【推荐1】Locker Board skateboards were invented by 11-year-old Carson Kropfl, in October of 2016. He wanted a skateboard that could fit in his school locker and backpack, so he decided to create one out of a used skateboard deck. His parents told him he had to start cleaning to pay for his surf lessons and contests. Carson hates to clean, so he asked if he could start making and selling skateboards — like the one he had made for himself.

Carson collects used skateboard decks from skate shops and changes them to Locker Boards. He makes the Locker Board decks by hand. Each board is signed and numbered. The boards are then assembled with new, high-quality wheels. These are one-of-a-kind!

Carson started his online store in November of 2016 and shipped boards all over the country. The reason why Locker Boards have become so popular is that they are good for the planet, easy to take anywhere and fun to ride!

Vans, an American company, found out about what Carson was doing and in January of 2017, set up a monthly recycling program for him at two of their skate stores. Kids who want to donate used decks to Carson can leave them at these Vans locations. So far, Vans has donated over 10 boards to Locker Board.

A popular store in Southern California, Jack’s Surfboards, recently put Carson’s Locker Beard skateboards in their Dana Point store. Another skate shop in Huntington Beach has also started carrying Locker Board skateboards. In a few short months, Carson has appeared on several local news stations and been named by OC Family magazine as one of the top 10 Whiz Kids of Orange County, California.

This year, Carson is donating $1 for every board he sells to the Tony Hawk Foundation because they are focused on empowering kids through skating.

Carson feels the most rewarding part of this whole experience is how he has become a role model for other kids. His aim is to inspire kids to dream hard and work hard.

【推荐2】Award-winning Chinese shoe designer, Huang Qinqin, shares her transformative journey, combining cultural heritage and international design to shape the art of practical wear.

Believing that the value of her products doesn’t lie in business operation, Huang always focuses on how to convey the stories behind her shoes to customers instead.“It is like storytelling, a natural ability I possess,” she said with a smile.

However, Huang’s journey into design was unforeseen and it took her several years to discover her true passion. Huang switched her major from physics to international communications studies at university.While she found great enjoyment in these courses, she still didn’t know what she could do in the future.

“One day, I grabbed a sheet of paper and began drawing some shoe designs I saw online.It was at that moment that the light suddenly dawned.” recalled Huang.

To her astonishment, Huang discovered while international luxury shoe brands like Jimmy Choo and Christian Louboutin are household names, Chinese brands are rarely seen.This finding fueled Huang’s determination to pursue her career as a shoe designer, hoping to fill the blank in the international market.

After returning to China from the UK, Huang established her own shoe brand.“I think Chinese students studying abroad today all share a strong sense of mission—to showcase what China truly has to offer to the world,” Huang said.

Looking back, Huang said that she took a long time to finally find her lifelong passion.“There is a saying that one must achieve fame at a young age, but I believe it is never too late to unlock one’s potential, since everyone operates on their unique ‘time zone’,” she said.

Before her current career path, Huang never stopped trying new things, including garden design and dance.These diverse experiences have all become precious treasures in her life, nurturing her self-directed learning abilities, which have turned out to be essential skills for her startup business today.

【推荐1】It was a cloudy afternoon when Alex stepped off the train at Seattle’s 48th Street Station. The 22-year-old, who worked nights in a grocery store, was on his way to his grandfather’s so they could buy a car. Suddenly, one guy fell onto the tracks and started convulsing(抽搐).

The man fell on the third rail, the conduit of electricity that powers Seattle’s trains. As Alex and other horrified onlookers watched, he convulsed violently and his head bounced up and down.

Alex couldn’t just stand there. Assuming every rail was electrified, Alex took a few quick bounds, high-kneeing it as he’d done in high school football team, until he was standing over the victim. The train he’d just gotten off stopped, thankfully. Alex reached down and grasped the victim’s wrist. Instantly, he felt a blast of electric shock. Again, he was shocked again. But the third time he seized the man’s wrist, braving the shock. The guy’s body slid briefly along the third rail, coming to rest on the gravel(砂砾).

