is recruiting a team to run this year’s race in his memory.

In a heartfelt statement released yesterday, the Richard family also announced Martin’s sister, Jane, is playing youth basketball on a prosthetic leg, his brother, Henry, is earning good grades, and the family soldiered through their first set of holidays without their beloved son.

“We are often asked how are we doing. The short answer is we are continuing to heal and doing our best to live our lives,” the statement said. “We celebrated Christmas this year, not like in years past, when we would have a house filled with loved ones. We snuck away this year, to someplace different, because now everything is different. But that was OK. We are, and will continue to make new memories while holding on to ones from precious years gone by.”

The Richard family was standing along Boylston Street when the second bomb exploded, killing Martin and severing Jane’s left leg. Henry was not physically injured. Their mother, Denise, lost vision in one eye and their father, Bill, suffered hearing loss and shrapnel injuries to his legs.

“Medical appointments still consume many hours of every week, but our healing progresses. Jane is walking with a new prosthesis, and to our surprise is playing basketball for her CYO team (please don’t tell her doctors!),” the family wrote. “Martin would be a 4th grader on that same team with Jane. We know he would be out there making sure Jane got her opportunities to score and being the floor general he always was. Henry is busy maintaining good grades as a sixth grader, preparing himself for that big transition into 7th grade.”

The Martin W. Richard Charitable Foundation — operating as Team MR8, a mix of Martin’s initials and his favorite number — will “honor Martin’s message of ‘No more hurting people — peace’ by investing in education, athletics and community,” his family said.

“This foundation will be a legacy for Martin, allowing us to ‘pay it forward’ and make a difference in ways that would make him proud but also be a source of healing and purpose for us,” the statement said.

Those hoping to run the marathon in Martin’s memory are asked to visit www.TeamMR8.org.

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

Three-legged dog Callie Mae comforts human amputees...

Two months after having one of her legs amputated, a local dog is now a source of comfort for human amputees at a Westport prosthetics and orthotics office.

The 8-year-old black Labrador retriever named Callie Mae joined the staff at Atlantic Prosthetics & Orthotics in November, according to local veterinarians.

“Callie’s constant presence is immeasurably beneficial to patients who often cannot shake hands or rise to greet, but who take tremendous comfort when Callie stations herself by their side,” said a statement from Kathleen Easterbooks, who adopted the dog along with her husband, Bob Easterbrooks, president of the business that has fitted thousands of patients with custom braces and artificial limbs since 1981.

“It’s almost like she understands, given her own amputation, how challenging it can be for human patients who are trying to make their way in the world despite their disabilities,” she added. “It’s heartwarming to see Callie in action.”

The dog often comforts wheelchair bound patients by leaning in and positioning her head under their hands so they can feel her fur, Easterbrooks said. She also sometimes simply stays near patients as they endure lengthy therapy sessions.

Callie Mae became the office’s official comfort dog shortly after her front left leg was amputated by veterinarians at the MSPCA-Angell Animal Medical Center in Jamaica Plain, according to officials there.

The dog arrived at the animal clinic in October with extensive nerve and tissue damage to the leg that caused her to drag her foot, leading to recurring, painful injuries.

Staff at the clinic said she was surrendered there by her longtime owner who told veterinarians they did not have the money, nor the time, to help Callie Mae through her injury.

“Callie Mae reminds us all of the bravery and steadfastness that animals possess,” said a statement from Alyssa Muro, manager of the MSPCA-Angell adoption center. “We are thrilled that such a brave and sweet dog can leverage her own experience with disability to support others on their way to recovery.”

E-mail Matt Rocheleau at matthew.rocheleau@globe.com.
--
For the latest updates about your community, follow some of our local neighborhood, city and town Twitter accounts, here.

(Atlantic Prosthetics & Orthotics)

(Atlantic Prosthetics & Orthotics)

(Atlantic Prosthetics & Orthotics)

Once-Conjoined Twins Allison and Amelia Tucker are Thriving After Surgery...

When people ask Shellie Tucker if her two toddler daughters, Allison and Amelia, are twins she has only one response.

"I'm like, you have no idea," Tucker told ABC News.

That's because Allison June and Amelia Lee Tucker, now happy and healthy sisters who share crackers and push each other around in a stroller, spent half of their young lives as one, conjoined at the chest and abdomen.

