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"Compassion is not a virtue -- it is a commitment. It’s not something we have or don’t have -- it’s something we choose to practice." --Brene Brown
Hello everyone! Our stories this week shine a light on loving and compassionate action. A university in Arkansas developed a program for students that creates a debt-free pathway to graduation. A non-profit meets the grief of parents of stillborns, offering free portraits to honor their infants. And when a beloved dog is hit by a motorcyclist, neighborhood kids raise $400 with a lemonade stand to help pay vet bills. All around us are stories of love and compassion in action. In the midst of the harrowing and heartbreaking events in the world, may we be uplifted and encouraged to remember all the goodness within us and to also see the unsung, ordinary acts of care that are happening in our world. Wishing you well!
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The red admiral butterfly population is soaring with a whopping 400% increase in the UK, thanks to warmer winters caused by climate change. The insect, which typically migrates to and from North Africa and continental Europe, is choosing to overwinter in the UK. Now, scientists from Butterfly Conservation have recorded 170,000 sightings, leading them to believe that the UK could become a permanent home for the species. Dr. Zoë Randle, a senior surveys officer at Butterfly Conservation, says, "We've been surprised to see the red admiral taking the lead. However, with the increased frequency of warm weather, the UK may well become a permanent home for this species." Counting butterflies helps researchers understand how climate change is affecting insects. Hence, they are encouraging everyone to participate in the Big Butterfly Count which concludes on Sunday.
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George Pak | Pexels
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Get ready for a game-changing college experience at the University of Central Arkansas! UCA announced a revolutionary program dubbed "UCA Commitment," designed to champion a "debt-free pathway" for incoming, in-state freshman to obtain their coveted college degrees. The program is open to qualifying students from Arkansas households earning no more than $100,000 annually. UCA President Houston Davis emphasized, "We know that financial barriers are real," hence the initiative helps students circumvent the burden of mountainous debts from tuition and fees. The program commences in 2024 and focuses only on tuition and fees, excluding room, board, and books. It's an unprecedented opportunity to truly maximize your university experience without being shackled by debt.
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"Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep", a nonprofit founded in 2005 by Cheryl Haggard, uses a global network of 1,700 volunteer photographers to provide free photo sessions with families of stillborn or infants that died shortly after birth. October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month, created to shed light on the impacts of structural racism in healthcare and racial disparities on maternal and infant deaths, as women of color are disproportionately affected by infant loss. Organisations like this one provide a new way for parents to honor their infants. "When I look at the images, I am not reminded of my worst night. I'm reminded of the beauty and blessings he brought."
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Stevie, a beloved 5-year-old golden retriever belonging to Marisol Serrano, was hit by a motorcyclist on Sept 14, 2023. Caught-up in the wellbeing of her dog, who was in the ICU for six days, Serrano didn't even realize the vet bills would amount to a towering 13,000 dollars. Upon hearing of the accident, kids from the community organized a lemonade stand to raise money for Stevie's veterinary bills. They were able to contribute $400 by selling cookies, brownies, lemonade and water. The visitors and support from the community buoyed Serrano and Stevie's spirit in ways that reach far beyond the veterinary bills. "I literally just cried," Serrano said. "It was so special."
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Marvin Meyer | Unsplash
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Like Elvis Presley, The Beatles, and Prince, humpback whales have had viral hits. Iin the 1950s, at a submarine listening station in Bermuda, US Navy engineer Frank Watlington recorded their vocalizations. In 1967, bioacoustician Roger Payne produced an album of whale songs from those recordings that sold millions of copies - ultimately going multi-platinum, and becoming a catalyst for the 1982 global moratorium on commercial whaling. Now, humpback whales are picking up new songs from adjacent populations and spreading them from the west coast of Australia to the waters of Polynesia, and further to the coast of Ecuador. Looking at recordings over 11 years, Dr. Ellen Garland found 8 different song types that had eastward virality, with 4 making their way from Eastern Australia to French Polynesia. Like those very first recordings, this shows us that more complexity than we can ever understand is happening in the natural world.
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