Entire Town Staged 'Cash Mob' For Beloved Store Owner Going Through Tough Times

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; direction: ltr; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"> Levittown, New York came together to be there for a man who was always there for them.</div> <div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; direction: ltr; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"> Avi Gandhi, 63, originally from India, came to Levittown, New York about ten years ago and took over Center Lane Stationery, a convenience store. He became a beloved member of the community while working at his shop. Unfortunately, due to financial difficulties, the store owner announced earlier this year that he may have to close the store.</div> <div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; direction: ltr; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"> "<a href="http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2014/10/residents-strangers-rally-to-save-ny-mom-and-pop-shop/" sl-processed="1" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #e49400; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_hplink">The economy is hurting me</a>," Gandhi told ABC News. "I don’t know what is going to happen ... It is that bad. Business has gone down 75 percent in the last five years."</div> <div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; direction: ltr; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"> But Craig and Celeste Hamilton Dennis, customers and friends of Gandhi, weren't ready to give up on the man who meant so much to their town. Back in June, with the help of Gandhi's customers, they organized a "cash mob," where people flooded the store to boost its business. They also documented the event in a short film, "Cash Mob for Avi," in hopes of helping him to continue running his store.</div> <div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; direction: ltr; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"> "Avi took in the whole scene and was just shocked and humbled. He kept insisting that this was not just an honor for him, but for all small business owners who work hard every day but never receive any acclaim," Liz Morrison, director of the short film, told The Huffington Post in an email.</div> <div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; direction: ltr; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"> <img alt="flash mob" src="http://i.huffpost.com/gen/2217586/thumbs/o-FLASH-MOB-570.jpg?6" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Photo Credit: <a href="http://www.zackdelaune.com/" sl-processed="1" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #e49400; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_hplink">Zack DeLaune</a></div> <div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; direction: ltr; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"> The project, which was put together through a Facebook event and took about a month and a half to plan, was kept a complete secret from Gandhi. When the cash mob began, Gandhi was confused as to why so many people were coming into his shop, and was bit flustered by the booming business. After it was revealed to him what was going on, and he stepped outside to a crowd of supportive customers, Morrison says he was overjoyed.</div> <div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; direction: ltr; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"> "They escorted Avi out to the cheering crowd, and he just was blow away. He raised his fists and proclaimed that he wanted to 'serve them until his last moment,'" she said.</div> <div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; direction: ltr; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"> <img alt="cash mob for avi" src="http://i.huffpost.com/gen/2217614/thumbs/o-CASH-MOB-FOR-AVI-570.jpg?6" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Photo Credit: <a href="http://www.zackdelaune.com/" sl-processed="1" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #e49400; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_hplink">Zack DeLaune</a></div> <div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; direction: ltr; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"> While the gesture was a grand one, Celeste said that Gandhi definitely deserved it.</div> <div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; direction: ltr; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"> "He knew the names of everyone who came in, who their family was, what their disappointments were, the dreams they had. He would frequently joke, offer sage advice, let people pay him back if they were hard up, listen intently, and make people feel like they mattered," Celeste told HuffPost. "He was like family to many of his customers."</div> <div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; direction: ltr; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"> While his business is still struggling, and may close by December, the 63-year-old is staying positive, and seeing it as an opportunity to spend more time with his wife, Bharati, and cut back on work hours. His community has continued to stand by him, in support of a man who Morrison says, "works tirelessly every day to serve his customers."</div> </div>

Entire Town Staged 'Cash Mob' For Beloved Store Owner Going Through Tough Times

Levittown, New York came together to be there for a man who was always there for them. Avi Gandhi, 63, originally from India, came to Le...

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Inspirational: Good Deeds, Kind Hearts, Caring People