Tucker and her husband, Greg, of Adams, N.Y., were told in November 2011, when Shellie was five-months pregnant, that their daughters were conjoined. An obstetrician who handles high-risk pregnancies told the couple, already parents to a son, Owen, that the girls would likely not be separated successfully and advised them to terminate the pregnancy.

Once-Conjoined Twins Make Debut After Surgery

"As he was telling me, I could literally feel the girls kicking in my belly and I knew that that wasn't something possible," Tucker said.

The Tuckers sought a second opinion at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, where doctors determined the girls could be separated.

Shellie Tucker continued her pregnancy and gave birth to Allison and Amelia in March 2011.

For the next eight months, the entire family, including then 2-year-old Owen, lived in Children's Hospital with the twins.

Doctors prepared for the surgery by practicing on two dolls sewn together.

"The actual walk-through started with actual baby dolls that didn't really look as cute as the girls but helped us out," pediatric surgeon Dr. Holly Hedrick said at a news conference one month after the surgery.

On Nov. 7 of last year, the team of 40 doctors and nurses conducted an agonizing seven-hour surgery to separate Allison and Amelia, and start the family's new life.

"Seeing them for the first time as two separate girls was really the most amazing feeling," said Greg Tucker.

Today, more than one year since the surgery, Allison and Amelia are thriving as two very individual 2-year-olds.

"Seeing the girls and seeing them climb and get in to things, as aggravated as I get I can't help but laugh because they're an absolute miracle," said Shellie Tucker.

"I'm thankful for every single day," she said. "I can't describe it."

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

Madeline Schwartzman's project inspires strangers to write poems on NYC subway...

Madeline Schwartzman was just riding the New York City subway one day this spring on her normal commute when an idea came to her "with a thunk": "Ask a stranger to write a poem!"

The architecture professor says she had the brainwave while "sitting and staring at passengers on the 2 train," and that it snowballed from there. "I started that day, using my iPhone as the repository," she told TODAY.com. "When I got off the train I purchased my first notebook."

She's now on her fifth notebook, and has collected just under 100 poems, such as this one by Chris Usher:

"A stranger’s approach
sometimes warmer than a phone
call from a friend.
Or an attempt at a relationship
to mend.
I think I just met a new
friend :)
on a subway
in a strangeland
a stranger became a helping hand."

Schwartzman displays a selection of the poetry on her website, Poems by New Yorkers, where she posts the work alongside photos of the people she asked to write it. Her subjects are a diverse mix of men, women and children of a wide variety of ages and races, and the poetry they've produced ranges from serious to silly, with a heavy emphasis on reflections about love.

“People have so much to say,” she says. “It turns out everyone can write. It is so touching to talk to people. We share many of the same thoughts, desires, and experiences.” 

Madeline Schwartzman

Jeremy Schwartz writes his poem, "An Unexpected Poem".

And the strangers she approaches are usually receptive to the project. "My success rate is 85-90 percent. Some days it is 100 percent," she says, though she notes that it's easier to get women to agree than men. "People seem to have things they want to share. Some people feel so tortured by my request. My job is to break through that wall."

Schwartzman was partly inspired to start the "social art project" by work she'd done over the last 10 years as a professor at Parsons: The New School for Design, where she often asked students to do unusual interactions with the city and its inhabitants.

Madeline Schwartzman

Madeline Schwartzman also writes poetry while she commutes.

But this project goes well beyond what she had ever done before. "Poetry is entirely new to me — a new love," she says.

And Schwartzman isn't the only one who benefits — those who have given her their time and talent say they've been positively affected by the experience.

"I'm often glad when someone breaks the unspoken rules of avoiding eye contact and conversation on the subway," 26-year-old Brooklyn social worker Jeremy Schwartz told TODAY.com. "My reaction when Madeline asked me to write a poem was something along the lines of 'Sure, why not?!' It felt like a fun diversion from my normal commuting experience."

Madeline Schwartzman

Breanna Chevolleau writes a poem about how she is in love.

"I'd say it was fate that brought Madeline and I to the same Clark Street subway platform in Brooklyn Heights," said blogger and aspiring journalist Breanna Chevolleau. "I think Madeline's project is such a great idea. Madeline gives a few lucky people the chance to stop, think, and express some emotion."

When Schwartzman is not teaching or asking strangers to write poetry, she is a mother of 10-year-old twin daughters, Flora and Ariel. She encourages them to write poetry just like the strangers she meets on the train.

