Positive Good News Stories

The Foundation for a Better Life is pleased to offer, at no charge, these life affirming true stories.

The Foundation for a Better Life, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, gives your newspaper permission to publish these stories in print and electronic media (excluding audio and video), provided the stories are published in their entirety, without modification and including the copyright notice. These articles are available under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License (international). For any modification, permission must first be obtained from the Foundation by emailing media-relations@passiton.com. Thank you.

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The Big Brother Behind Adam Sandler.

All of us start somewhere. For Adam Sandler, the confidence to stand up in front of an audience came from years of sharing a bedroom, and a life, with his older brother.

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Behind the Broken Smiles: USA Hockey Honors One of its Own with the Gold.

When Team USA won an improbable gold medal in hockey after a 46-year drought, players carried two young children onto the ice for the celebration photo. Who were these toddlers, and why did they mean so much to the team?

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Recognizing and Relieving Suffering.

How a young doctor survived a Nazi labor camp and went on to pioneer medical equipment and procedures that relieve the suffering of thousands of patients.

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To-do list: Ride Bike 8,000 Miles to Mt. Everest. Climb to the top. Bike Home.

Goran Kropp had a wild idea: Push the human body to its limits to see how far it could go. It took him to the top of Mt. Everest, without oxygen. Alone. And he did it after bicycling to Nepal from Sweden, hauling all his gear.

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Gary Player, One of the World’s Greatest Golfers, is Grateful for … Adversity.

Young Gary Player lost his mother when he was a child. His older brother left for the war, and his older sister was in boarding school, leaving Gary alone and often deeply sad after school. He decided then that he would make something of himself and create a way for other kids to find their path out of challenging conditions. Read Story


A Little Direction Goes a Long Way.

If you’ve ever pulled into a gas station to fill up your new car and realized you parked on the wrong side, you have Jim Moylan to thank for giving you direction. Read Story


Never-ending Love.

A right worth fighting for, a marriage interrupted and a love that lasts forever: The story of Civil War hero Sullivan Ballou and his ultimate sacrifice still resonates today. Read Story


The Woman who Helps us Find our Way.

Accurate satellite data depends on a precise model of the Earth. The math seemed out of reach in the early 1950s. And that’s when Gladys West went to work. Coming from a sharecropper family, Gladys knew what impossible tasks looked like and the hard work they required. Her work in geodesy models led to the Global Positioning System we all now benefit from. Read Story


The Power of Youth.

Sanna Marin, the world’s youngest serving Prime Minister at age 34, steered Finland through the COVID-19 pandemic and played a key role in the country’s decision to apply for NATO membership. Far from privileged, Marin overcame a difficult childhood to become the leader of Finland.

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Braids of Strength.

More than a cultural symbol, to the Lakota, hair braids are a connection to ancestors, to tradition, to the earth and to the soul.

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From Great to Even Greater.

Lindsey Vonn comes out of a 5-year retirement to become the oldest athlete in the field of downhill racing – with a titanium knee.

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The First Victory is Being Part of a Team.

In a small Utah town, teams are built around including athletes of all physical and mental abilities. The result is an experience much deeper and more rewarding than just winning games.

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The Mistakes we Make can Become our Greatest Success.

Bette Nesmith Graham was an underpaid secretary, single mom and mother of invention. She started her company, Liquid Paper, in her kitchen, and sold it 21 years later for $48 million. But as part of her lasting legacy, she also pioneered childcare in the workplace, Zen gardens at the office and a continuing education program for employees. Read Story


The Postman who Became one of the Greatest Coaches in Football History.

Knute Rockne was the son of immigrant parents from Norway. After graduating from high school, he worked as a postman for four years until he had enough money to go to college. He would bring his work ethic and ingenuity to Notre Dame, where he pioneered a new offense that featured the forward pass. Read Story


Kids are Finding a Place on the Farm.

On a six-acre lot that abuts an industrial park, students who didn’t fit the traditional mold are flourishing. The secret? Teaching love and responsibility with farm animals.

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