Welcome to our brand new series, Feel Good Friday, in which we'll be bringing you a selection of stories, videos, GIFs, memes, pictures and more, to put you in the best mood for the weekend!
This week, the rescue of two raccoons who were trapped on top of a burning warehouse! Check out the video below to see the footage for yourself:
The South Bend Fire Department are responsible for saving the creatures, going above and beyond to bring the critters to safety when attending the large warehouse fire.
The department took to Facebook after the fire, writing: "Some people would ask, 'Why save the raccoons?' Life safety and property conservation are two priorities on a fire scene. Thanks to our crews for taking a few minutes to let the raccoons escape."
South Bend Mayor and Democratic Presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg also took to social media to thank the firefighters for their recent work:
Also this week...
The El Paso Challenge
Following the deadly Walmart shooting in El Paso, Texas, one 11-year-old boy launched the El Paso Challenge to encourage kindness to your fellow humans.
Leading by example, Ruben Martinez chose to deliver dinner to first responders. He's been passing out flyers and posting on social media to bring awareness to the challenge, hoping that each person in El Paso will do 22 acts of kindness for others in honour of the 22 who died in the shooting.
Speaking with CNN, his mother, Rose Gandarilla, explained: "He was having some trouble dealing with what happened. I explained to him that we could not live in fear and that people in our community are caring and loving. I told him to try and think of something he could do to make El Paso a little better."
Neighbours help special needs resident keep his house
Special needs adult Lamar Harris risked losing his house in Gloucester Township, New Jersey, if he didn't pay $50,000 in costs. It's the home he's lived in his entire life, but he was struggling to come up with the funds to ensure he could continue living there in the future.
Hearing about his struggles, neighbour Terri Fretz set up a GoFundMe page to try and settle his debts. It didn't take long for the community to come together and rally around Harris, donating more than $67,000.
Harris called everybody on his street after hearing about the efforts, meeting them in their gardens to celebrate.
Workers reunite man with life savings
One man in Oregon was left distraught when he accidentally threw away a shoebox containing his entire life savings. Fortunately, the honest workers at the recycling facility where the cash ended up were able to save the $23,000, and give it back to the lucky recipient.
General manager of the Samoa Resource Recovery Center, Linda Wise, explained: "We take quite a bit of material every day so the odds of finding that are not much better than a needle in a haystack. But then the box showed up and came down the sorting line and we were all excited to see it."
She said that the man who had lost the cash brought his family along for the five-hour drive to claim the money, and was over the moon to be reunited with his savings.
Cute pet of the week
We're also going to be picking out a cute pet each week, that brings joy to our hearts! This week, meet Harper, a dog rescued by Megan Culbert who lives in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Look at those ears!