Top Feel Good Stories of the Year

Why focus on the negative when there were so many awe (and ahhh) inspiring stories in 2010. Articles that brought good tidings throughout the year, not just during the holiday season. Check out our local list of feel good stories from 2010.

Inspired by watching the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti on the news, Dr. Michael Schonfeld, a chiropractor at Allied Medical and Rehabilitation, P.C. in Bellmore, headed to the island to be a part of the relief effort. While there, Schonfeld distributed items he had collected, as well as performed various medical duties on the refugees.

Calhoun High School in Merrick raised $30,000 to help battle childhood cancer in March. Students, teachers and parents crowded into the school gym, with many getting their heads shaved for the St. Baldrick's Foundation.

For several years now, 18-year-old Amanda Lev of East Meadow has been showing off her pride of Judaism with a Girl Scout program she teaches for younger scouts to obtain a badge.

A young Lynbrook boy inspired a foundation that has raised a quarter of a million dollars for children's hospitals. Raymond Mohler, 12, and his organization, the Little St. Nick Foundation, brings DVDs, video games and toys to sick children.  

Bob Jesberger, owner of Mid-Island Collision in Rockville Centre, donated $10,000 to Building Homes for Heroes. This money will go toward building a handicapped-accessible home for Army Specialist Brendan Marrocco, 24, who lost all four limbs after his vehicle struck a roadside bomb last year in Iraq.

Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Malverne unveiled its new elevator and blessed the lift that will now allow more parishioners to attend services. 

Steven Trezza, a 15-year-old West Hempstead High School student, is doing his part to help prevent people from throwing trash down drains. Working for the environmental group Operation Splash, Trezza placed hundreds of decals over storm drains in hopes of reminding the entire community of the impacts of pollution.

Jack O'Malley of Garden City, a high school student, volunteered at an eight-week program at the Long Island Children's Museum to help teach kids about the nature around them.

Cedarhurst resident Syd Mandelbaum is turning waste into food for the hungry. Mandelbaum's Rock and Wrap it Up! is one of the nation's leading anti-poverty and greening solutions organizations.

The Long Beach Mustaches for Kids chapter recently shaved it all off for charity. Money earned from their Mustache Bash will benefit the Sloan Kettering Memorial Pediatric Cancer Care Fund.

Several members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Private Adolf Block Post #1305, and the American Legion, Mineola Memorial Post #349 gathered to mark the 69th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. These volunteer-based organizations hold countless events and ceremonies throughout the year that help benefit the Mineola community.

After noticing that the Children's Garden at Maria Regina Catholic Church needed repair, Richard Cantar, a Boy Scout of troop 239 in Seaford, took it upon himself to restore it. After reaching out to local buisnesses and organizations for supplies and materials, Cantar and other volunteers completed the renovation in just two days.