Although everyone urged the giant man to pursue a basketball career as a 7-foot-3-inch athlete, but that was never his dream. Jordan Wilmore would rather help others, so he trained to become a Texas policeman. He was one of the tallest players in college basketball, but now, he’s going to be one of the tallest […] The post Others Dreamed of His Basketball Career But He Wanted to Help People–He’s Now a Texas Police Officer appeared first on Good News Network.

A daughter helped save her father’s vintage Italian shoe shop by posting about a pair of Y2K kitten heels on TikTok—and now it has lines outside the door. For over 30 years Rachid Lazraq has owned Rich Collection Italia, but the emergence of online shopping practices, and an aging clientele, left the store in East […] The post Daughter Saves Dad’s Struggling Shoe Shop With TikTok Appeal—And Customer Lines Out the Door appeared first on Good News Network.

At University Christian School in Jacksonville, Florida, they aren’t just a community; they are a family. The students, faculty, and staff commit themselves to one another and their faith life. Longtime assistant coach Matt Thomas has been battling cancer this summer, and his team wanted him to know they’re in his corner. This morning, before the day began, our football team laced up their shoes with one purpose: to run to Coach Matt Thomas’ home and pray with him.“Coach Thomas is currently battling cancer, but today was a reminder that no one fights alone. We believe in the power of prayer, the strength of community, and a God who is faithful through every season,” University Christian School shared on Instagram. “Please join us in praying for Coach Thomas and his family as they walk this journey. We stand with you, Coach.” Seeing the University Christian School Football Team Made Coach Thomas’ Day University Christian School’s football team impressed the community. Many commented on how touching the students’ act of love really was. “This is great! UC has always supported the community as well as all the UC Christians and their families!!!! So happy that Trent May had a chance to experience this school and to become a better person for it! Coach Sirmon was instrumental in helping Trent grow into a young man,” someone wrote. Others added their prayers for Coach Thomas and the entire University Christian School community. “What a beautiful and heartfelt story. Thank you young men for showing there are still good people in this world (I’m sure many more than we know) but you all are beautiful people. God Bless you all and your coach, I pray,” someone wrote. This story’s featured image can be found here

When Kristen Vallaire brought home a used Sony DVD player she’d bought at a Goodwill in Leland, North Carolina, she expected it to power on to a blank screen. Instead, when she hooked it up to her TV on May 12, it started playing a stranger’s wedding. Someone had left a DVD inside and forgotten about it. Most people would have ejected it, shrugged, and moved on. Vallaire decided the couple in the video should have it back. The problem was that she had nothing to go on: no names, no date, just faces at a wedding she’d never attended. So she posted the footage to a local Facebook community group and asked whether anyone recognized the bride. It worked almost immediately. As WWAY-TV reported, a woman named Ana O’Donnell saw the post and recognized her own wedding. The DVD player, it turned out, had belonged to her mother, who died last year at 96. O’Donnell said her mother had watched the wedding video over and over because it let her revisit family members and loved ones she’d lost over the years. Somehow, after her death, the player had made its way onto a Goodwill shelf with the disc still inside. A woman takes a DVD out of the player. Photo credit: Stockbyte/Canva O’Donnell hadn’t even realized it was gone. “I would have gone to get it soon, you know, at some point, and not known that I’d given it away or that my mother had had it,” she told WWAY-TV. She’d assumed the video was safe somewhere, waiting for whenever she wanted it. It had come within one stranger’s decision of being lost for good. Instead, she got it back. O’Donnell said the return does more than preserve her mother’s memory: It gives her something to hand down. She comes from a big Portuguese family, and she hopes to show the video to her children and grandchildren one day—a piece of family history that nearly disappeared onto a thrift-store shelf. Both women said the whole thing was a small demonstration of what social media can do when people use it to help each other, and of how far a stranger will sometimes go for someone they’ll never otherwise meet. Old footage of a wedding. Photo credit: Annie Spratt/Unsplash Vallaire could have watched 30 seconds of someone else’s wedding and hit eject. Because she didn’t, a woman gets to keep the last thing her mother loved to watch. The post Her late mother’s DVD player went to Goodwill. Nobody realized what was still inside it. appeared first on Upworthy.

Before Michael Jackson became the superstar who helped redefine celebrity advertising, he had a small musical moment with a soda brand that many people have forgotten. And no. We’re not talking about Pepsi.  The weird “Be a Pepper” song that somehow worked Long before that commercial, Jackson (as part of the Jacksons) lent his voice and creativity to a Dr Pepper campaign. The collaboration happened during a fascinating chapter of his career, when he was already becoming one of the biggest names in music but was still building the global image that would soon become legendary. The jingle was part of Dr Pepper’s “Be a Pepper” campaign, and featured lyrics that were, let’s face it, utterly ridiculous.   “I’m a Pepper in the sunshine…I’m a Pepper in the moonlight…I’m a Pepper in the good times… “Everywhere you go are pepper…Lots of folks you know a peppers…Wouldn’t you like to be a pepper too?” Taken on their own, these nonsensical words could have easily disappeared into the background. But Jackson’s unmistakable style gave the song a real presence. He brought the same sense of personality and performance that audiences expected from his music career, even when he was singing about a soft drink. Or about people being peppers, or something.  Thus, it became an early example of how Jackson’s star power could transform even the simplest material into something people wanted to hear. Then came Pepsi The Dr Pepper recording came before Jackson’s well-known partnership with Pepsi, which began in the early 1980s and became one of the most recognizable celebrity endorsements in history. The commercial famously featured Jackson performing a rewritten version of his hit song “Billie Jean,” creating a moment that felt closer to a music video than a traditional ad. Fans around the world saw the campaign, and Jackson’s image became closely linked with Pepsi’s identity, which for a time gave them the advantage over Coca-Cola. View this post on Instagram While today we are very used to celebrities doing brand partnerships that feel like large-scale entertainment events that make their way into the cultural zeitgeist, at that time the idea was quite novel. Of course, the partnership also became infamous for its behind-the-scenes drama. During the filming of one commercial, Jackson suffered burns when his hair caught fire during a special effects sequence. The accident became a major news story and added another more turbulent chapter to one of the most discussed advertising campaigns of the era. A forgotten but important piece of pop culture history Years later, for better or worse, people still remember that iconic Pepsi commercial as a defining example of celebrity marketing, and a major moment in Jackson’s career. The earlier Dr Pepper commercial…not so much. But it truly was the first to show how Jackson’s artistry could turn anything into an unforgettable, iconic moment.  So while Dr Pepper can boast of a new jingle procured from TikTok, they’ll always owe their first musical hit to the King of Pop. The post Before he became the face of Pepsi, Michael Jackson sang an awesome jingle for Dr Pepper. Hear it now. appeared first on Upworthy.