Boy to undergo heart surgery gets TV station surprise

An adorable 3-year-old boy received the surprise of his life on Wednesday.

Will Markwell has been teaching his mom and dad since the day he was born. His first lesson was a bit of a surprise.

"We did not know, prior to him being born, that he has Down syndrome," said his father.

Will has taught his parents that a diagnosis does not determine a level of happiness.

"He's super smart, super funny – always in a good mood, loves people," said Will's mom, Casie.

During a routine procedure a few weeks ago, doctors found a hole in the middle of his heart. On Friday, he'll undergo open heart surgery.

The days leading up to surgery have been painful to his parents, but not for Will. He's been busy being captivated by 11Alive's weather forecast.

"His obsessions started when he was Ella, his little sister's age – 9 or 10 months," said his mother. "Every time he would hear the music, the chimes play, he would direct his attention straight to the TV and just start smiling, start pointing and start laughing."

No matter what Will is doing, when 11Alive's weather and Chesley McNeil come on, he stops and starts watching. He especially loves the WIZometer.

"We talk about the number every day, and what the weather's going to be like," said Casie Markwell.

This Wednesday, Will had an unforgettable encounter at 11Alive. He met Chesley and saw the WIZometer in person. He also received his very own MINI Cooper, courtesy of Toys"R"Us, as well as other surprises from Chick-fil-A, the Georgia Aquarium, the Atlanta Braves and Georgia Tech.

The surprise visit to 11Alive was Will's parents' way of giving back to the boy who has taught them everything in just three years.

"He has this beautiful way of putting life into perspective," his mom said. "Every day is more beautiful because of him."

Let's go out for Developmental Disabilities

March is national Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month and The Kindness Project invites you to join us to help raise awareness about people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD). 

What should you do? Simply make plans to go out somewhere in public on Saturday, March 29. That’s all. Just plan a day out and about with friends and family or by yourself enjoying the things you like to do. And, in the process help raise awareness and generate some conversation about people with I/DD. 

This one-day movement will serve to harness our collective power to gain allies, foster understanding, dispel myths and encourage people without disabilities to recognize that we’re not so different after all.This March 29, let’s all go out and start breaking down those social barriers.. 

This is your chance to personally help raise awareness about people with I/DD just by being yourself and participating in the things you enjoy alongside others in your community without disabilities. 

If you are a person with I/DD, make plans to hit the movies, the park, your local shopping center or restaurant for a day out and maybe spark some conversation in the process. Or, if you are a friend or family member of a person with I/DD, make plans to enjoy a fun activity together in public.

Spread the word using the hashtag #DDAware on social media during the month of March.

By Heidi Shebaro
Founder of "The Kindness Project in the Middle East", a teacher and a blogger

High-Five Camera Shows That Everyone Needs Kindness

What is the best way to say hello to someone -- a wave, a handshake ... a high-five?

The High Five Cam spreading a little cheer in the world and their 1st stop was: Times Square NYC.

Of all the gestures, the high-five is king. Unlike "impersonal" handshakes, the greeting is the quickest and most universal gesture for telling someone, 'you are awesome'.

So, to put the notion to the test, a high-five camera recorded strangers' reactions to the high five.

What a wonderful thing! You can give a random high-five to a stranger and, more than likely, it will make them feel better.

Kindness is contagious, according to a study done by researchers at University of California, Los Angeles, and University of Cambridge and University of Plymouth in the United Kingdom.

When we see someone else help another person it gives us a good feeling, which in turn causes us to go out and do something altruistic ourselves, the study found, which was the first of its kind to systematically document this tendency in human nature.

When you feel this sense of moral 'elevation' not only do you say you want to be a better person and help others, but you actually do when the opportunity presents itself.

"Kindness is like snow - it beautifies everything it covers" - Khalil Gebran

By Heidi Shebaro 
Founder of "The Kindness Project in the Middle East", a teacher and a blogger

The Honesty Test

You can see the astonishing power of kindness in this video, this social experiment that showed that (most) people are truly good.

