Kindness+Stories


 * Kindness Stories **

**Wrong Number Miracle**
toc Virginia Saenz could hear the desperation in the voice of the telephone message. It was 5 a.m. on the day before Thanksgiving, and the caller, Lucy Crutchfield, was trying to tell her daughter that she'd send money for groceries -- but she'd have to miss a mortgage payment to do it.

But Crutchfield dialed the wrong number. Instead of getting her daughter, she got Saenz, a real estate agent from the San Diego suburb of Tierrasanta.

"I know right now we are all struggling," Saenz said. "Lisa on the phone, she sounded so desperate for her daughter, it broke my heart."

Saenz did the only thing she could think of -- she called Crutchfield back and said not to worry. Crutchfield would pay the mortgage, and Saenz would handle the groceries.

She said, 'You have the wrong number ... don't worry any more,' " Crutchfield recalled.

For Crutchfield, it was a holiday miracle. Her house is already in foreclosure. Her mother recently passed away, and Crutchfield is now trying to pay off her house. She had a money order prepared to make a mortgage payment on that house -- but was going to cash it in when her daughter called asking for money.

"I thought I was going to lose that house, too," Crutchfield said.

Saenz told Crutchfield to keep her money and promised to take care of her daughter. The real estate agent then called Crutchfield's daughter.

"I asked her what she would like, what her kids like, and then I felt really bad because she said she only wanted eggs and milk," Saenz said. "When somebody only asks you for eggs and milk, they are in a really bad situation."

So Saenz went grocery shopping on Thanksgiving morning with her 14-year-old son in tow to tell her what kids liked to eat. They bought food for a Thanksgiving dinner and enough groceries to get Crutchfield's daughter through the end of the month -- her next payday.

She said the act of giving made "the day special for me."

"I helped somebody," Saenz said Friday. "I think it's what anybody would have done."

Christmas Outpouring in November for Dying Boy
Seven weeks before Christmas, a modern day Christmas miracle was taking place in South Lyon, Michigan, in the home of a five-year-old boy in hospice, with a very short time to live.

After a tear-filled Halloween weekend, Noah Biorkman’s parents, Diana and Scott, decided that instead of waiting for Noah to die without celebrating Christmas one last time, they would bring the holiday to him early in November. They would put up a Christmas tree, ask the family to gather early and ask their friends to send Noah a Christmas card. One friend created a Facebook page called “Christmas Cards for Noah Biorkman,” with this description:

Christmas will come early for a five year old Michigan boy this year. Noah Biorkman is battling cancer and is not expected to live much longer. Noah's family is celebrating Christmas this weekend and Noah loves Christmas cards!”

The Tuesday after, Diana wrote, “Scott and I are shocked at the outpouring of love, prayers, support, and compassion that all of you have shown over the past four days alone.” They received 64 Christmas cards and one package and the Post Office supervisor, Sandy, told them the entire post office was stunned by the “compassion shown from people all over the country.”

Noah and Diana decorated the Christmas tree and put Santas in the windowsill and read every card together. Noah’s dad, Scott, lifted the boy up high in the air to put a star on top of the tree. The family was offered clowns, Santas, Christmas Carolers, and even "a snow delivery” to make sure that “Noah had a White Christmas.” But it was the cards they wanted... and the cards came flooding in.

The parents were also filled with satisfaction that they were able to teach others about pediatric cancer through Noah’s story, especially Neuroblastoma cancer which had afflicted their son. Noah's name was, according to his mom, the 12th most Googled topic on Friday.

On Wednesday November 4th, 416 more cards from the Post Office were delivered along with packages and cards from a local school. A camera crew from Detroit’s Channel 4 arrived at their door and produced a story about this Christmas miracle of love and compassion. Natalie Sentz reported that the 5-year-old had pointed to an angel ornament as his favorite because it reminded him of where he’ll soon be, ‘In heaven,' and said "I’m going to be an angel.” The reporter also noted that Diana is asking that instead of gifts for Noah, a single dollar could be inserted into the cards for donation to the University of Michigan neuroblastoma research center and the Michigan Make A Wish Chapter.

