RDAU_10-11_Oct_Nov Issue

MEDESULDA/GETTY IMAGES They Made It Stick Joanne Miller’s fourth grade students in Volusia County, Florida, call them- selves the Kindness Squad and aim to spread positivity far and wide. But one of their own needed some uplift- ing earlier this year: Sophia Campbell was having a bad day and admitted she didn’t feel smart. To cheer her up, Sophia’s classmates covered her desk and chair in brightly colored Post-it notes with messages on them reminding Sophia that she is smart— and “amazing,” “beautiful,” “brave,” “a hard worker” and “like pure gold to this class.” Miller filmed Sophia find- ing the notes and posted the video on Facebook. In it, Sophia exclaims, “I’m laughing and crying,” before running to hug a classmate. “This was 100% their idea,” Miller wrote of the kids in her Facebook post. “No state test can measure this. It’s empathy in action.” Sink or Swim They don’t call it the Windy City for nothing. A powerful gust in Chicago’s lakefront area this past February blew a stroller—with an 8-month-old baby girl inside it—into Lake Michigan. Lio Cundiff saw it happen and, despite not knowing how to swim, he instantly jumped into the lake, grabbed the girl’s stroller and fought to keep it above water, unsure how long he could stay afloat. Another onlooker, Luis Kapost, saw Cundiff struggling, so he took off his jacket and tossed one end of it to Cundiff while holding on to one sleeve. Cundiff grabbed the other, allowing Kapost to pull him and the infant in to safety. As for why he leaped into the lake, Cundiff told the Chicago Sun- Times , “Turns out, if I have to choose fight or flight, I guess I’m a fighter.” The Party Line Outside a bookstore in Abilene, Texas (one of America’s most conservative cities), and a tattoo parlor in San Fran- cisco, California (one of America’s most liberal cities), sit pay phones that connect only to each other, inviting passersby to call people with opposing political views and try to relate to each other. Installed in January, the phones are a social experiment by biotech firm Matter Neuroscience. “Our thesis,” co- founder Ben Goldhirsh told ABC News, “is that humans ... if given the oppor- tunity, will really look to find common ground, because biologically that actu- ally gives us a lot more happiness.” reader ’ s digest 34 OctOber/NOvember 2026 GLAD TO HEAR IT 3 Stories to Make Your Day World of Good reader ’ s digest Amazing arayof sunshine Smile Radiant brave loving ahard worker Beautiful cute