Today’s #FourForApril, like everyday, contains a wide range of goodness from across the globe. From a 10-year-old who has helped to donate more than 200 gift cards to police officers in Chesterfield, Missouri, to a new initiative that will help children still learn while in lockdown, it is more important than ever that we keep looking after each other.
In other good news, the numbers of leatherback sea turtles has increased in Thailand at a promising rate, and a priest in Poland has found a creative way to help tackle climate change.
I hope these stories help bring some light to your day 💚
10-year-old donates more than 200 gift cards to police officers
A 10-year-old girl has donated over 200 gift cards to some local police officers.
Hannah Imig, 10, from Missouri, Chesterfield, heard that some police officers were going to lose some of their pay due to financial issues from the COVID-19 pandemic and she wanted to help.
After deciding that she wanted to donate some of her savings to help them, Hannah also set up a fundraiser to buy gift cards for the officers.
The 10-year-old posted a handwritten letter on her mum’s Facebook page, asking for donations and within a day and a half, Chesterfield Police Department said she collected $2,400.
The Chesterfield Police Department wrote on Facebook: “She then went a step further in her kindness and used that money to purchase gift cards from several local restaurants and businesses in the area, helping all of them during these tough financial times as well.”
Hannah and her family presented the department with 232 gift cards to distribute among the officers.
The department said that was enough for each officer and civilian police employee to have two gift cards each.
You can read more about this lovely story here.
Lockdown boosts number of Thailand’s rare sea turtles
The largest number of nests of rare leatherback sea turtles in two decades has been discovered on Thailand’s beaches.
From sheep galloping into Welsh towns to deer venturing into London suburbs, lockdowns are drawing wildlife into the open more than ever.
Since November, 11 turtle nests have been found, the highest number in 20 years.
Kongkiat Kittiwatanawong, director of the Phuket Marine Biological Centre said: “This is a very good sign for us because many areas for spawning have been destroyed by humans.
“If we compare to the year before, we didn’t have this many spawn, because turtles have a high risk of getting killed by fishing gear and humans disturbing the beach.”
Leatherbacks are the world’s largest sea turtles and are considered endangered in Thailand where people have also been known to dig into their nests and steal eggs.
Late in March, staff at a national park in the southern province of Phanga Nga, bordering the Andaman Sea, found 84 hatchlings.
You can read more about this great news here.
Disadvantaged children able to get free laptops to keep learning
Children from disadvantaged backgrounds across England are to be able to receive free laptops and tablets to help them learn from home during the lockdown.
It is hoped this will help make remote education accessible for pupils while their schools are closed during the coronavirus pandemic.
Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said 4G routers will also be provided to ensure disadvantaged secondary school pupils and care leavers can access the internet.
Following this, a new online academy is also being launched to offer pupils 180 online lessons a week.
The Oak National Academy, created by a collective of 40 teachers, launches today.
The platform will hold 180 video lessons per week and cover a broad range of subjects for pupils from reception to Year 10.
Mr Williamson said: “By providing young people with these laptops and tablets and enabling schools to access high quality support, we will enable all children to continue learning now and in the years to come.”
Young people will be eligible for the devices if they do not already have one and either have a social worker or are care leavers, or are disadvantaged children in year 10, ahead of GCSEs next year.
The Department for Education said schools and colleges will be able to keep the laptops and tablets once they have reopened.
You can read more about this story here.
Polish priest helps fight climate change with giant solar cross
A new cross erected by a polish priest is helping to fight climate change.
The cross, made of 18 solar photovoltaic panels, produces the electricity to power the church’s lighting, heating and air conditioning.
It is the brainchild of Krzysztof Guzialek, the priest at Our Lady of Czestochowa church.
He said he arrived at the parish in the summer of 2018 and wondered how he was going to cope with such huge electricity bills.
He decided he would install solar panels, and had a flash of inspiration to get these in the shape of a cross.
Krzysztof, 57, footed the 32,000-zloty ($7,688.98) bill himself.
He said he was inspired when, five years ago, Pope Francis called on his followers to work together to save the planet, saying Mother Earth “cries out to us because of the harm we have inflicted on her by our irresponsible use and abuse of the goods with which God has endowed her.”
Krzysztof says he hopes it will make people more aware of what they can do for the environment.
He told Reuters: “We all need to think that we do it not only for ourselves but for the future generations. Let’s save the Earth, let’s save the world.”
You can read more about Krzysztof’s great story here.
Bonus positive
Joe Wicks, as we mentioned before, has been holding daily weekday P.E. session for children. He confirmed on Facebook today that from the 20 sessions he has held so far, he earned £90,000 from advertising revenue, all of which is going to the NHS 👏
Every day in April, we will be sharing four positive news stories in one post under the hashtag #FourForApril. Got any kindness stories? Send them in! We’d love the world to hear about these good deeds by good people 🙂
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