9 year old autistic boy Andrew Daniels is setting an example with his generosity towards others...

NORTH ADAMS -- Nine-year-old Andrew Daniels can tell you anything about the U.S. presidents and has a wide collection of suits. His motto?

"Never give up. No matter what."

Andrew who lives with his grandparents, Marcia and Mark Brown, has Autism. The third grader, who attends Sullivan Elementary School, has overcome many obstacles, they say.

"Teachers are amazed," Marcia Brown said. "He's missed one day of school because he was sick. He's getting As and Bs."

Mark Brown explained he wants to given Andrew a wider view of the world through trips across country. The two set a goal to raise $500 to various organizations and charities at the beginning of the year.

"We want to teach him to be the best he can in the community and to be an active participant," Mark Brown said. "If everyone did a little more, the community would be a better place."

They exceeded that goal, donating close to $800. Much of that went to Cub Scouts Troops 35 and 38.

Andrew has also donated $30.50 to the Friendship Center Food Pantry and $30 to the Salvation Army, and bought lunch for local police, fire and ambulance workers. He is also active in the First Baptist Church of North Adams.

Mark Brown remembers watching news coverage of the earthquake that devastated Haiti in 2010. He wanted to test where Andrew's heart was, he said.

He gave Andrew a choice -- to use $50 he had saved to buy coins for his coin collection, or send the $50 to the earthquake relief efforts. Andrew chose the Haiti.

"All he kept saying was, ‘Food and medicine, food and medicine,'" Mark said. "I said, they're taking calls right now, and asked him if he wanted to call He was a little scared, but he talked on the phone and sent his $50."

A bookcase in the corner of the family's living room holds 22 photo albums, containing photos from trips to all of the state's he's visited. Ten are from his two years in the Cub Scouts.

One album documents the family's trip to San Francisco, Calif., in 2011, where Andrew witnessed the city's homeless problem.

"He got really scared when he saw someone lying on the ground," Marcia Brown said.

Andrew took out his wallet, they said, and handed dollar bills to any homeless person he saw. He did the same thing during a trip to Washington, D.C.

"I feel sick to my stomach," Andrew said when asked how he felt seeing homeless individuals sleeping on the sidewalk.

During a recent tour of the south, the family visited Moore, Okla., which was devastated by an EF5 tornado in May. Twenty-four people, including seven children, were killed.

Andrew donated $20 of his own money to relief efforts, Mark Brown said, and learned about the devastation from relief workers and ministries. He also paid his respects.

"He just stood there in all that devastation, and saluted people," Mark Brown said.

Andrew has also been able to have fun on his travels. His favorite state is California, he said, and was excited to sleep in a room at the Murphy Hotel, where President Ulysses S. Grant once stayed.

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

Anonymous Secret Santa picks up others' hotel tabs - 50 in all.

Where does Santa go after Christmas?

Maybe to the Hilton Garden Inn in the Northern California town of Redding, where an unidentified person paid the bills of everyone who was a guest Sunday.

Rates for a regular room at the inn range from $109 to $119, and about 50 of its 93 guest rooms were occupied Sunday, according to the Redding Record Searchlight.

"He wanted to make it anonymous," front-desk supervisor Tony Ross told CNBC on Thursday.

Though Ross said he could not provide further details, he confirmed that the story in the local paper was accurate.

The hotel Santa is the latest of a number of do-gooders whose anonymous actions have come to light.

Using the Instagram handle @tipsforjesus, an anonymous person has left more than $80,000 in supersize restaurant tips-$2,000 to $3,000 a pop. In October, Starbucks launched a "pay it forward" program, urging customers to buy a coffee for another patron. And a rash of "Layaway Santas" paid off other people's Christmas gifts.

Even Beyonce (not so anonymously) paid $50 off the bills of 750 shoppers at a Walmart in Tewksbury, Mass., just before Christmas.

Philanthropy experts often refer to the practice as "direct giving," which lets donors have the satisfaction of seeing exactly where their money is going-without being funneled through a larger organization.

And at least one of the beneficiaries in Redding has pledged to pay it forward, as well.

Linda Overby, who stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn while returning from a trip to Oregon, told the Record Searchlight that her family intends to donate their room savings to a food bank near their home in Santa Clara, Calif.

