HLN – by Amanda SloaneWhen freezing temperatures hit, it’s easy to bundle up, keep your head down and brave the cold on your own. But the wintry weather can be so tough on many, including animals, the homeless and the elderly.
These seven #SnowAngels have gone above and beyond to warm our hearts with stories of amazing kindness. If you have a story about a #SnowAngel you’d like to share, let us know at Facebook.com/HLN or tweet us @HLNtv!
Pizza shop owner in Pennsylvania delivers prescriptions
Tom Wynkoop, the owner of Fox’s Pizza Den in Ligonier, Pennsylvania, didn’t want people with medical problems to have to brave the frigid weather to get their basic needs met. So he offered on the restaurant’s Facebook page to deliver food, medications, etc. to anyone in need — no food order required!
“I know it’s hard for elderly people to get out and we live in an elderly community, and we’re small,” Wynkoop told HLN affiliate WPXI. “You have to be there for your residents.”
Illinois man offers free jumpstarts to stranded drivers
Brad McKorical was shocked by the number of responses he received after posting a simple message on Facebook: He offered a free jumpstart to any drivers stranded in the cold. The calls and messages started pouring in, and McKorical, who works at a car dealership, made several home visits where he offered his services for free.
“That’s what struck me right there, that he was willing to do that to give back to the community,” Robin Carden, a nurse who needed to get to her patients, told HLN affiliate WQAD. “So, I think it’s a great thing he’s doing especially in this weather.”
Stranger offers ride to man waiting at West Virginia bus stop
Eddie Hubbard had just finished his first day of work at a Cracker Barrel in Cross Lanes, West Virginia, and was waiting for a bus home. He said he could barely feel his hands when a man named J.W. Brown pulled up and offered to give him a ride.
“He said nobody deserves to sit out in this cold the way I was sitting out in the cold,” Hubbard told HLN affiliate WOWK.
When Hubbard arrived at his destination, he said he was surprised again when Brown handed him a $20 bill.
“He’s an angel… just really blessed me because my hands were so cold, I could barely hold the cell phone. That’s how cold it was.”
Free blankets given to Texans stuck in the cold weather
His name is Eric Love and he normally drives around in an Elvis-themed convertible handing out free cash to people in need. But when temperatures start to dip he also likes to hand out food, water, blankets and coats.
“I don’t care what it is; if they’re cold, I want to help them,” Love told HLN affiliate KDFW.
Michigan ‘Mower Gang’ helps blow snow from driveways
In the summer time, a “mower gang” in Detroit, Michigan, likes to keep the grass cut at local parks so kids have a safe place to play. But now that the freezing weather has hit, they’ve taken to clearing snow from sidewalks and the driveways of those with mobility issues.
“It’s just a good feeling,” one of the mower gang members, Tom Nardone, told HLN affiliate KPLC. “I have this awesome snow blower and it takes me five minutes to do my walkway and driveway, and I can do my neighbors’ but they’ve got snow blowers, too… We’re just trying to help people who can’t help themselves.” Read HLN’s interview with the Mower Gang
Two men rescue dog from freezing water in Indiana
When vets got their hands on an injured dog in Osgood, Indiana, they noticed that his mouth was actually frozen shut. Two men have been credited with saving the dog after finding him in a ditch of freezing water.
“I put his mouth in my hands and just tried to get it warm and he just laid his head down, like, ‘Oh thank you,'” Janet Orr, the day shift manager at the Ripley County Humane Society, told HLN affiliate WLWT.
The pooch is doing better and both of his rescuers say they’re flipping a coin to see who gets a chance to adopt him once he’s ready to go home.
Elderly woman buried in Wisconsin snow saved by newspaper delivery man
Ralph Sustaita has been delivering newspapers for the Kenosha News in Wisconsin for four years. While making his route one morning, he heard something unusual: a woman screaming for help.
“It was the grace of God, definitely the grace of God, that put me in the right place at the right time to save this woman,” Sustaita told HLN affiliate WISN.
He found the woman, who he believes wandered away from home, partially buried beneath the snow. He immediately took off his jacket, wrapped it around her, and put his hat over her hands. Rescuers who arrived on the scene said he probably saved her life.
http://www.hlntv.com/article/2014/01/08/snow-angels-good-samaritans-polar-vortex