Dear Commons Community,

Former President Barack Obama took some time yesterday to reflect on the past year and tweet out some stories that “remind us what’s best about America.”  Despite a lot of turmoil in the world and here in America in 2017, Obama tweeted yesterday about three human interest stories that should make readers feel good about how people in this country help others.  The following summary is courtesy of the Huffington Post.

“The first story was about a Houston wedding planner named Kat Creech who transformed Sarah Samad and Mohsin Dhukka’s postponed wedding plans into a Hurricane Harvey victim relief effort. The initial small group of wedding guests turned into hundreds of volunteers and a group called Recovery Houston, local station KPRC reported. 

The second story was about NFL defensive end Chris Long, who gave his first six game checks to fund scholarships for students in his hometown of Charlottesville, Virginia. Then according to the Philadelphia Inquirer, he gave his final 10 game checks to launch Pledge 10 for Tomorrow, a campaign to “promote educational equity and opportunity for underserved youth” in the three cities he’s played for ― St. Louis, Boston and now Philadelphia.

Obama’s then tweeted the story of Jahkil Jackson, a 10-year-old on an intrepid mission to help the homeless population in Chicago. The Chicago Tribune article details the boy’s “stash of blessing bags — packages filled with socks, toiletries and snacks,” which he insists his parents keep “in the car at all times.”

Obama’s final message was to encourage Americans to do something.

“All across America people chose to get involved, get engaged and stand up. Each of us can make a difference, and all of us ought to try. So go keep changing the world in 2018,” he wrote.”

We miss you, Mr. President!

Tony