"I don't know what other people planned to do, but hopefully people will continue to pass it forward," she said.

The Fighting Irishman: 3 time teen cancer survivor Patrick McSweeney leans on brothers, hopes for better 2014

LOUISVILLE, Ky. —The start of the new year has many people setting new goals and resolutions, but for one Louisville teenager, 2014 is truly a new beginning.

After battling leukemia three times, Patrick McSweeney hopes his future is cancer-free.

"Sometimes they stick me right here, or right there, or right there," McSweeney said in 2006.

WLKY first introduced McSweeney nearly eight years ago. He was 6 years old and was battling cancer for the first time.

Fast forward to February 2013, three days after making a pivotal shot in his championship basketball game, McSweeney was diagnosed with cancer for a third time.

Now, with three battles behind him, the Fighting Irishman, as he's known, is looking for a healthy and cancer-free 2014.

"I hope it's better than 2013. I'm hoping I will go back to school this year, that as the year goes on, everything will get back to the way it was," said McSweeney.

The 14-year-old's cancer is now in remission, and little by little, the McSweeneys are hoping to get life back to normal.

"Right now, I am through the transplant and they're just waiting for my immune system to recover, then after that, everything's fine," said McSweeney.

McSweeney has a strong support system standing behind him, including two older brothers, one of whom was a perfect match for his bone marrow transplant in May.

"I'm just glad that either me or Alex, one of us was a perfect match so we could save his life because the chemo wasn't working." said Patrick's brother, Joey McSweeney.

"It's affected them as much as it's affected me because my brother Joey was the donor and my brother Alex just sort of had to sit and watch all this happen," said Patrick McSweeney.

While much of his childhood has been filled with fighting leukemia, McSweeney has kept a positive attitude and even experienced some perks along the way, including meeting two football players from his favorite team.

"Everyone looks to me as an inspiration and I feel like I should be that inspiration and not try to let them down," said Patrick McSweeney.

With a new year ahead, Patrick made just one resolution.

"You're just wanting to stay healthy?" WLKY's Christina Mora asked him.

"Right, that's the best resolution I can hope for," said Patrick McSweeney.

When his immune system is strong enough, Patrick hopes to head back to school at St. Xavier.

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

Army parents give their kids a holiday surprise...

METHUEN (CBS) — It was the reunion that seemed like it might not happen. “Melissa was over actually in San Antonio and we weren’t sure if she should fly out where I was and drive up here together,” said Army Sgt. Doug Vallant of his wife, Army Pvt. Melissa Vallant. “We weren’t sure about him honestly,” Melissa added. “We weren’t sure he was going to make it.”

Melissa is new to the Army and training in Texas. Her husband, who’s served 11 years, is stationed in Alabama, but about to be moved to Washington. “It’s been really hard. You know you miss them so much and you don’t really realize how much you miss them until they’re gone… and you can’t walk into their room and give them a hug or give them a kiss,” Doug said.

The two have been apart from their children for five months. That’s why what happened Sunday afternoon in Methuen meant so much to them and their kids. “I was thinking I was going to have a blue Christmas because blue means sad,” said eight-year-old James. Just as James and his three-year-old sister Arianna finished singing ‘Blue Christmas’ at their daycare’s annual program, their parents walked on stage.

“I was wondering is that them? Is that really? That can’t be, but it was,” James remembered. Melissa couldn’t believe it was her family reuniting on stage. “It was amazing. I’ve watched those a billion times and you know, you always sit there and cry and you know say oh my goodness, what would happen if I was there. What would I do? It was an amazing feeling,” she said.

As the four sat watching video of the homecoming, they were all smiles. “It’s moving and it’s very deeply heartfelt,” Doug said. “This was my Christmas wish,” James added. “The broken heart was broken but then the heart got fixed back together because the family came back together,” the 2nd grader said.

The director of the children’s daycare, Methuen Community Kindergarten, organized the reunion. She worked on it for two months and was overwhelmed by all the people, including members of the local VFW, who wanted to help. It grew so big it had to be moved to Tenney Grammar School. “It was supposed to be a little surprise and it just turned into everything and Doug and I are beyond grateful for it,” Melissa said.

The time back together is short-lived. Both head back out next week. The children will stay with Melissa’s mother until their next reunion in March. Even a few days together, though, is a gift. “Honestly this was the gift I wanted the most I’m so happy just to have our family together it’s the most important thing to me,” said Melissa.