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <h1 class="entry-title" itemprop="name" style="margin: 10px 0px 7px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; word-wrap: break-word;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">5 Friends Get $10K to Travel US, Spreading Kindness to Strangers</span></span></h1> <h1 class="entry-title" itemprop="name" style="margin: 10px 0px 7px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; word-wrap: break-word;"> <div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_28992" style="clear: both; font-weight: normal; margin: 6px auto; max-width: 100% !important; text-align: center; width: 570px;"> <div style="text-align: left;"> <a href="http://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/ARK-Project-Now.jpg" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); text-decoration: none !important;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><img alt="ARK-Project-Now" class="wp-image-28992 size-full" height="326" src="http://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/ARK-Project-Now.jpg" style="border: 0px; height: auto; max-width: 100% !important; vertical-align: middle; width: 570px;" width="560" /></span></a></div> <div class="wp-caption-text" style="font-style: italic; padding: 5px 0px 15px; text-align: left;"> <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The ARK project gave a shopping spree to two children whose family was stuck in Iowa for weeks at a hospital while their ill baby was being treated.</span></span></div> </div> <div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 21px;"> <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Thanks to a $10,000 grant from Kind Snacks, five friends are hitting the streets this summer, spreading acts of random kindness to strangers around the country through a nonprofit organization called ARK Project Now.</span></span></div> <div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 21px;"> <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">They’ve traveled 6,000 miles in an RV, left care packages for homeless people, bought coffee for strangers, and cooked dinner for families visiting sick relatives.</span></span></div> <div> <br /></div> </h1> <h1 class="entry-title" itemprop="name" style="margin: 10px 0px 7px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; word-wrap: break-word;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">Diner Leaves $1,000 Tip, Waiter Shares It With Entire Staff</span></span></h1> <h1 class="entry-title" itemprop="name" style="margin: 10px 0px 7px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; word-wrap: break-word;"> <div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 21px;"> <span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><a href="http://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/reciept-small-1000-buck-tip.jpg" style="text-decoration: none !important;"><img alt="reciept-small-1000-buck-tip" class="alignright size-full wp-image-29047" height="342" src="http://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/reciept-small-1000-buck-tip.jpg" style="border: 0px; float: right; height: auto; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-left: 21px; margin-top: 6px; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle;" width="280" /></a>A diner who was celebrating his birthday at The Ginger Man in Albany, N.Y., last week tipped server Michael Shafts $1,000, along with the message, “Pay it forward. My birthday present to me!” ABC News reported.</span></span></div> <div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 21px;"> <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">And pay it forward he did. Shafts shared his gratuity with all the staff members who had worked that night.</span></span></div> <div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 21px;"> <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The tip was 10 times the amount of the entire bill.</span></span></div> <div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 21px;"> <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><strong>- READ</strong> the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/22/1000-tip-server_n_5610623.html" style="text-decoration: none !important;" target="_blank">story from Huff Post</a></span></span></div> <div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 21px;"> <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><strong>- WATCH</strong> the short video below from ABC)<br /><iframe height="360" src="http://abcnews.go.com/video/embed?id=24661304" style="border-style: none; max-width: 100%;" width="640"></iframe></span></span></div> <div addthis:title="Diner Leaves $1,000 Tip, Waiter Shares It With Entire Staff " addthis:url="http://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/diner-leaves-1000-tip-waiter-shares-entire-staff/" class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style addthis_32x32_style" style="font-weight: normal;"> <a class="addthis_button_facebook at300b" href="http://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/diner-leaves-1000-tip-waiter-shares-entire-staff/#" style="cursor: pointer; 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clear: both; display: block; height: auto; margin: 6px auto; max-width: 100%; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;" width="644" /></span></a></div> <div style="margin-bottom: 21px;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Jeff Balek was born blind, but that hasn’t stopped him from pursuing one of his favorite past-times – teaching children who can see how to read.</span></div> <div style="margin-bottom: 21px;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">With no transportation of his own, getting to the program is a labor of love, but Balek says volunteering through the YMCA in Charlotte, NC to help children overcome their reading barriers has enriched his life in ways he never imagined.</span></div> <div style="margin-bottom: 21px;"> </div> <div class="alignleft" style="float: left; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-right: 21px; margin-top: 6px;"> <ins id="aswift_1_expand" style="border: none; display: inline-table; height: 250px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; text-decoration: none; visibility: visible; width: 250px;"><ins id="aswift_1_anchor" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); border: none; display: block; height: 250px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; text-decoration: none; visibility: visible; width: 250px;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="250" hspace="0" id="aswift_1" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" name="aswift_1" scrolling="no" style="left: 0px; max-width: 100%; position: absolute; top: 0px;" vspace="0" width="250"></iframe></ins></ins></div> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Balek is a reading buddy in the Y Readers Program, designed to help children in grades K-3 who currently read below grade level to improve their literacy skills and self-confidence.</span><br /> <div style="margin-bottom: 21px;"> </div> <div style="margin-bottom: 21px;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Each week, Jeff follows the readers along in braille. For the kids, he’s living proof that any obstacle can be overcome.</span></div> <div style="margin-bottom: 21px;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">He’s one of 500,000 YMCA volunteers across the country – of all ages and backgrounds – who are working with Ys in their communities to help people learn, grow and thrive.</span></div> <div style="margin-bottom: 21px;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">(<strong>WATCH</strong> this special reading buddy below)</span></div> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/JRNubd8oNHQ" style="height: 377.4px; max-width: 100%;" width="100%"></iframe></span><br /> <div addthis:title="This Blind Man Tutors Young Readers, An Example to All (WATCH) " addthis:url="http://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/this-blind-man-tutors-young-readers/" class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style addthis_32x32_style"> <a class="addthis_button_facebook at300b" href="http://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/this-blind-man-tutors-young-readers/#" style="cursor: pointer; 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padding: 4px 2px 4px 10px;"> <ul class="td-tags clearfix" style="list-style: none; margin: 6px 0px 3px !important; padding: 0px; position: relative;"></ul> </div> </div> </footer><div class="clearfix" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; widows: auto;"> </div> <br /> <h1 class="entry-title" itemprop="name" style="margin: 10px 0px 7px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; word-wrap: break-word;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">Texans Give to Border Refugee Children</span></span></h1> <div style="margin-bottom: 21px;"> <a href="http://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/900px-charity-boxes-for-homeless-immigrant-children-FB-Cindy_Cole-.jpg" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); outline: none;"><span style="color: black;"><img alt="900px-charity-boxes-for-homeless-immigrant-children-FB-Cindy_Cole" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-29203" height="442" src="http://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/900px-charity-boxes-for-homeless-immigrant-children-FB-Cindy_Cole-.jpg" style="border: 0px; clear: both; display: block; height: auto; margin: 6px auto; max-width: 100%; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;" width="900" /></span></a></div> <div style="margin-bottom: 21px;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">A Dallas grandmother has organized a grassroots effort to provide care packages for children caught at the border.</span></div> <div style="margin-bottom: 21px;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Cindy Cole said she was tired of seeing the protests and politicians arguing about the influx of unaccompanied minors at the border.</span></div> <div style="margin-bottom: 21px;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Cole, who is a nurse, created a Facebook post asking for volunteers to help. She thought she might be able to fill 50 boxes, but donations and offers to volunteer exploded.</span></div> <div style="margin-bottom: 21px;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">She had to move the operation to a local church, says CBS News, because her house couldn’t hold all the deliveries full of supplies mailed from around the country and world.</span></div> <div style="margin-bottom: 21px;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">600 boxes and backpacks were delivered this week to Catholic Charities for distribution to the children, who Cindy says “have nothing.”</span></div> <div style="margin-bottom: 21px;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">She continues to organize for these refugee children at the Facebook Page called <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/OperationMatthew25/" style="text-decoration: none !important;" target="_blank">Operation Matthew 25</a>. She is using donations for dozens of children’s books and wants to send 200 backpacks to the San Antonio location.</span></div> <div> <br /></div> </div>

