The week's good news: May 28, 2020

1. Connecticut girl sends art kits to kids in shelters and foster care

Chelsea Phaire has one goal: to make art available to everyone. The 10-year-old from Danbury, Connecticut, launched Chelsea's Charity so she could send crayons, markers, paper, and coloring books to kids in homeless shelters and foster care. For her birthday in August, she asked friends to donate art supplies in lieu of presents. With those materials, she was able to put together 40 kits for a homeless shelter in New York. In the first five months of her charity, Phaire distributed nearly 1,000 kits, and met with as many of the kids as possible. Because of the pandemic, she's only sending the kits now, and has mailed more than 1,500 to children in 12 states. "I feel good inside knowing how happy they are when they get their art kits," Phaire told CNN. "I have definitely grown as a person because of this. Now my dream is to meet every kid in the entire world and give them art."

CNN

2. Rare audio clip captures the elusive sound of the narwhal

Scientists were able to capture rare audio of narwhal vocalizations as several swam through a fjord in Greenland, discovering that these elusive whales make some familiar sounds underwater. Known as the unicorns of the sea, narwhals live in the Arctic waters. Last summer, Evgeny Podolskiy of Japan's Hokkaido University led a team of geophysicists to Greenland, where they worked with Inuit hunters to record the different noises of the narwhal. In a newly published study, the researchers shared they were able to capture recordings of narwhals whistling, clicking, and buzzing. Narwhals use echolocation to find food, and the researchers learned that the closer a narwhal gets to their prey, the faster they click, and the buzzing noise sounds like a chainsaw. When narwhals want to communicate with each other, they whistle. The researchers said the audio has helped them better understand narwhal behavior.

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CNET

3. University of Oklahoma faculty devote moving tribute to graduates

With the help of a few colleagues and a lot of chalk, Kim Gaddie was able to honor the University of Oklahoma's Class of 2020. Together, the crew wrote the names of every graduating senior in the spot where they would have lined up for commencement — with more than 4,000 graduates, the names filled the sidewalk. "It was just a small gesture that we felt like we could do for them to say, 'Hey, we're thinking about you. We care about you. We know this is important,'" Gaddie, an associate senior fellow at the university's Headington College, told The Associated Press. Graduate Dana Antinozzi was so moved that she sent a thank you email. "It is clear that faculty members like you are doing all you can to make this milestone memorable and special for us," she wrote.

The Associated Press

4. Army sergeant has sweet reunion with his military dog after 2 years apart

Deployed to missions in Iraq, Sicily, Jerusalem, and New York with his military dog Iskra, Army Sgt. Jake Ferkin was able to "see the world with his best friend." Now, they will be able to spend Iskra's retirement together, too. Iskra, a 10-year-old Czech Shepherd, was paired with Ferkin in 2016. She spent three months being trained to conduct patrols and sniff out explosives, and the pair served together for two years. They were separated in 2018, but now that Iskra is retired, she can live with Ferkin full-time. Mission K9 Rescue picked Iskra up in Ft. Myer, Virginia, and dropped her off on Saturday at her new home with Ferkin in Boerne, Texas. "I am so excited and thankful to be reconnected with Iskra," Ferkin said. "I cannot wait for her to be able to enjoy her retirement and have her take her place on Fort Couch."

KSAT

5. Ohio teen receives high school diploma and college degree in same week

Tom Jordan is several steps closer to living his dream of being a math professor. The 15-year-old was awarded his associate's degree in general science from Stark State College in North Canton, Ohio, on Sunday, graduating with a 3.93 GPA. On Friday, he will receive his diploma from GlenOak High School, where he finished with a GPA of 4.625. "What really feels good for me is that it's not really about the fact that I'm here, it's about all the experience and hard work it took to get here," Jordan told Good Morning America. "If I were to go in and I just easily breezed through, this wouldn't really mean anything to me." Jordan first signed up for a pre-algebra course at Stark State four years ago, and in 2019, enrolled full-time for independent study classes, and was able to receive high school credit as well. He will next attend the College of Wooster to study math.

Good Morning America