Jonnie Wright poses as homeless person to give back to people who paused to help him...

JOHNSTON, Iowa -- A Des Moines businessman gave away nearly $1,000 while posing as a homeless man - by rewarding people who paused to help him.

Jonnie Wright stood in the frigid weather on Christmas Eve at a busy intersection in the Des Moines suburb of Johnston, according to CBS affiliate KCCI in Des Moines. People who rolled down their vehicle windows to help him got a sealed envelope in return.

Inside the envelope were a $10 or $100 bill and a letter from the man, Jonnie Wright. It explained that he wasn't homeless. It said he just wanted to pay back people who helped others.

"I thought this was also a way to acknowledge those who give, who do so anonymously," Wright said.

In his letter, Wright encouraged the people to use the money as they wished or to pay it forward.

"I was blown away," said Rob Taylor, of West Des Moines, who opened his envelope later that day. "As a matter of fact, the first thing that I did was call my wife on the phone and I could hardly talk to her on the phone. I said, 'You wouldn't believe what just happened to me.'"

Taylor said he appreciated the gesture.

"For my family, it reminded everyone what the meaning of Christmas was and it wasn't about gifts, it's about giving back," Taylor said.

Wright said he handed out 50 envelopes and gave away nearly $1,000.

He doubled the money he was given and gave it to Bethel Mission, a homeless shelter.

"This has been a bucket-list thing for me for some time," Wright said. "I always knew I wanted to give back.

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

San Francisco cop Jackie Selinger goes above and beyond the call of duty when she buys homeless woman new shoes...

SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- A San Francisco police officer says she was just doing the right thing when she bought a pair of shoes for a barefoot homeless woman on the street.

Officer Jackie Selinger's son, Luciano, posted a photo on our Facebook page along with a reminder about how giving shouldn't end after the holidays.

In bustling Union Square, homeless people are sometimes overlooked during the holidays. But not by Officer Selinger, who recently spotted a homeless woman sitting in front of a Skechers shoe store.

The woman told the officer that homeless shelters, which donate shoes, never have anything that fits her size 12 feet."She was holding a sign, she needed shoes," Officer Selinger said. "So I looked down at her feet and I could see she had some really flimsy looking slippers on."

"I just thought about my family and the fact that we have so much," Officer Selinger said.

So this cop offered to buy the woman something she desperately needed.

"She says to me, 'You know, I'll take anything,'" Officer Selinger said. "She felt like it was a little expensive at Skechers, so she says, 'we can walk down to the Payless store.' You could see she was a real humble lady."

We learned about the story when Officer Selinger's son Luciano secretly took pictures of the impromptu shopping trip at the Skechers store and posted them on our ABC7 News Facebook page.

"She had already done it," Luciano said. "It was completely her decision, there was no one was watching her. And, I admire my mom for that."

Store manager Jerome Jackson says the woman chose an all-weather boot for $69. The kind gesture prompted him to help out too

"I offered my own employee discount for the officer to purchase the shoes," Jackson said. When asked why, he said, "It's the holiday season. You know, I did feel bad for the lady that was in front of the store."

"I didn't really get her name," Officer Selinger said. "I didn't want to embarrass her."

But the woman's reaction to the gift was all this officer needed.

"It was just in her mannerisms that I could tell she was really grateful," Officer Selinger said. "It that was better than a thank you in my eyes."

This humble police officer did not want the publicity.

We attempted to find the woman with the new boots somewhere in Union Square, but no luck.

Born with no arms Michael Trimble rides his new bike around Pittsburgh thanks to bicycle maker Michael Brown...

By Mila Sanina Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Michael Trimble draws quite a few stares when he rides his bicycle around Pittsburgh.

Mr. Trimble has no arms.

He was born that way in Soviet-era Ukraine, the birth defect a consequence of the 1986 nuclear disaster in Chernobyl. After living in an orphanage, Mr. Trimble was adopted at age 9 by an American couple and raised in Pittsburgh.

The first time Mr. Trimble rode a bicycle was in 2000, in St. James, Mo., where he attended a boarding school. His gym teacher took an old bike and, in place of its handlebars, installed a metal pipe stretching out to one of his stumps. He rode that bike for 18 months and fell in love with cycling.

