Month: March 2026

By Brooklyn Heyn

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    SPARTA, Wisconsin (WKBT) — A Sparta man’s church project has grown into a personal mission to help people around the world put shoes on their feet.

Richard Zidich first launched a shoe drive through Sparta United Methodist Church, collecting more than 350 pairs of shoes for the nonprofit Soles 4 Souls. Over the next five years, word spread and donations kept coming, eventually adding up to 10,000 pairs shipped out through the organization.

“When I saw this I said ‘this is something I can do to give back’ so that’s why I do it,” says Zidich.

Now, he’s working toward another big goal: collecting a second round of 10,000 pairs for those in need.

“If everybody in Sparta, and we’ve got over 10,000 people in Sparta, gave one pair of shoes, we’d have over 10,000 pairs of shoes,” says Zidich.

The shoe drive has grown so large that Soles 4 Souls now rents a storage unit in Sparta, giving Zidich space to stack donations until they’re picked up. Zidich says it is humbling to see how large the drive has grown.

“It’s been amazing, I shake my head every week and say ‘oh look at the shoes. It’s one of those ways to give back that whoever gives is giving from their heart, and doesn’t cost anything,’ he says.

Those who want to help can donate gently used shoes at Sparta Methodist Church, 210 N. Court St., Sparta, Wisconsin 54656.

Donations can be dropped off at the K St. entrance on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Arrangements outside those hours, or for bulk pickups, can be made by contacting the church office at office@spartamethodist.com or by calling 608-269-6949.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Kelsey Mannix

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    ELKHORN, Nebraska (KMTV) — A Nebraska boy battling bone cancer received a bedroom makeover from a nonprofit, with some special guests from Creighton men’s basketball on hand for the reveal.

Hudson Burgers, 9, was diagnosed with osteosarcoma last year and had his leg amputated a couple of months later. His family, including his twin brother Beckham, has been beside him throughout his battle.

After hearing about Hudson’s battle, the nonprofit Special Spaces stepped in to give him a bedroom makeover. Friday was the big reveal.

Kimberly Thomas, chapter director of Special Spaces Nebraska, said Hudson’s nomination stood out immediately.

“Hudson actually was nominated by a host of people,” Thomas said. “The nominations started rolling in, and I was getting one after the other. It was so heartwarming to see so many people just loving on him.”

Hudson described his reaction to seeing the finished room.

“When I walked in my room, it felt like it was in a different house,” Hudson said.

His father, Butch, spoke about his son’s attitude throughout his battle.

“He either has a really good day or an amazing day,” Butch said. “His attitude throughout this all has been next to none. He’s all smiles all the time and he’s made a heavy load — a lot — lighter.”

Butch was on the Creighton men’s basketball staff and is longtime friends with head coach Greg McDermott.

Coach Mac and four players — Jasen Green, Jackson McAndrew, Owen Freeman and Isaac Traudt — attended the reveal.

“This group of guys is easy to cheer for on the court,” Butch said. “But really, really easy to cheer for off the court, and having sons of my own, this is what you want them to grow up and be like.”

McDermott reflected on what the day meant.

“To have a day like this that’s special for (Hudson) and brings him joy and a smile to his face and let him celebrate with his two brothers, it doesn’t get any better,” McDermott said.

Hudson spoke about his outlook during his illness.

“I just like being happy. Make other people smile,” Hudson said.

The Special Spaces team also renovated a playroom in the basement where Hudson can do one of his favorite things — karaoke.

Hudson’s next scan is in a few weeks as doctors continue to monitor his cancer.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. KMTV verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Jacob Daniels

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    CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (KRIS) — Sebastian Garcia was born with a complex congenital heart disease. Doctors said they couldn’t fully repair his heart. Now, he works alongside the cardiologist who treated him.

Garcia was treated at Driscoll Children’s Hospital, where he had surgeries as a baby and still checks in with his doctor every year. After graduating from Texas A&M Corpus Christi, he returned to the hospital as a student nursing tech, with the goal of earning his master’s in nursing.