Inspirational: Good Deeds, Kind Hearts, Caring People

5 Friends Get $10K to Travel US, Spreading Kindness to Strangers The ARK project gave a shopping spree to two children whose family ...

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Former Army Man Sets Up Taxi Service Employing Former Servicemen

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div style="margin-bottom: 21px;"> <a href="http://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/London-black-cab-CC-steve_lyon.jpg" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); outline: none;"><span style="color: black;"><img alt="London-black-cab-CC-steve_lyon" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-29213" height="512" src="http://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/London-black-cab-CC-steve_lyon.jpg" style="border: 0px; clear: both; display: block; height: auto; margin: 6px auto; max-width: 100%; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;" width="640" /></span></a></div> <div style="margin-bottom: 21px;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">34 years after retiring from the Army, a former British soldier has started up his own taxi business employing ex-servicemen hoping to help them adjust to civilian life.</span></div> <div style="margin-bottom: 21px;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">In Tolworth, England, Paul Reynolds, 58, started Heroes Cars and currently employs five drivers.</span></div> <div style="margin-bottom: 21px;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The business also plans to pay back a percentage of its profits to charities that help to rehabilitate soldiers.</span></div> <div> <br /></div> </div>

Former Army Man Sets Up Taxi Service Employing Former Servicemen

34 years after retiring from the Army, a former British soldier has started up his own taxi business employing ex-servicemen hoping to h...

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