The video above, called "The Honesty Test," was shot in Opole, Poland, and was posted to YouTube earlier this month. In the video, a man drops his wallet in public 50 times and records how many good Samaritans out there returned it to him.

The Polish at the beginning translates to "Hiya! In this video we'll check people's honesty and see who'll give me my wallet back." Forty-nine people didn't even hesitate to do the right thing.

Our ability to be kind is a fundamental part of being humans. A simple smile, shared with a stranger, brings happiness to two people. From there, it spreads like the ripples on a pond disturbed by a pebble.

"A little kindness from person to person is better than a vast love for all humankind." - Richard Dehmel

Changing the world one act of kindness at a time!

By Heidi Shebaro
Founder of "The Kindness Project in the Middle East", a teacher and a blogger

Strangers And Channing Tatum Team Up To Help Teen With Terminal Cancer Accomplish Her Bucket List

When a teenager with terminal brain cancer created an ambitious "bucket list," the Internet decided to help her make it happen.

Alisa Finley, an 18-year-old high school senior from Colby, Kansas, has been diagnosed with a stage 4 brain tumor. Despite a bleak prognosis and being placed in hospice care, Finley is focused on living life to the fullest and accomplishing as much as she can. In this spirit, she put together a "bucket list" of things she wants to experience, and, incredibly, thousands of people (including Channing Tatum) came together online to show their support.

Her bucket list consists of 48 items ranging from "walk on the great wall of China" to "throw a big party," and each item is either "in progress," "done" or waiting to be accomplished.

After seeing the list posted online, people began to help by sending donations, showing their support and even taking pictures from all over the world with signs for Finley.

Like this one from London:

And these from New York:

The No. 1 item on Finley's list is "Kiss Channing Tatum." Recently, Tatum himself sent her this video with a virtual smooch included:

However, Finley doesn't seem to be settling for a virtual kiss (smart girl), and the list currently marks the Tatum item as "almost done." Maybe she's holding out for the real thing?

Here are some items she has marked off:

Go to Europe -- DONE

Try every cheesecake at the Cheesecake Factory -- DONE

Pie war -- DONE

Have a guy sing to me -- DONE

Kayla Lawson, the head admin and co-creator of the "Alisa's Butterflies" Facebook page, told The Huffington Post, "I think what made her cause so special is that she never once wanted to give up. She's showing strength in her darkest time. Alisa is showing not just America but the entire world that you should always chase your dreams no matter the circumstance and that nobody fights alone."

Want to do an act of kindness today? Want to help Alisa Finley complete all 48 items? Visit this page to keep track and see how you can help!

May this precious teen's last days be filled with hugs, love, and beautiful butterflies kisses!

By Heidi Shebaro 

Founder of "The Kindness Project in the Middle East", a teacher and a blogger

A teenager dies after saving girlfriend from oncoming train

We know by now that it is good to be kind and do an act of kindness! But it's heroic when this act of kindness is giving your life to save someone else's life. That's what happened on Saturday.

A young man died while trying to save his first love's life as a train came barreling down on them while they were on their way to a school dance.

The girl is now in a hospital fighting to hold onto the life her boyfriend gave everything to save.

The family of 16-year-old Mickayla Friend said she and her boyfriend were planning to attend a Sadie Hawkins Day dance at their high school in Marysville, Calif., when they walked towards a store on the train tracks.

A train approached traveling in the same direction as the two teenagers and they were unable to move out of the way in time, TV station KCRA reports.

"It's her first boyfriend and her first love....And she just got it taken away from her in an instant."

At the last moment Mickayla's boyfriend — whose name has not been released by authorities but has been identified on Facebook as Mateus Moore — pushed her out of the way. He was killed at the scene. His girlfriend is in critical condition at a local hospital.

"It's her first boyfriend and her first love," Alithya Friend, Mickayla's sister, said. "And she just got it taken away from her in an instant."

Authorities told the station the conductor blew the horn and activated the emergency brakes, but the train did not stop in time.

"You can't imagine getting the worst call in your life, knowing that you just dropped your sister off to go to a dance that was supposed to be a special, amazing night for her and her boyfriend of a year," Alithya Friend said. "And then you get a call that says he's deceased and she's in critical condition."