Noah didn’t need a snow delivery or a trip to the mall. The following day, the chaos of cards and packgages commenced, according to his mom. 9 people helped read what amounted to more than 2,600 Christmas cards -- and that was just on Thursday. The mailman said that in his 31 years working for the U.S. Post Office, he had never seen anything like this -- and that was before the delivery of more than 10,000 on Saturday alone! The cards and packages and toys filled Noah's entire living room

On the “Christmas Cards for Noah” Facebook site, thousands of messages from people all over the world greeted Noah, wishing him a Merry Christmas. As of November 7th, over 16,000 Christmas cards had been sent over the Internet via Facebook to Noah from places as diverse as Tennessee, Australia, Canada, and Serbia.

Andie Wyrick wrote, “Little sweetpea, you are a rockstar. Be looking for a BIG box from houston, TX. We love you and pray for you.”

“It is Christmas in the heart that puts Christmas in the air!” wrote Terri Shermatero-Keesling.

"Merry Christmas from Scotland. Hope Santa is good to you,” wrote another.

Santa was coming to Noah’s house on Sunday but Santas all over the world were spreading Christmas cheer to a little boy in a house in South Lyon, Michigan.

As I sat at home, reading the Facebook cards, it was hard not to imagine the smiles on the faces of Noah, his parents, grandparents and entire family as they read, one by one, from the incredible worldwide wave of joy that was reaching their home. I could imagine the scene from It’s a Wonderful Life when George Bailey felt the phenomenal spirit of compassion from all of those around him who loved him.

Noah’s life might have been short but like Clarence in It’s a Wonderful Life, Noah will be earning his wings.

Noah passed away on November 23, 2009.

What a he row
A BOY of 12 was hailed a hero yesterday for rowing two policemen out to save a drowning drugs suspect.

Will Abbotts - who uses his small boat to fish from his family's lakeside mansion - went into action after cops in riot gear raided a neighbouring home.

Officers arrested one man and found 1,000 cannabis plants. But a second men leapt from a balcony at the rented house, fracturing at least one leg, and then tried to escape by swimming the lake.

Will heard shouts as he stepped off his school bus and saw the fugitive's head bobbing in the water.

The lad - who was still in his public school uniform - said: "I shouted across that I had a boat. I was shaking a bit because I didn't know what this suspect was capable of. "And when we picked him up there were four people on the boat and it is only meant for two adults at most. We were very pleased to get back to shore."

PC Mike Dawber - one of the officers he helped on a millionaire's row in Mere, near Knutsford, Cheshire - said: "Will's action was brilliant. "His expert rowing got us across very quickly."

Chief Supt Mick Garrihy said: "He contributed to a police operation against organised crime and saved a man from drowning. He showed speed of thought, bravery and calmness under pressure."

Will's father Gordon, 63, said: "We're very proud, although his mother would have preferred he took the time to put on a life jacket." Two suspects are facing trial.

Cancer survivor, 9, funds support dog for 2-year-old
After two years of surgery, chemotherapy and treatment for a brain tumor, 9-year-old Allison Winn wanted other kids with cancer to have a companion like her dog, Coco. "She made me feel better," Allison said.

So when she regained her strength at the end of spring, Allison embarked on a fundraising campaign of her own invention to pay for feeding and training companion dogs for kids like her.

On Tuesday, in the lobby of the women's prison where Coco and the new dog were trained, she watched quietly, but intently, as 2-year-old cancer survivor Krysta Hubbard caressed the nose of Lucky Bug, a gentle black Labrador. Krysta affectionately called him "Puppy."

"It made me feel good," Allison said in a soft voice.

Allison was a 7-year-old first-grader on April 6, 2007, when a doctor told her mother, Dianna Litvak, 40, that a medulloblastoma was causing her to see double. Within two days, doctors performed surgery to remove the tumor and initiated chemotherapy that sapped Allison's strength.

