成人X站

SEATTLE'S MORNING NEWS

Taking a cue from the kindness of kids

Sep 25, 2017, 6:23 AM | Updated: Oct 1, 2024, 10:41 am

Emma Becker. (Contributed)...

Emma Becker. (Contributed)

(Contributed)

I’ve joked with my sister, who has a daughter around the same age as mine, about what it would be like if adults greeted adult strangers the same way children greet children strangers.

My daughter never hesitates to walk up to another child and say, “HI! I’M FOUR. HOW OLD ARE YOU?” It’s very intense but always met with a smile from the other child. Instant friends.

She’s also taken to doodling on one of my reporter notebooks while sitting in the grocery store cart and handing out her art to strangers — usually adults. This gesture is also met with a smile.

I just don’t think I’d get the same reaction. Why is it weird for adults to be friendly?

As we continue to ponder why we, as adults, are suspicious of friendly people allow me to introduce you to 12-year-old Emma Becker. She’s been a patient at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center for four years. She has tumors in her brain and is undergoing chemotherapy.

Emma makes the most of her time. For her birthday last month, she launched a campaign to collect silly socks for every kid who has to come through the hospital doors. She encouraged donations through a followed by thousands.

She started her goal at 1,200 pairs of socks but quickly smashed that with 2,300 pairs of socks and counting. And what’s incredible about Emma is that this isn’t the first time she’s done a good deed for her friends.

“I collected 10,000 containers of Playdough,” Emma . She ran a lemonade stand as well and bought iTunes gift cards.

Emma is fighting for her life, but she lives by one rule: “No matter how big or small you are you just need an idea to make a lot of other kids happy.”

Once she’s done collecting socks she hopes to solicit donations of Halloween costumes for her friends at the hospital.

You can hear Colleen O鈥橞rien鈥檚 鈥淒aily Dose of Kindness鈥 segment every morning at 7:30 a.m. on 成人X站 Radio 97.3 FM

Read more from Colleen O’Brien

Cars drive along the Las Vegas Strip, Saturday, Aug. 2, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)C...

Associated Press

All major Las Vegas Strip casinos are now unionized in historic labor victory

LAS VEGAS (AP) 鈥 When Susana Pacheco accepted a housekeeping job at a casino on the Las Vegas Strip 16 years ago, she believed it was a step toward stability for her and her 2-year-old daughter. But the single mom found herself exhausted, falling behind on bills and without access to stable health insurance, caught […]

31 minutes ago

Louie the spider monkey climbs on John Richard, a volunteer at the Gulf Coast Primate Sanctuary in ...

Associated Press

A Mississippi monkey sanctuary helps veterans with PTSD find peace

PERKINSTON, Miss. (AP) 鈥 In the embrace of a cheerfully chittering spider monkey named Louie, an Army veteran who grappled for decades with post-traumatic stress disorder says he finally feels at peace. 鈥淏eing out here has brought a lot of faith back to me,鈥 said John Richard. 鈥淭here’s no feeling like it.鈥 The bond began […]

33 minutes ago

Associated Press

Asian markets are mixed after Wall St tumbles following poor US jobs report

BANGKOK (AP) 鈥 Shares in Asia are mixed after Wall Street had its worst day since May following the release of weak U.S. jobs data. Markets in Asia had already reacted on Friday to U.S. President Donald Trump鈥檚 announcement of sweeping tariffs on imports from many U.S. trading partners, posting moderate losses. The new import […]

1 hour ago

This image taken from video provided by WSVN-TV shows Miami-Dade Fire Rescue and others in a boat a...

Associated Press

Third child dies nearly a week after a boat collision near Miami, Coast Guard says

MIAMI (AP) 鈥 The U.S. Coast Guard says a third child has died nearly a week after a barge struck and sank a boat during a sailing camp near Miami. All six people on the sailboat were pulled from the water after the collision, and four kids were rushed to a hospital where two were […]

4 hours ago

FILE - A Russian and Chinese national flag flutter near Tiananmen Gate for the visiting Russia's Pr...

Associated Press

China pushes back at US demands to stop buying Russian and Iranian oil

WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥 U.S. and Chinese officials may be able to settle many of their differences to reach a trade deal and avert punishing tariffs, but they remain far apart on one issue: the U.S. demand that China stop purchasing oil from Iran and Russia. 鈥淐hina will always ensure its energy supply in ways that […]

4 hours ago

FILE - This file photo taken Feb. 17, 2011 shows protestors of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's bill t...

Associated Press

Things to know about legislator walkouts as Texas Democrats flee state over a high-stakes map vote

Texas Democrats are fleeing the state Sunday in an effort to hinder Republicans from approving a new U.S. House map that could boost their slim congressional majority in 2026. The walkout lets the minority party keep Republicans in charge from having enough votes for maps that would add five new Republican-leaning congressional districts. The proposed […]

8 hours ago

Taking a cue from the kindness of kids