After returning to Pittsburgh, he graduated from Duquesne University with a degree in political science. The dream of riding a bike moved to the back burner. But, like many 20-somethings in Pittsburgh, he yearned to be mobile on two wheels.

PG VIDEO

About a year ago, Mr. Trimble, 27, ordered online from REI a single-speed bicycle with a coaster brake and began to search for someone to customize it -- but "no one wanted to touch it. ... They told me that I am either a liability or that what I asked them to do could not be done."

And then he met Michael Brown, the owner of Maestro Frameworks - maestroframeworks.com - on the North Side.

A friend of Mr. Trimble's, Tim Rhodes, met Mr. Brown in June while he and his wife were shopping at Performance Bikes in East Liberty, where he works part time. When Mr. Brown, 56, noted that he owned a bicycle shop and built custom bicycles, Mr. Rhodes' wife mentioned Mr. Trimble's situation and asked whether Mr. Brown could help him.

Three weeks later, Mr. Rhodes and Mr. Trimble visited Maestro Frameworks. Mr. Brown took some measurements and agreed to take the job.

"It never even crossed my mind that it could not be done," Mr. Brown said. "Especially after I talked to Mike, he was so gung-ho about riding a bike again."

Today's Good Newsz Quote of the Day...Happy New Year!

8 year old Charvis Brwer has his wish come true when he is drafted by the Memphis Grizzlies...

Charvis Brewer, an 8-year-old super-fan of the Memphis Grizzlies, has bragging rights that most children can only dream about.

On Sunday, the basketball team drafted Charvis as its newest and youngest member. The ceremony, complete with a mock press conference, team photograph and visit to the locker room, was orchestrated by Make-A-Wish, a non-profit wish-granting organization for children with life-threatening medical conditions.

Brittney Williford Photography

David Joerger, head coach for the Memphis Grizzlies, speaks at a press conference with 8-year-old Charvis Brewer on Sunday. Charvis' mom, Colissa Brewer, laughs happily behind her son.

Charvis has cerebral palsy, a neurological condition that confines him to a wheelchair. His mother, Colissa Brewer, and a home health aide tend to his every need.

“It brought tears to my eyes,” Brewer said of the Grizzlies’ welcoming gesture. “I never imagined he would get a chance to do something like that.”

Despite his illness, Charvis attends school and is the kind of basketball fan who can rattle off facts about his favorite team and their opponents. About a year ago, he was referred to Make-A-Wish Mid-South, the Memphis-based chapter of the national organization.

Joe Murphy / NBAE / Getty Images

Charvis Brewer, the newest and youngest member of the Memphis Grizzlies, beams with excitement on Sunday.

When volunteers asked what Charvis would like to wish for more than anything in the world, he shared his fantasy of being drafted by the Grizzlies. Since then, his mother told TODAY.com, Charvis kept wondering: Would his dream come true?

He got his answer on Sunday when the Brewer family, including Charvis’ sister, brother and stepfather, went to brunch in Memphis, about an hour’s drive from their home in Somerville, Tenn.

At the end of the meal, Memphis Grizzlies announcer Pete Pranica charged into the dining room and called out Charvis’ name. Pranica had great news — the Grizzlies had a supplemental draft and they chose Charvis.

Brittney Williford Photography

Charvis Brewer, 8, was astonished when Grizzlies announcer Pete Pranica burst into a Memphis restaurant on Sunday and told the Brewer family that Charvis had been drafted by the team.

Mike Conley, a guard for the Grizzlies and a favorite player of Charvis’, joined the festivities with a jersey made for the team’s newest member. A limousine then ferried the Brewers to the basketball arena where the players awaited Charvis’ arrival.

The whirlwind included eating lunch with the team, watching practice, visiting the weight room and quizzing the players about basketball. Miranda Harbor, director of community outreach for Make-A-Wish Mid-South, said Charvis was thrilled and quickly took his place on the team, even offering suggestions on player positions and strategies.

Brittney Williford Photography

Player Zach Randolph had Charvis Brewer tour the Grizzlies' locker room and then surprised the 8-year-old with his very own locker.

The team just as quickly embraced Charvis. “He’s a great kid that comes from a great family and is so full of life,” Grizzlies CEO Jason Levien said in a statement to TODAY.com. “We are a bigger fan of his than he is of ours.”

