Defiant Messages: 5 Most Uplifting Stories

The week's uplifting news stories include two about individuals who decided to take a public stand against cruel comments:

• Boy Reads Cruel Taunts About Himself to Make a Point: Logan Fairbanks and his dad post a lot of YouTube videos, and the 11-year-old couldn't help but notice the cruel taunts directed his way. He convinced his dad to allow him to make a video in which he reads some of them. They're as bad as it gets—"He's so big and ugly" and "I hope he gets cancer"—but Logan did it to send a message to those making such comments and those receiving them.
• Woman's Selfie Inspires: Louisiana's Rachel Taylor was browsing in Old Navy when she overheard a mom and teenage girl joking about the width of a plus-size tank top. Taylor's a plus-size woman, and the words stung. Afterward, she sat in her car crying, but the 25-year-old photographer then marched back inside, tried on that top, and snapped a selfie with a message that has since gone viral.

• Taylor Swift's Generosity Changes Go FundMe: When Swift heard that one of her young fans had to miss her concert because she had been diagnosed with cancer, Swift jumped onto the girl's GoFundMe page and donated $50,000. Problem: GoFundMe caps donations at $15,000. Because of Swift's generosity, that's no longer the case.
• School Offers Scholarship to Homeless Piano Player: A viral video of a homeless man artfully playing a piano in Sarasota didn't just make 51-year-old Donald Gould an Internet star. It's giving him a real shot at turning his life around. Step one: He's now got an offer for a full scholarship to finish his music studies.
• Man's Father's Day Surprise: Letter From Late Son: A few days after Father's Day this year, 87-year-old Duane Schrock Sr. of Virginia received a card from his son in the mail. It read: "Dear Dad, we haven't been in touch for quite a while, I'm doing fine and am very happy in Richmond, I'd like to hear from you. Have a Happy Father's Day, Love Duane." It was a simple message, but to Schrock, it was "unbelievable." His son died in 1995.

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