海角大神

This time of year is known as a season of light, and with good reason. You see it in so many small encounters: The man who stops to chat with a homeless man about last night鈥檚 game. The woman who tucks money into a Salvation Army bucket 鈥� and then adds more with a smile. Neighbors who welcome a newcomer with a group dinner.

Without fail, the individuals who give of their time or heart note how much more they receive.

Take Moses Elder, a homeless man in Phoenix who assisted an anonymous businessman in his holiday practice of . 鈥淭oday we changed a lot of people鈥檚 lives. But I believe my life was changed the most.鈥�

Or Kari Suhadolnik, who joined others in Ohio鈥檚 Stow-Munroe Falls school district to clear the lunch debts of 515 low-income students. She is energized. 鈥�,鈥� she says.

Or Wade Bender. He speaks of men at a correctional facility in Gunnison, Utah, who paint cheerful faces on more than 100,000 wooden toy cars that volunteers at Tiny Tim鈥檚 Foundation for Kids before Christmas. 鈥淭hey鈥檒l tell us, 鈥楾his is the first time I鈥檝e done something for somebody else. Thank you.鈥� 鈥澛�

As founder Alton Thacker says, 鈥淚鈥檝e always said that the secret of happiness is to make somebody else happy. So after the New Year, we鈥檒l start all over again.鈥�

Now to our five stories for today.