Acts of kindness worth celebrating in our area

With all the negativity in the news lately, we thought we'd take a few minutes to highlight some of the acts of kindness that have taken place in our community recently.

Cape Girardeau police officer Matthew Peters made Shont-tez Bell's day earlier this month when he worked with Wal-Mart to get the 7-year-old a new bike. Peters had witnessed a close-call accident between Shont-tez and a truck, and in talking with the boy discovered his bike had no brakes. Shont-tez was treated for a scraped leg, but luckily nothing more serious.

"Our whole job is public safety," Peters said. "When you see something with your own eyes, it leaves more of an impact on you."

Peters says part of his job is to get out of his patrol car and talk to people, so he makes it a habit to have some casual interaction with people. Shont-tez and the city are lucky to have Peters on patrol.

Tye Thorne, who turned 12 last week, didn't spend his birthday partying with schoolmates. Instead, he decided to help out his furry friends.

Tye spent Tuesday working at fundraiser for the Humane Society of Southeast Missouri. Instead of receiving gifts, Tye requested that people make donations to the Humane Society.

It takes a caring and empathetic person to make such a selfless request. Good work, Tye!

And in the wake of the mass shooting in Orlando, Florida, people across the country did their part to help the victims, some of them right here in Cape Girardeau.

Independence Place held a benefit show June 16 to raise proceeds for the city of Orlando and for a GoFundMe page for the Pulse Victims Fund. In addition, the Islamic Center of Cape Girardeau is donating money to ICNA Relief, a Muslim organization that provides aid to disaster victims and their survivors.

It's groups and individuals coming together and working for others who make a difference in the world.

We have a lot of caring, helpful individuals in our local communities. Thanks to everyone for making the world a better place. We should all follow your example.