A doctor suggested that she get a pet for companionship. Litvak applied for a dog through the Colorado Department of Corrections' correctional industries program. Under the program, inmates at the Denver Women's Correctional Facility train dogs surrendered to local animal shelters to be companion or service dogs for elderly, disabled or seriously ill owners, said Debi Stevens, who supervises the program.

Allison named her white bichon frise Coco because the dog often got dirty around the mouth when she ate.

When Allison started feeling better in the spring, she announced one day, "I want to do this for a kid who has cancer."

It was her idea to bake homemade dog biscuits from a recipe using flour, bouillon cubes, oil and dried milk powder. She made thousands of dog-bone- shaped biscuits to sell at a lemonade stand in front of her house or a store.

Allison called the treats "Stinkbug dog biscuits," because "stink bug" is what she called chemotherapy on the last day of her treatments. "Bye-bye, stink bug," she declared, according to her mother.

At the same time Allison was baking dog biscuits this past summer, Shanell Mullen, a waitress at a Golden Corral restaurant in Riverton, Wyo., began noticing that her daughter's eyesight was impaired and that she had become moody.
 * Tumor removed**

She had brain cancer. A tumor the size of a golf ball was removed from Krysta's head in July.

On Tuesday, Shanell drove down from Wyoming, with Krysta repeatedly asking her mother, "Doggy? Doggy? Where's my puppy?"

At the prison, Krysta got a chance to choose from three dogs. Legally blind, Krysta sniffed and patted and drew her face close to the dogs until she selected Lucky Bug. "C'mon, dog, c'mon," she finally said to Lucky Bug as she gently tugged on the dog's leash.

Her mother said she thinks what Allison did was unique.
 * Sharing her good luck**

"I just think that is an awesome little girl," Mullen said. "It's a very touching story."

Allison earned about $1,000 over the summer — enough to buy Lucky Bug and two other dogs she can give to other cancer-stricken kids. She's also planning a new dog biscuit-making campaign.

Mom Organizes to Save Trail from Development
A trail alongside Marsh Creek State Park enjoyed by Chester County neighbors for 30 years was closed off when a developer bought the ecologically-sensitive property, until a local mom organized 1,800 people to encourage a patchwork of state and local officials from both parties to unite and save it.

By the time the project was finished, $3.125 million had been raised, and politicians from both parties all the way up to the Pennsylvania governor had gotten involved to make it possible to purchase the land and preserve the 2.6 mile paved path. As Sharon O'Shaughnessy, founder of Friends of the Struble Trail, says, "Now wildlife and people will be able to enjoy this area for generations to come, because citizens organized and persuaded officials to work together."

"It was complicated, because three municipalities and the Pennsylvania state government were involved. They couldn't agree on how to divide the purchase when it initially came up for sale. Friends of the Struble Trail organized to systematically encourage township, county, and state officials to work together with local politicians to save the property."

Girl grants elderly people their dying wishes
Thoughtful? Check. Pleasant? Check. Well spoken? Check. Grants elderly people's dying wishes? Check. Am I on Candid Camera?

I'm sitting in the Laguna Beach home of Helen Kronberg on a Sunday evening.

Helen is under the covers, in bed with lung cancer at the age of 89. And nearby, serving her a gourmet Chinese meal is thoughtful, pleasant, well-spoken Caitlin Crommett, who just turned 16.

"Here's your first course," she tells Helen, smiling politely as she hands her a bowl. "I have soup for you." "It's marvelous," says Helen, propped up on pillows. "You hear about all the bad things kids are doing and never the good things." Helen looks over at Caitlin and smiles: "You little rascal." ••• Caitlin got the idea last year, after watching the movie "Patch Adams." In it, Robin Williams plays a doctor who is all about making his patients happy. In one scene, he fills a wading pool with spaghetti for a dying woman to jump into. After thinking about the movie for a few weeks, Caitlin told her parents she wanted to try and grant the wishes of elderly people in hospice care.

They weren't surprised.