The accident occurred near a crowded park and many onlookers rushed over to try and save the two teenagers.

"The engineer was on the horn… Then finally, they both looked back at the same time," witness Sean Stark said. "They would have both been underneath that train if he didn't push her out of the way at the last second."

"Kindness is the touch of an angel's hand." - James L. Gordon

By Heidi Shebaro 

Founder of "The Kindness Project in the Middle East", a teacher and a blogger

Lebanon topped the Middle East and ranked 25 for the happiest people

Lebanon topped the Middle East at No. 25. according to an unusual new report that analyses smiling selfies on Instagram.

Jetpac, a startup known for their social travel guide app, has analyzed more than 150 million Instagram posts in 6,000 worldwide cities to come up with a ranking of the happiest countries on the globe. 

Jetpac compiled the rankings by coming up with what they call a "smile score" for each country, a measure determined by analyzing how often residents were smiling in Instagram photos. The bigger the smile, the higher the smile score. 

A country's overall smile score was determined by averaging the scores each photo's smile received. 

While the study ranked Brazilians as the happiest people in the world, Lebanon topped the Middle East. 

Although the coming news everyday from Lebanon does not imply any happiness, but this thing only proves that the Lebanese people love life regardless of everything that is going on in their country and they try to overcome war and guns with a smile. And The Kindness Project is a witness on that, because we are getting daily kindness stories from the Middle East. 

Lebanese value the little things in life. That's why you see them smiling in their photos. And they are working on spreading kindness to make their country a better place. 

Here's the complete ranking. Scores are out of 100 points. 

