Happy New Year’s Eve! To end 2024 on an extra positive note, we’re closing this year with the humanity edition of the Best of Nice News. Here, you’ll get to revisit a jaw-droppingly talented janitor, a mom building inclusive playgrounds for kiddos of all abilities, and an effort seeking to end veteran homelessness. The takeaway: There is (a lot of!) good in the world.
Humanity
What Makes Someone Wise? Global Study Pinpoints 2 Main Factors
J Studios/ DigitalVision via Getty Images
Certain people just seem to embody wisdom: grandparents and teachers, the changemakers we admire from afar, the intellectuals whose ideas have influenced our own. However, given that cultures vary widely throughout the globe, it would make sense that the criteria for being deemed “wise” would as well. To test that hypothesis, researchers from the University of Waterloo in Ontario enlisted 2,650 participants on five continents to analyze their perceptions of wisdom. Interestingly, all surveyed agreed on two factors that make a person wise.
Together With Hungryroot
The Easiest Way to Eat Healthy
If you find yourself getting overwhelmed by the stress of planning, shopping, and cooking healthy meals for your family, it’s time to bring in some reinforcements. Hungryroot is a grocery and recipe delivery service that has the best of everything you need: healthy recipes, ready-to-eat meals, and vitamins and supplements. The service is also tailored to your tastes and dietary needs. Anti-inflammatory recipes? Check. Gluten-free snacks? Hungryroot has you covered. You can get started by taking the quiz to build your online food profile — and as a bonus, you get 30% off your first box.
Janitor From Indiana Stuns With Jaw-Dropping “America’s Got Talent” Performance
Trae Patton/NBC
File this one under: “unforgettable TV moments.” Earlier this year, Richard Goodall, a 55-year-old school janitor from Indiana, took center stage on America’s Got Talent after getting some encouragement from students. “I’m not a fancy person. I take out the trash. I wipe off the tables, I sweep the floors. I’m just having fun and I’m trying to make people happy,” he said on the show. “The kids would hear me sing, and they tell me that I’ve got talent. That’s why I’m here.” After belting out an incredible rendition of “Don’t Stop Believin’” by Journey, Goodall received a standing ovation and the coveted golden buzzer, joining the likes of Susan Boyle and Grace VanderWaal. “Richard, you are my hero, ’cause that was special. Genuinely special,” judge Simon Cowell said. “I think America is going to love you.” Cowell was absolutely right — in September, Goodall was crowned the season’s winner.
Humanity
The VA’s Efforts to End Veteran Homelessness Are Working
Francine Orr/ Los Angeles Times via Getty Image
Veteran homelessness has long been considered a crisis in the United States: During a January 2023 Point-in-Time count, the Department of Housing and Urban Development found that about 22 of every 10,000 veterans were experiencing homelessness. But a February report from The War Horse shows that the efforts to curb this crisis are working — and they could be scaled up to help all unhoused people. According to the nonprofit newsroom, 83 communities and three entire states (Connecticut, Delaware, and Virginia) have “effectively ended” veteran homelessness. And from 2010 to 2022, the number of unhoused veterans more than halved. That’s thanks to significant investment from the Department of Veterans Affairs, which has adopted the Housing First model of tackling homelessness and ramped up its support programs. “The VA is driving the [national] reduction in veterans homelessness,” said Sam Tsemberis, founder of the Pathways Housing First Institute, the organization that created the model. Read more about how exactly the department has done it, and how those methods could be applied to civilians, too.
Humanity
Meet the Mom Building Magical, Inclusive Playgrounds for Kids With Disabilities
Courtesy of Unlimited Play
At first glance, Zachary’s Playground in Lake Saint Louis, Missouri, looks like a typical (albeit very inviting) playground. There are bright colors, big slides, swing sets, and little nooks fit for games of hide-and-seek. But something special sets this one apart: It’s fully inclusive for children of all abilities. “Play is a universal languageand the first one that children learn,” Natalie Mackay told Nice News. Mackay is the founder of Unlimited Play, a nonprofit dedicated to building accessible playgrounds that allow all children to play together — or as the organization’s tagline puts it, places “where limitations are forgotten and differences are celebrated.” Learn how Mackay’s late son Zachary inspired her mission and check out photos of the playgrounds.
Because Weekend x Nice News
Don’t Miss Out on Nice News’ First Merch Sale The Nice News community is tied together by one key thread: a desire to see the good in the world. And now you can spread that positive mindset beyond your email inbox with our new apparel collaboration with Because Weekend. The collection is the first Nice News-branded merch available to readers, and now is the perfect time to order — our friends at Because Weekend are running a 30% off sale through Sunday, Jan. 5 and you can get free ground shipping with the code FREESHIP. Click below to check out the pieces, all designed with optimism in mind.
Remi makes it easy to care for your teeth without breaking thebank. The affordable dental products are designed in San Francisco and developed alongside medical advisors and in-house dentists. From mouth guards and retainers to teeth whitening kits and water flossers, Remi delivers everything you need for a bright, healthy smile — right to your door.
