Pay It Forward: Convenience store owner adopts family over the holidays

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A man’s kindness during Christmas had a lasting impact on one family.

The convenience store at 24th and Brooklyn sells canned foods, soda and candy, but the compassion is free.

“We had nothing under the tree, we didn’t decorate our tree or nothing until that day he blessed us,” said Danielle Wrinkle about the store owner, Howard Bettis.

He opened the store because the neighborhood didn’t have one. Rhonda Robinson works there.

“I told Howard she doesn’t have anything for Christmas, and the kids don’t have anything. And just out of the blue he said ‘we are going to adopt them, we are going to adopt them,’” said Robinson.

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Pay It Forward: Convenience store owner adopts family over the holidays

New hope for motel kids

moving kids from motel 1Just blocks from “The Happiest Place on Earth,” in one of the richest counties in America, Demond, Ashley, and their four kids have been living in a cramped, run-down motel room for a year and a half. Between the six of them, they share one bed and one small couch. Surprisingly, they aren’t welfare cases; Demond and Ashley both work full-time at Walmart. But like thousands of other families in Orange County alone, they struggle to save enough to pay the first-month/last-month/security deposit that landlords require. And so they’re stuck.

“It eats up all your money so you can’t afford to move,” says Ashley, “Even if you could afford an apartment of your own, with kids, and the rent, you can’t save any money to do anything except stay here.” To compound the problem, Ashley’s mom had an eviction when Ashley was living with her – a fact that shows up on Ashley’s credit history. So Demond and Ashley pay $1300 a month for the dubious privilege of living in a single motel room where the kids aren’t even allowed by the management to play in the parking lot. For Christmas, they’d like nothing more than to get out of the motel and into a stable home.  (Continue Reading)

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New hope for motel kids

Impromptu lunch with a police officer turns into a fast friendship for 3 brothers

INDEPENDENCE, Mo. — It started with a lunch trip to Chick-Fil-A and ended with an unlikely friendship. You might’ve seen a picture floating around Facebook or Twitter of an Independence police officer spending his lunch break with three boys.

Not only has the picture gone viral, much more has developed beyond the lens. Officer Lewis Logan has an important task. He has three tiny people he needs to question.

“Hi. Hi. How are you?” Officer Logan asked.

“Hi Officer Logan,” four-year-old Finley Leiboult said.

Before this week, officer Logan had never met the Leiboult boys.

But now…

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Impromptu lunch with a police officer turns into a fast friendship for 3 brothers

I can’t believe you made it!

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I can’t believe you made it!

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Amazing how everyone survived the good ole days when kids were kids, being accountable for one’s own actions was expected, and being able to admit to being wrong — was considered honorable and a sign of strength!
Amazing indeed!
Oh, for the good ole days — may they return and may that return be soon!