“Give him CPR!” yelled two lookers-on. And he worked on the man’s heart until the victim began breathing. Then nurses and firefighters arrived. They told authorities to cut the power, deactivating the third rail. His heart still racing from the electric shocks, he climbed back up and continued on to his grandfather’s.

As planned, they went to look at the car, but it had been sold. The Evening Next reported the incident, crediting an anonymous hero with saving the victim. After a friend revealed his identity, Alex became the toast of Seattle. A few days later, he was rewarded with a car. Alex was then recruited by the fire department and is now being trained.

【推荐2】Close to a century ago, New York’s Coney Island was famed for its sideshows (杂耍). Eye-catching signs crowded the island’s attractions, showing off circus shows, sword swallowers—and even an exhibition of tiny babies.

The babies were premature ones kept alive in incubators (婴儿保育箱) pioneered by Dr. Martin Couney. The medical establishment had rejected his incubators, but Dr. Couney didn’t give up on his aims. Starting in 1896, he funded his work by displaying the babies and charging 25 cents to see the show. In return, parents didn’t have to pay for Dr. Couney’s incubators, and many children survived who would never have had a chance otherwise.

Born in 12, Lucille Horn ended up in an incubator on Coney Island. She’d been born a twin, but her twin died at birth. And the hospital staff told her father that there wasn’t a chance she’d live. “It was just: You die because you didn’t belong in the world,” Horn says. But her father refused to accept that answer. He grabbed a blanket to wrap her in, called a taxi, and took her to Coney Island—and to Dr. Couney’s infant (婴幼儿) exhibit.

Years later, Horn decided to return to see the babies—this time as a visitor. When she took the opportunity to introduce herself, Dr. Couney went over to a man who was uneasily looking at his small infant. “Look at this young lady,” Dr. Couney told the man. “She’s one of our babies. And that’s how your baby’s gonna grow up.”

Horn was just one of thousands of premature infants that Dr. Couney cared for and displayed at amusement parks until the 194s. He died in 1950, shortly after incubators like his were introduced in most hospitals. At the time, Dr. Couney’s efforts were largely unknown—but at least one person will never forget him. “Ninety-six years later, here I am, all in one piece. And I’m thankful to be here,” Horn says.

【推荐3】In 2018, Danika Whitsett was attending college when she got into a car accident that left her unable to move from the waist down. She was asleep in the SUV she was riding in when the driver lost control and the car rolled just outside of Phoenix, Arizona. At the time, Whitsett said she felt lucky to be alive after being told that only 20% of people survived during the accident.

She learned to use a wheelchair, which she is expected to be in for the rest of her life. Whitsett has been using the same wheelchair since 2018, and sadly, it has fallen into disrepair. The wheels have curved inwards toward her body, leaving open wounds on both of her upper legs. Whitsett is in the process of getting a new wheelchair hut found out that even with her insurance, the cost would be $ 5,200, which is a cost she cannot afford.

So Whitsett unwillingly posted a video on the social media platform TikTok, tearfully sharing her situation with the world. “I desperately need this new chair and I hate ever asking for help or for money but I know sometimes it’s our only option,” wept Whitsett.

“All the while I am trying to save money for my new chair so that I can actually be as independent as possible and it is much needed. Anything helps — literally $ 1 would mean the world to me. Thank you guys for your continuous patronage. I’m so appreciative of you all and I love you guys, thank you.”

Her story quickly spread and she raised the entire $5,000 in just a day! But thanks to the kindness of strangers, the donations have continued rolling in, and have now climbed to almost $ 22,000.

Whitsett is overwhelmed by the generosity. She hopes that sharing her story will help to effect change and make critical medical necessities, like wheelchairs, more affordable and accessible to others in similar situations.