started

Bette Midler started cleaning a neglected New York park in 1995; 30 years later, her group has planted 200,000 trees and built an artificial oyster reef

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Bette Midler started cleaning a neglected New York park in 1995; 30 years later, her group has planted 200,000 trees and built an artificial oyster reef

Bette Midler once spent her mornings clearing parks in Northern Manhattan that the city had all but abandoned. Thirty years later, that early effort has grown into the New York Restoration Project, a charity credited with reshaping green space across all five boroughs. The organisation has planted more than 200,000 trees since 1995, alongside removing … Read more

Mike Tyson started keeping pigeons as a bullied Brooklyn boy, finding love and comfort in them; decades later, he still has hundreds of birds across the US

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Mike Tyson started keeping pigeons as a bullied Brooklyn boy, finding love and comfort in them; decades later, he still has hundreds of birds across the US

Long before Mike Tyson became one of boxing’s most feared heavyweight champions, pigeons were a source of love and comfort for him. Tyson has recalled being bullied as a child growing up in Brooklyn and finding refuge in the pigeons he kept, saying that spending time with them helped take his mind off the world … Read more

Meet Carter Grandbois, the 18-year-old who started hauling junk at 16; his Colorado business now bills up to $15,000 a month

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Meet Carter Grandbois, the 18-year-old who started hauling junk at 16; his Colorado business now bills up to $15,000 a month

Photo credit: Carter Grandbois / InstagramThis image is improved using Gemini At 16, while many of his classmates were thinking about part-time jobs in retail or food service, Carter Grandbois saw an opportunity in other people’s clutter. Living in Colorado Springs, he borrowed a trailer, posted on social media and started hauling away junk for … Read more

An orphan arrived in America from Greece and started washing dishes at 11; he eventually became owner of a 100-year-old Pennsylvania restaurant

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An orphan arrived in America from Greece and started washing dishes at 11; he eventually became owner of a 100-year-old Pennsylvania restaurant

Image Credit: Cumberland Valley Thomas Mazias’s journey from an 11-year-old Greek orphan washing dishes to the owner of a historic Pennsylvania restaurant is a story of resilience, hard work and family tradition. After arriving in the United States in 1952, Mazias found himself at Hamilton’s Restaurant in Carlisle(Pennsylvania), where he began at the bottom of … Read more

A Staten Island deli manager started paying kids for better report cards 3 years ago; his fundraiser has now crossed $500,000 and he is giving school supplies to 3,000 students

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A Staten Island deli manager started paying kids for better report cards 3 years ago; his fundraiser has now crossed $500,000 and he is giving school supplies to 3,000 students

Wail Alselwi is encouraging kids to improve their grades. A Staten Island deli manager who started giving neighbourhood children cash and free snacks for getting top marks three years ago has turned his small reward programme into a major community effort, raising more than $500,000 (£380,000) to provide school supplies to 3,000 students. Wail “Wally” … Read more

Texas volunteers started a cleanup 40 years ago with 2,800 people; the movement has now collected 1.3 million plastic bottles from coastlines and waterways worldwide and could change plastic policy

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Texas volunteers started a cleanup 40 years ago with 2,800 people; the movement has now collected 1.3 million plastic bottles from coastlines and waterways worldwide and could change plastic policy

More than 1.3 million plastic bottles were collected from coastlines and waterways worldwide in a massive volunteer cleanup effort that began 40 years ago with just 2,800 people on the Texas Gulf Coast. The International Coastal Cleanup, organised by Ocean Conservancy, drew about 630,000 volunteers in 2025, who removed nearly 13.9 million pieces of rubbish … Read more

Wildfire started by humans approaches Reno, Nevada, forcing thousands of evacuations

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Wildfire started by humans approaches Reno, Nevada, forcing thousands of evacuations

The fast-growing Hawk Fire that was spreading toward neighborhoods and consumed some homes in northwest Reno, Nevada, was caused by humans and was 0% contained Sunday, authorities said. At least six people were injured. Wildfire started by humans approaches Reno, Nevada, forcing thousands of evacuations Officials said at a news conference Sunday afternoon that 42,000 … Read more

Meet Jamie Bell, the 18-year-old London teen who started selling old Lego at 13 and generated over $400,000 in annual sales, with nearly $68,000 profit

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Meet Jamie Bell, the 18-year-old London teen who started selling old Lego at 13 and generated over $400,000 in annual sales, with nearly $68,000 profit

Teenager Made More Than $400,000 in a Year Selling Old Legos in eBay Auctions: ‘I Had to Get an Accountant at 16’ An 18-year-old student from South London has turned a small teenage hobby of reselling second-hand Lego into a business with annual sales of more than $400,000 (£312,000). Jamie Bell runs the business, called … Read more

In 2012, conservationists began working to remove an obsolete Massachusetts dam; 14 years later, demolition started to reconnect 7 miles of stream and restore 6 acres of wetland

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In 2012, conservationists began working to remove an obsolete Massachusetts dam; 14 years later, demolition started to reconnect 7 miles of stream and restore 6 acres of wetland

Duxbury, MassachusettsRepresentative image For more than a century, a small concrete dam stood in the way of a river’s natural flow. Built to serve industries that no longer exist, the Temple Street Dam in Duxbury, Massachusetts, had long outlived its purpose. It blocked fish from reaching their spawning grounds, trapped sediment, created a maintenance burden … Read more