Each year Make-A-Wish grants 14,000 requests, more than 1,000 of which are celebrity- and sports-related. While the organization has previously “drafted” children to their favorite sports teams, Harbor said Charvis is the first in the area to join the Grizzlies.

Brittney Williford Photography

Memphis Grizzlies players surrounded Charvis Brewer before practice on Sunday. Charvis had all sorts of tips to share with them.

The fun will continue for Charvis on Monday night as he and his family watch the Grizzlies battle the Chicago Bulls from box seats. It will be only the second Grizzlies game that Charvis has attended. This time, though, he will give the players high-fives as they run onto court.

His mother said Charvis has been preparing all day for his new role on the team: “He said he’s ready to tell them to beat those Bulls.”

Joe Murphy / NBAE / Getty Images

Team photo! Charvis Brewer settled into his new role as a member of the Grizzlies with ease.

Though Charvis will watch from the sidelines, he is exploring the possibility of one day competing in Special Olympics basketball.

For now, Charvis and his family are enjoying the special attention. “It made me feel like somebody else cared,” Colissa Brewer said. “Somebody took out time to do something my baby really wanted to do.”

12 year old whiz kid Rohan Agrawal builds his own robots...

Watch out Silicon Valley, there's a new whiz kid in town. He's not even old enough to get his driver's license, but Rohan Agrawal is already making big waves in the tech community.

According to Mashable, not only did the 12-year-old teach himself how to program, but he also builds his own robots. Expressing an interest in HTML at a young age, Agrawal had already made his own website by age 5. He recently took his talents toOLogic, a company in Sunnyvale, Calif. that specializes in the building of robots, where he unsurprisingly impressed as an stand-out intern.

"He [Agrawal] knows more than most Ph.D. students," said Ted Larson, CEO of OLogic, describing how Agrawal created a mechanism that could distribute potato chips . "I was totally shocked... He did that just within a week of being here." Watch in the video above.

The Midas Touch - Midas mechanic finds diamond ring that had been lost for 6 years...

FOX Carolina 21

GREENVILLE, SC (FOX Carolina) -

An engagement ring, lost just a month before the wedding, has been found in the Upstate six and a half years later.

It was an unbelievable reunion which made for a surprising Christmas present.

The ring itself has been up and down the East Coast countless times, stuck in the inner-workings of a car.

Its last trip though, was last week from Greenville to its home, in Richmond.

Its rightful owner, Leslie Tiller, said she's still in shock that she's gotten it back after all these years.

The diamond engagement ring that Adam Tiller gave his wife, Leslie, had been missing since 2007.

On the Friday before Christmas, Jacob Hickman, of Greenville, saw it sitting in the cup holder when he picked up his car from this Midas Auto Service Shop on Pleasantburg Drive.

"I was completely confused, but he said they found it during the service. So, "Merry Christmas,' was what he told me, and I drove off and I could not understand or think about why on this earth would there be a diamond ring in my car," said Hickman.

Brandon Estell was the technician who worked on Hickman's Honda hybrid. He said he needed to disconnect the system to do his work, which meant taking out the back seat. He said he may find loose change or a dollar, but an engagement ring is something new.

"I had no idea it was going to be this big, so I feel really good. I'm glad that I could help these guys out and make their Christmas a little more special than usual," said Estell.

It was on Hickman's ride home that he realized it wouldn't be right to pawn the jewel, because it belonged to his college friend's wife.

In 2007, Hickman and his new bride drove the Tillers home from a wedding in Richmond.

In a Facetime interview, Leslie Tiller explained that she had taken it off to clean it, and when she dropped it, she thought it fell into her lap. Once they arrived home, they searched for hours, but never found the ring.

The couple was married a month later with a replacement ring. Now, six and a half years later, both couples have car seats in their cars, with two children each.

"This is by far the most magical Christmas I've ever had. I never thought I'd see that ring again!" said Leslie Tiller.

The Tillers said they plan to go straight to the jewelers to get it sized so that it won't fall off again.

Hickman and the Tillers are extremely thankful to the folks at Midas.

Leslie Tiller's diamond engagement ring was lost in 2007 and recently found. (WHNS)

Brandon Estell (WHNS)

Jacob Hickman at the Midas shop where the ring was discovered. (WHNS)

Adam and Leslie Tiller (WHNS)

Leslie Tiller's reaction when she learned the long lost ring had been found. (WHNS/Adam Tiller)