Twice a year Hospice Care of the West puts on a memorial service for the families of their patients in south Orange County who have died. Caitlin has been attending those services since middle school, singing a Vanessa Carlton song with the lyrics "I'd walk a thousand miles just to see you tonight" (reducing everyone in the room to tears).

But singing doesn't cost anything. Granting wishes does.

Turns out Caitlin's parents had socked away enough money to send her to JSerra, a Catholic high school in San Juan Capistrano (where her older sister Lexi was a 2009 valedictorian). The cost is about $12,000 a year. But Caitlin (who is on the honor roll and the basketball team) wanted to go to Tesoro High in Rancho Santa Margarita, where her friends were going.

Didn't that mean there was an extra $48,000 lying around?

Her parents agreed to give her some of that money to grant wishes until she raises some funds on her own. Caitlin came up with a name: Dream Catchers. And then she came up with a make-a-wish-style form that she began handing out this summer to Hospice Care of the West nurses, asking that they pass them on to patients and their families.

The first form she got back was from the wife of a man named Bernie Klein. He was in a wheelchair and could no longer speak, but he was aware of everything around him. Bernie had sailed his whole life, and his wife wrote that it would be so great to see him out sailing on the ocean one last time.

Caitlin chartered the schooner Curlew out of Dana Point Harbor for $600. Bernie's family insisted she come along. She made ham sandwiches for everyone and served them herself. ••• "Well, the tea and the salad are ready," Caitlin says, bringing Helen her second course (on her mother's wedding china, which she brought along for the occasion). "Goodness gracious, I won't eat for a week," Helen tells her.

Helen used to own a restaurant on Coast Highway called The Village James. It was named after her husband, who died sometime back, and they sold it years ago. Now Helen has a lung cancer that can't be cured. (And, no, she never smoked).

It was her granddaughter who filled out a Dream Catchers form, saying Helen would love a gourmet meal. Caitlin called Helen and learned she was especially fond of Chinese.

She ordered the meal from Wan Fu, borrowing a tea pot from the restaurant and some of their paper lanterns to decorate Helen's bedroom. She arrived at Helen's (her parents drove her there) wearing a traditional red kimono she got at a costume shop, her hair held in a bun by chopsticks.

"Is there anything else I can get for you?" she asks Helen between the second and third courses.

"No, thank you, sweetheart," Helen says.

Caitlin sits in a chair near Helen's bed. Helen talks about her restaurant ("I still dream about my duties there"). She talks about her paintings (always of the ocean, nine blocks from her home). She talks about her kids (so far away). And she talks about how she passes the days (she watches game shows to keep her mind sharp and plays Mega on her Xbox).

"I get my driver's license Wednesday," Caitlin tells her. "I can even come visit you in my free time if you would like?" ••• Over the summer, Caitlin visited a hospice patient named Pat Wahlstrom every Sunday. A social worker had suggested that she help Pat put together a slide show of her world travels to share with others residents at Park Terrace, an assisted living home where Pat lived.

When Caitlin arrived on the appointed day, Pat told her that her real wish was to die and go to heaven and be with her husband again. Caitlin suggested it might be fun to do the slide show in the meantime.

She and Pat spent the summer sifting through boxes and boxes of slides of Greece, Japan and Russia. Pat would sit in a chair with a remote and click through her projector, telling Caitlin the stories behind each photo that appeared on a miniature screen they set up. Caitlin would take notes so that she could narrate the slide show because Pat got winded just talking.

"She laughed a lot when she told me stories," Caitlin says. "It was just really great to listen to her."

They decided to do the entire slide show on Pat's favorite trip: China. Caitlin made up fliers for the big day. "An armchair tour of China," they read. "Explore China again with Pat!"

It was all set for Oct. 25 in the Park Terrace dining hall. But Pat wasn't feeling well so they put it off. She died the next day. ••• After four courses, it was time for dessert. Caitlin brought out a pan of brownies she had baked herself.

"I don't have to worry about what's in the brownies, do I?" Helen asked, making everyone laugh.