1. Brazil 60.8

2. Nicaragua 59.4

3. Colombia 49.8

4. Bolivia 48.1

5. Costa Rica 47.4

6. Honduras 47.2

7. Venezuela 45.2

8. Philippines 44.8

9. Guatemala 42.0

10. Mexico 40.1

11. Macedonia 40.1

12. Kazakhstan 39.6

13. Panama 39.4

14. El Salvador 36.2

15. Ecuador 35.3

16. Moldova 34.1

17. Netherlands Antilles 34.1

18. South Africa 33.6

19. Romania 33.4

20. Chile 33.4

21. Puerto Rico 33.2

22. Paraguay 32.9

23. Dominican Republic 32.7

24. Iceland 32.0

25. Lebanon 31.0

26. Peru 31.0

27. Uruguay 31.0

28. Laos 30.9

29. Serbia 30.5

30. Luxembourg 30.4

31. Ireland 30.4

32. Argentina 30.0

33. United States 29.7

34. Egypt 29.6

35. Kyrgyzstan 29.4

36. Ukraine 29.3

37. Albania 29.2

38. Angola 29.0

39. Turkey 28.9

40. Russia 27.5

41. Malta 27.4

42. Thailand 27.2

43. Portugal 27.1

44. Israel 26.9

45. Canada 26.7

46. Myanmar 26.5

47. Ghana 26.4

48. Bangladesh 26.2

49. Australia 26.2

50. Nigeria 26.1

51. Uzbekistan 26.0

52. Aruba 25.7

53. Bosnia and Herzegovina 25.6

54. Indonesia 25.5

55. Cyprus 25.3

56. Bahamas 25.2

57. Armenia 25.1

58. Malaysia 24.9

59. Bulgaria 24.7

60. Belgium 24.5

61. Trinidad and Tobago 24.4

62. United Kingdom 24.3

63. Norway 24.2

64. Brunei 24.2

65. Italy 23.8

66. Belarus 23.7

67. New Zealand 23.2

68. Singapore 22.7

69. Greece 22.3

70. Tunisia 22.2

71. Slovakia 22.1

72. Barbados 21.2

73. Azerbaijan 21.1

74. Hungary 20.9

75. France 20.8

76. Iraq 20.6

77. Vietnam 20.4

78. Jamaica 20.0

79. Morocco 20.0

80. Spain 20.0

81. India 19.9

82. Netherlands 19.6

83. Georgia 19.5

84. Finland 19.3

85. Nepal 19.3

86. Virgin Islands, British 19.2

87. Denmark 19.0

88. Kenya 18.8

89. Monaco 18.5

90. Croatia 18.4

91. Tanzania 18.2

92. Jordan 17.9

93. Sri Lanka 17.5

94. Palestine 17.4

95. Pakistan 17.2

96. Switzerland 17.1

97. Lithuania 17.1

98. Austria 16.8

99. Czech Republic 16.5

100. Sweden 16.1

101. Germany 15.6

102. Montenegro 15.5

103. Slovenia 15.5

104. Latvia 15.4

105. Poland 14.8

106. Mauritius 14.7

107. Andorra 14.6

108. Qatar 14.6

109. Estonia 14.4

110. Cambodia 13.5

111. Taiwan 13.4

112. Macao 13.3

113. Oman 13.3

114. Hong Kong 13.2

115. United Arab Emirates 12.9

116. China 12.4

117. Bahrain 11.7

118. Iran 11.7

119. Saudi Arabia 11.6

120. Maldives 9.8

121. Vatican City 9.8

122. Kuwait 9.7

123. South Korea 9.5

124. Japan 4.1

By Heidi Shebaro 

Founder of "The Kindness Project in the Middle East", a teacher and a blogger

This Chart Will Take You From Grumpy To Happy In Just A Few Minutes

Dogs, babies and Beyoncé... what else does anyone need in order to turn their mood around?

Whether it's puppies playing in a ball pit or a tune you can't help but tap your foot to, you can boost your feelings of happiness in just a matter of minutes. Research has shown that upbeat music can promote feelings of positivity and elevate our moods. But indulging in those silly animal videos isn't actually the same as procrastinating at all -- in fact, cute videos and satisfying songs are probably making you a better employee. A study conducted by Hiroshima University found that a few minutes of YouTube can help spike productivity and allow you to focus better, making a little bit of joy -- and a little bit of work -- truly just a click away.

Still not convinced you're a few moments away from turning around your grumpy demeanor? We dare you not to smile after you go through this CHART from huffingtonpost.

"Be happy for this moment. This moment is your life." - Omar Khayyam

Selfies and Hashtags to raise cancer awareness

Who says hashtags and selfies are a waste of time?

The social media trend #nomakeupselfie has garnered more than £2 million (or $3.3 million) in funding for Cancer Research UK, the organization announced on Twitter on Thursday. What's more, the impressive sum was raised within 48 hours.

It all started earlier this week, when group officials noticed social media users were tagging photos with #nomakeupselfie and #cancerawareness, apparently in an effort to support the fight against the disease.

Cancer Research UK then stepped in and told folks how to actually use those hashtags for tangible results. On Tuesday, the group set up a text donation number and encouraged people to give £3 (about $4).

Millions were soon raised for cancer research.

Other health awareness organizations have since jumped on the bandwagon, including the British Lung Foundation and the Irish Cancer Society, which has so far raised more than £400,000 ($551,760) in donations.

It is a simple act of kindness you can do today. Raise awareness. Donate to any cancer center in your country. You don't have to give a lot. Sometimes a hug, a smile or even a selfie can help.

"Carry out a random act of kindness, with no expectation of reward, safe in the knowledge that one day, someone might do the same for you." - Princess Diana

By Heidi Shebaro 

Founder of "The Kindness Project in the Middle East", a teacher and a blogger

"35 and Single"

Having lot of friends single and over 35, I always respected their way of living and I am certain that they never felt pressured from my part. I totally respect when someone knows what he wants in life and act on it.

Being SINGLE is never a huge deal or problem. But managing the SOLITUDE that comes with it, usually can be. 

An Argentine woman, Paula Schargorodsky, documenting her relationships, begins an intimate investigation searching for love and answers: must she settle down or continue to be a free spirit in order to be happy?

"Over the past 10 years, I’ve been compulsively filming everyone and everything for no particular reason. All my love stories and breakups have been recorded and systematically kept.

