It’s the birthday edition this week! In honor of my 42nd birthday (happening tomorrow) the theme this week is all about giving! I don’t know about you, but when I read some of the selfless gestures that are occurring here and there, it really helps to reaffirm my confidence in people. Sure…there’s still plenty of bad news out there, but let’s tip the scales to the good!

Michigan Lottery Winner Gives Prize to Charity

A Kalamazoo-area man won $10,000 in the Club Keno game and then donated his winnings to the United Way. Jim Dancy won the money on March 11, and it did not take him long to decide that others needed it more than he did. So he gave it all away.

“I was heavily influenced by my close friend Julie, who taught me to think of others first, and to stop and think about what life is really about. I know the needs in the community are great right now, so for me it was the right thing to do,” said Dancy in a statement.

“I feel very good today, knowing I could help a little — probably my ‘best day’ in a long time. When everyone was thanking me, I was thinking how much you all do every day, and thought it should really be the other way around: I should be thanking you. So, thanks for your work,” he said.

Amanda Dunbar’s life changed when she began an after-school art class at age 13. Her artistic talent blossomed and she was considered a gifted artist.

At age 26 now she is an artist whose work sells for up to $1 million. She is also giving back to help those in need. Dunbar has painted a 10-foot fiberglass Gibson Les Paul Guitar sculpture for the Miami GuitarTown project. This is a program in which artists donate their work to raise money for charities.

Dunbar’s piece will be displayed in May and will be auctioned on September 26. The money raised will go to Miami Music & Art Fund, Miami Children’s Hospital Foundation, and the Art and Culture Center of Hollywood.

“I’m kind of using the style that I am pretty much well-known for with my own paintings, which is using a lot of texture and a lot of color … shapes that kind of undulate, swirly, just lots of movement,” Dunbar said.

Dunbar grew up in Ontario, Canada. Her family moved to Dallas when she was a teenager. She spends a lot of time in Dallas because she is working on her graduate degree in art history. She has a home in Hollywood, Florida as well.

Jacob Massaqoui is a former Liberian refugee who escaped civil unrest and brutal torture at the hands of rebels in his homeland. He was a human rights worker in Liberia before eventually escaping from there.

He made his way to the United States where he continued to struggle financially. While receiving financial assistance here in the US, he was able to begin the African Refuge Center. This is a community-based center designed to improve the quality of life for fellow refugees who have experienced hardships. The organization is based in Staten Island, New York. It also helps local residents in need.