Before going home, before gently pressing Helen's hand to say goodbye, Caitlin presented her with a dream catcher. "So now you can hang it up and always have good dreams."

To learn more about Dream Catchers, call Caitlin at 949-632-9397 or caitlincc@cox.net.

Kansas' new Secret Santa gives away about $14K
KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Terminal cancer patient Herman Smithey III left a Kansas City-area hospital wondering how he would pay $100 for antibiotics to treat his recent bout with pneumonia.

The answer walked through the retired police officer's door Wednesday clad in a red coat and cap — a Secret Santa bearing a gift of $2,000.

Smithey's house was the first stop for a man who is picking up where Kansas City's original Secret Santa, Larry Stewart, left off. Stewart had spent years anonymously handing out $100 bills, sometimes in stacks, around Christmastime before he died in 2007.

By day's end, the new Secret Santa had doled out about $14,000 across the city.

"Around here, the word we use is miracle. And that's what that was," a teary-eyed Smithey, 47, said of his visitor, who — like Stewart until shortly before his death — also wants to remain anonymous.

Smithey's monthly pension comes to $1,100; his prescriptions already cost about $1,000. He recently was told esophageal cancer had spread to his brain. "That was very touching for me," the new Secret Santa said. "You know, because Larry had esophageal cancer too."

The new Secret Santa had been out several times with Stewart, who gave away about $1.3 million over more than two decades. When Stewart was hospitalized before his death at age 58, the new Secret Santa told Stewart he would carry on the tradition.

He has. And then some. The new Secret Santa has hand-picked about 20 others who now anonymously hand out their own money in December in cities nationwide, including Phoenix; Charlotte, N.C.; Detroit; Ventura, Calif., and Tulsa, Okla.

Altogether, they expect to give out between $250,000 to $300,000 this year.

"But we don't really work with a budget," Kansas City's Secret Santa said. "We work from the heart."

All the Secret Santas ask when they hand over $100 bills — sometimes two or three or even 20 at a time — is that the recipient do something kind for someone else. Cash is good, but so are hugs and nice words.

Detroit's new Secret Santa also hopes to remain anonymous, but said during a phone call Wednesday that she plans an outing in her hometown before Christmas. She's been on other cash-giving trips with Kansas City's Secret Santa and found the experience "like a drug."

"When you see the looks on the people's faces and they say there was no hope in my life. But now they have it. It's a great feeling," she said.

After giving thousands of dollars Wednesday to people in several thrift stores in Kansas City, Kan. — drawing tears, laughs, hugs and shock — Santa's last stop was an old downtown building where a police detective recently spent about $20,000 of his own money to open a boxing gym for city kids. Many of them are at-risk, Greg Conchola said, simply because "there's nothing for them to do."

"Oh my God," Conchola uttered he accepted $2,000 from Secret Santa, who said he has a special place in his heart for law enforcement.

"I usually tell folks you got to pass the kindness on," Secret Santa told Conchola. "But in your case, just keep doing what you're doing."

Alpine Cabinet hits workshop to make dollhouses
Alpine Cabinet Co., like most businesses tied to residential construction, has seen its ups and downs this year.

Now, the longtime Timnath company that cut hours and laid off a quarter of its work force in January is digging deep to help its remaining 40-plus employees get through the holidays and give back to children in need.

Alpine Cabinet Co. is keeping its work force busy making between 50 and 70 dollhouses for needy children.

“I thought it would be a great morale boost for our people and lots of kids who need help,” said Bill Chinn, vice president of production.

“It’s a great way to keep our guys busy. It’s been a team effort and everyone jumped on board.” Some employees are sewing curtains and quilts for the five-room dollhouses, while others are building tiny furniture and appliances for the miniature homes.

Alpine’s suppliers have donated paint and lumber, and an employee’s wife provided the dolls, said Chinn, who runs the family business with his brother, Scott. Their father, James “Dick” Chinn, now 72, founded the company in 1968.