As I continued to change boyfriends and hometowns every two years or so, I filmed my friends with their boyfriends, then husbands, then pregnant bellies, until they were surrounded by children. When my last single friend from school married, I fell asleep the evening of the wedding and didn’t show up.

I’m 35, Argentine, Jewish and single.

And these four categories don’t seem to go smoothly together. So I decided to make a film about the questions I have struggled to answer. Can social mandates be disregarded, or is my extended youth finally coming to its end?

After I finished filming, I met someone. He is imperfect, and I love him. This time I realize I can live with unanswered questions, and that’s fine."

One thing for sure.. "If you aren’t happy single, you won’t be happy taken. Happiness comes from within, not from people."

Paula Schargorodsky is a filmmaker who lives in Buenos Aires. She is currently expanding the story in this Op-Doc video into a feature-length documentary, “Girl Behind the Camera,” and an online interactive project, “Get Over It.”

By Heidi Shebaro 

Founder of "The Kindness Project in the Middle East", a teacher and a blogger

'Wheel Of Fortune' Lucky Guess

It's a thing, and it's three words: three letters, four letters and five letters. The first two letters are "NE." Go ahead. Come up with a guess -- make it a good one. 

If you have ever wondered what a lucky guess is, well you must see this video!

"New Baby Buggy"!!! Who thinks of something like that ha! 

Emil's guess was so incredible that host Pat Sajak shakes his head and then jokingly frisks Emil to see if he's hiding anything.

I don't know what Emil may have had in his pockets during the show, but he's going home with an extra $45,000 in them.

By Heidi Shebaro
Founder of "The Kindness Project in the Middle East", a teacher and a blogger

Father devoted to children's education

Talk about great Act of Kindness! 

When the children in Sam Lang village, Dien Bien Province, near Hanoi in northern Vietnam could not get to school due to spring floods, one father found a solution.

As the nearby suspension bridge was out of action, he put the children in a plastic bag to keep them dry, and carried them across the flooded river.

His incredible devotion to the children’s education was filmed by their teacher Tong Thi Minh.

One of the children’s fathers carefully wrap up each child in a plastic bag before he launches himself neck deep into the raging torrent.

Once at the other side, the still dry child jumps out, before the man swims back to pick up another.

"Those who make compassion an essential part of their lives find the joy of life. Kindness deepens the spirit and produces rewards that cannot be completely explained in words. It is an experience more powerful than words. To become acquainted with kindness one must be prepared to learn new things and feel new feelings. Kindness is more than a philosophy of the mind. It is a philosophy of the spirit." - Robert J. Furey

Can we say this is the Father of the year? Well, he definitely owned it.

By Heidi Shebaro 

Founder of "The Kindness Project in the Middle East", a teacher and a blogger

The Most Valuable Tweet for Kenya

It's great to see people using technology to benefit good causes in creative ways. Anonymous Twitter user @savethemhood, has just made Twitter history in the coolest way ever.

Through one simple tweet, @savethemhood gave roughly $11,000, or 14,000,000 dogecoins, to Doge4Water, an initiative helping to bring clean water to Kenya. According to Forbes, that's the most money ever donated directly through a single tweet.

Here is the tweet:

@tipdoge tip @Doge4water 14000000 may we all drink water. let the wealthy fill your cup. #savethemhood— Hood (@savethemhood) March 16, 2014

The user @savethemhood is part of the dogecoin community, the members of which use dogecoin, a form of digital currency, to buy products, trade for other currencies, "tip" online users who create or share great content, or -- in @savethemhood's case -- help impoverished communities.

By sending the tweet to an automated donation bot, @savethemhood gave more than a third of Doge4Water's overall goal of $30,000, which will go toward digging wells in Kenya, NBC News reports. Doge4Water was hoping to reach its target by World Water Day on March 22, and @savethemhood's massive gift sealed the deal.

Interested in helping Doge4Water bring clean water to Kenya? Visit their website to learn more and make a donation.

"Wherever there is a human in need, there is an opportunity for kindness and to make a difference." - Kevin Heath

By Heidi Shebaro 

Founder of "The Kindness Project in the Middle East", a teacher and a blogger