Here are a few more good news stories making the rounds...
1. Shawn Triplett, a retired U.S. Marine who lives in Kentucky works as a volunteer at a local elementary school, tells PEOPLE that he was recently helping out at a church shelter when he witnessed a devastating interaction with a mom and her young child after they had been displaced by the tornadoes. After taking the night to "think about how I could best help," Triplett says he decided to ask friends and family to donate money so he could buy toys for the children who were impacted. Triplett ended up launching a GoFundMe page to help purchase holiday gifts for the children, which quickly spread on Reddit, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Since launching the page three days ago, he has raised over $44,000. He's also partnered with the local Walmart, which has agreed to provide a 25% discount on all purchases for him.
2. A sixth grader from Alabama named Ethan Hill is the founder of Ethan's Heart, a Birmingham nonprofit that provides direct care to address the needs of the city's homeless population. Through the program, Ethan and his supporters have provided hundreds of care packages for individuals experiencing homeless. Ethan was able to distribute 200 duffel bags packed with supplies this year. The bags included essential survival items like sleeping bags, toiletries, food, water, blankets, clothing, and even hand-knitted hats donated by a community member. Ethan's Heart also partners with local police departments who store his survival bags in their patrol cars and distribute them to community members as needed.
3. Cheryl Becker and Linda Rinaldi met while working at a Connecticut hospital more than 30 years ago, but lost touch when Rinaldi moved. That would all change when Becker's husband, Ralph, gained an interest in ancestry and genealogy. Becker always believed she was Italian and French, but the DNA test results said something different, that she was actually from the British Isles. Based on the findings, Becker learned the man who raised her was not her biological father AND that she was closely related to a person named Linda Rinaldi. After reaching out to Rinaldi, DNA results confirmed Becker's hunch. The pair are half-sisters, born 16 months apart.
4. An 11-year-old boy is being hailed as a hero after he made sure that his four siblings had safely escaped a fire that broke out inside their Tennessee home. Brody Sims said he knew exactly what to do in the event that a fire ever broke out inside his Clarksville home, NBC affiliate WSMV reported. Though they're thankful to have their lives, the Sims family of seven lost nearly everything else in the blaze, according to the GoFundMe page.