“I just planted a seed and let it go,” Bill Chinn said. “I think it shows people have great hearts, and they want to do whatever they can” to help.

The dollhouses measure 24 inches wide by 30 inches tall and 12 inches deep. Alpine workers will paint the exterior but leave the interior design “up to the creativity” of the children who get the houses, Bill Chinn said.

When done, they will be donated to Project Self-Sufficiency and the Windsor Optimist Club to give to needy children.

Executive Director Mary Carraher said Dick and Ellie Chinn have been longtime supporters of the Project Self-Sufficiency program that helps single parents get on their feet. Ellie Chinn served on the board of directors, and she and her husband have supported PS-S’s scholarship program and other events, Carraher said.

But this is the first time the company has created and donated “something right out of the workshop.”  Alpine’s effort “shows real awareness of their employees and the needs of their employees.”

If this is a sign of corporate giving of the future, Carraher said, bring it on. “I applaud anyone who signs on. It shows great leadership in the community.”  “We are very grateful to the Chinns and Alpine for taking on this project during the holidays and all they’re doing to keep their employees on the payroll and able to care for their families.”

Dick Chinn doesn’t anticipate any more layoffs next year, at least in the first quarter, nor does he expect the first three months to be very strong.

Penn Valley boy creates comic book for worthy cause
PHILADELPHIA — Eight-year-old Jonathan Krouse of Penn Valley, a second-grader at Belmont Hills Elementary School, made a substantial donation to the Alzheimer’s Association Delaware Valley Chapter from proceeds he raised from the sale of his comic book at the 2009 Memory Walk at Citizens Bank Park and locally.

Jon, along with his parents and sisters, recently paid a visit to the Delaware Valley Chapter Headquarters in Center City Philadelphia, where he presented a check for $8,530 to Chapter President and CEO Wendy Campbell and Claire Day, director of programs and education.

Jon decided to make his own comic book after he started making comics in his art class at school. He thought it would be a great idea to use his comic-book creation to help his grandmom and others like her by raising money for the Alzheimer’s Association to support research projects and programs to help those with Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders. Jon’s grandmom suffers from corticobasal degeneration. The family toured the chapter office so Jon could see first hand the 24/7 Helpline, one of the vital local programs that his funds would help support (800/272-3900).

Jon came up with all of the ideas for this comic book on his own — some of which were based on things that happened to him. “I chose to make comics” he said “because they are funny and make people laugh.” Jon designed the comic book and created the artwork himself.

“Not only are we grateful to Jonathan for his fund-raising efforts,” Campbell says, “but this is an amazing example of how Alzheimer’s is affecting children. The passionate support that we are seeing now from younger individuals speaks volumes about how this disease devastates entire families.”

There are as many as 5.3 million Americans living with Alzheimer’s today and that number is expected to grow to as many as 16 million by 2050. In the Delaware Valley alone, 294,000 residents have Alzheimer’s or a related disorder.

McKinney man out to change world, $1 at a time
Doc Compton wants giving to go viral.

He says that to give is such a great feeling he wants everyone to experience it.

So he stuffed 100 envelopes each with a dollar and a letter that basically says: Keep this if you need it, or add to it and pass it on.

On Sunday, he distributed the envelopes to strangers in McKinney and at the Dallas Arboretum, and now he's hearing from people who want to do the same in their communities.

"Think of how awesome it would be if we could have the entire state of Texas 'Paying it forward,' " said "Tonya" on the guestbook on Compton's website, NeeditKeepit.org. Compton, who lives in McKinney, where he has a credit counseling business, said he developed the idea last month after handing cash to a couple in need.

"I was going to a convenience store and saw a couple of people who were clearly down on their luck, and I walked up and gave them the cash in my wallet," he said. "It was $10. I said, 'Have lunch on me.'

"I was overwhelmed after I did that with how amazing that felt, knowing that I changed their day and maybe restored their faith in human nature."

That night, he came up with the idea for Need It Keep It, and he started the website and a Facebook page.

