It's not in the news, because it isn't news.

Years ago, I begged for media coverage of about a small school of the Deaf,fundraising by nickels and dimes to build a playground. I thought it was such a sweet story; a student body of less than 100,determined to raise almost $200,000. Those kids literally brought in their piggy banks while ambitiously tackling every fundraising opportunity presented to them- and they did it with bright, happy smiles. I thought to myself; "Why isn't this news?" Two years later, when the funds were finally raised, the kids were promised that when they returned to school after their Summer break, their hard earned playground would be there to great them. The playground was in fact finished with three days to spare, but the unthinkable happened the night the construction crew left; vandalism. Administrators, teachers and staff arrived the next morning to find profanity and graffiti painted all over the brand new equipment. The merry-go-round hadn't been twirled, the swings hadn't yet swung, the children hadn't even seen the fruits of their labor, before it was so horribly defaced. At that point, the news crews came in droves. "This is what people want." I thought, "The scary, heartbreaking stories that make you feel like there is no reason to trust or hope." Well, shortly after the first report aired, people, strangers showed up with rags and cleaners. Too many to count; group after group, neighbors, community members- people who had no idea who these children were showed up and scrubbed their playground equipment in the hot August sun. For the next two days they scrubbed, wiped and treated the slides, the wheelchair ramps and the brail alphabet games. The playground was ready, shiny and new when the kids arrived for their first day of school. All they saw was a real recess with climbers, tunnels,spinners - everything they asked for. Today, one might notice traces of blue spray paint here or there, but those faded marks no longer represent the vandalism that broke our hearts that August morning. Now, we see wounds healed by the kindness and compassion of strangers. The power of humanity to protect, nurture and love one another. Yes, there were news stories about the volunteers who slaved away for hours and days, but for a long time, I wondered why the media was only interested in the worst part of our playground adventure. I know people often complain that the news typically only reports on the worst and scariest happenings, but I’ve developed another theory. Maybe the good parts aren’t news worthy because good things happen every day, in so many places. It's nothing new to report. We might not often times hear news anchors sharing stories like: • “Busy Executive Buys Lunch for Transient on His Way Back to the Office” • "Neighbors Provide Coats for Poverty Stricken Family” • “Man Stops on Highway to Help Teen Change Tire” • “Grieving Children Embraced by Community Volunteers” • “Soldiers Collect Toys and Candy for Children of War Torn Villages” • “Child Befriends Lonely Widow” But I think we all know that these things are happening right this very second, where we live and all over the world. If you need to be reminded that love prevails, don’t go looking for it in the news paper. Instead, collect some blankets for those without beds, make some soup for someone recovering from an illness, or help your neighbor shovel his driveway- find some way to serve. “I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy.” ― Rabindranath Tagore