"There are so many things that go viral, so many inane things with no social impact," Compton said. "I thought, 'What if we could make something like this go viral and get big and in so doing change some people?' It's not about the money; it's not about whose hands the money ultimately lands in. It's about the hands along the way that get to experience the gift of giving."

Compton has been on the receiving end of other people's generosity.

He talks about 2004, which he calls the worst year of his life. He said his wife left him with their baby boy, Chase, and 4-year-old daughter, Breanna. He started a credit repair company to make extra money and subsequently lost his job as an investment banker. "It was pretty grim at my house," he said.

Late that December, an acquaintance, Weslyn Reynolds Wood, pulled up to his house with a trunkload of gifts for his children. "It was the Christmas my kids would have not had," he said.

She had one gift for him – $2,500 in an envelope. "She said, 'I just kind of told your story to a bunch of people, and before I knew it, everyone began to help.' I swore to her that day that I would spend the rest of my life paying it forward."

Compton's girlfriend, Mindy Lawrenz, is helping him carry out that mission. They're exploring whether to make Need It Keep It a nonprofit organization. And they're discussing where to do the next handout.

In the meantime, Compton plans to post online the letter that goes in each envelope so that others can download it and do their own handouts.

One couple on the receiving end Sunday said they're keeping the dollar because it brought them comfort during hardship.

Tracy Bruce of McKinney said she and her husband, Darrell, were both laid off in the last year. She found a part-time job, but her husband is still looking.

On the way to Towne Lake Park in McKinney for a Sunday picnic with their young daughters, they were talking about their finances, about how they have enough in the bank for one more house payment.

At the park, they were approached by Compton.

"I was just shocked," Bruce said. "The first thing out of his mouth was, 'I want to give you money with no strings attached.' Before I even opened it, I had tears in my eyes." The dollar won't pay the mortgage, but the Bruces plan to keep it until they can add to it and pass it on.

"We felt like this was our sign from God that he was going to take care of us and everything was going to be OK," Tracy Bruce said.

Wood, who helped the Compton family in 2004, said she has enjoyed watching Compton carry out his mission.

"For me to be able to help them at Christmas when they weren't expecting it, that affected me like Doc is affecting other people," said Wood, founder of Capstone Prayer Ministries, which includes a charity that provides emergency assistance for people.

She said she's looking forward to seeing how far Need It Keep It will go. "I hope this thing takes off to the ends of the Earth," she said. needitkeepit.org

Bad Call Costs Perfect Game
NEW YORK – Commissioner Bud Selig won't reverse an umpire's admitted blown call that cost Armando Galarraga a perfect game. Selig said Thursday that Major League Baseball will look at expanded replay and umpiring, but didn't specifically address umpire Jim Joyce's botched call Wednesday night.

A baseball official familiar with the decision confirmed to The Associated Press that the call was not being reversed. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because that element was not included in Selig's statement.

Joyce said he erred on what would've been the final out in Detroit, where the Tigers beat Cleveland 3-0. The umpire personally apologized to Galarraga and hugged him after the game, then took the field at Comerica Park on Thursday in tears.

Detroit general manager Dave Dombrowski had said the team wouldn't ask MLB to overturn the call. The mistake denied Galarraga the 21st perfect game in history, and the first for the Tigers.

Joyce ruled Cleveland's Jason Donald safe at first base, but later said he got it wrong. Even in the sports world, where bad calls are part of the mix, this one reached way beyond the lines: the perfect game that wasn't.

Galarraga, who was barely known outside of Detroit before this week, and Joyce, whose career had flourished in relative anonymity, remained trending topics on Twitter more than 12 hours after the game ended. At least one anti-Joyce Facebook page popped up and firejimjoyce.com was launched.

From Derek Jeter to casual fans, opinions poured in.

"I was thinking if the umpire says he made a mistake on replay, I'd call it a no-hitter, perfect game. Just scratch it," St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said. "If I was Mr. Selig, in the best interest of the game. The guy got it and I'd give him his perfect game. But here again, I should just shut my mouth."