His cardiologist, Dr. Eric Purifoy, said Garcia’s journey has been anything but ordinary.

“In my time since I’ve been working with him, he’s gone to Texas A&M Corpus Christi and since graduated. He’s now returned here and is working as a student nursing tech with the goal of getting his master’s in nursing and joining the Driscoll community,” Purifoy said.

For Garcia, the work is deeply personal. Having experienced life as a patient himself, he said he understands what the children and their families are going through.

“Being like a former patient myself, right, I kind of just see myself in their shoes. And so, like, I understand what a lot of these children are going through for the most part. But then also not just that, but like how big of an impact it plays on the family as well,” Garcia said.

Garcia described being on the other side of that care as a blessing.

“To see like the more the other side of it, right? And so being able to be the individual that’s actually going to be helping these children and helping their families is just kind of like a, it’s a huge blessing because, you know, at one point that was me who, and my family who needed that help,” Garcia said.

Garcia has also run a marathon despite his heart condition — something Purifoy called remarkable.

“I think that’s remarkable. So in my practice I have a lot of patients that have a similar underlying disease that he has and I have yet to see anybody really excel physically in the way that he has,” Purifoy said.

Garcia said he ran to bring hope to others living with heart conditions.

“To hopefully bring more awareness to anybody that does have a cardiac issue, you know, that there is hope,” Garcia said.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. KRIS verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By WUPA Staff

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    Georgia (WUPA) — A Hall County man who worked as a teacher has died after authorities say he was struck by a vehicle during a late-night prank outside his home, prompting vehicular homicide charges against an 18-year-old Gainesville resident.

The Hall County Sheriff’s Office Accident Investigation Unit said the incident happened around 11:40 p.m. Friday in the 4400 block of North Gate Drive. Deputies responded to reports that a man had been run over in the roadway.

The victim was identified as Jason Hughes, 40, of Gainesville, who was taken by Hall County Fire Rescue to Northeast Georgia Medical Center, where he later died.

Investigators say a group of five teenagers had gone to Hughes’ home and “rolled” his trees with toilet paper, a prank commonly known as TP-ing. When Hughes came outside, authorities say the group ran to two vehicles to leave the area.

According to investigators, Jayden Ryan Wallace, 18, began driving away in a pickup truck on North Gate Drive when Hughes tripped and fell into the road, where he was struck by the vehicle.

Officials said Wallace and the others stopped and attempted to help Hughes until first responders arrived.

Wallace was arrested at the scene and is now charged with:

First-degree vehicular homicide Reckless driving Criminal trespass Littering on private property

Authorities said the four other people involved were also arrested and each faces misdemeanor charges of criminal trespass and littering. They were identified as:

Elijah Tate Owens, 18 Aiden Hucks, 18 Ana Katherine Luque, 18 Ariana Cruz, 18

All five individuals are from Gainesville, according to the sheriff’s office.

Stan Lewis, a spokesperson for the Hall County school district, released a statement saying,”Our hearts are broken. Jason Hughes was a loving husband, a devoted father; a passionate teacher, mentor, and coach who was loved and respected by students and colleagues. He gave so much to so many in numerous ways. Our hearts and prayers go out to his wife and family. We ask that the media and the public respect their privacy as they grieve this incredible loss.”

Investigators say the case remains under active investigation.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Ja Nai Wright

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    COLLEGE PARK, Maryland (WMAR) — A researcher at the University of Maryland has created 3D lab-grown uterine fibroids to study how they form and develop less invasive treatment options.

Dr. Erika Moore has spent the last three years battling pain and discomfort from uterine fibroids — and that personal experience is now driving her research.

“For me it started with these weird symptoms like I felt pressure, pelvic pressure a little bit of abnormal bleeding you know around the time that I menstrate,” Moore said.

When the pressure became too strong to bear, Moore went to her doctor and was diagnosed with uterine fibroids.

“So one of my fibroids is the size of a decent sized plum and the other ones are grapes that are kind of scattered around my uterus,” Moore said.

There are only a few ways to treat fibroids, all of which involve some type of surgery.

“I started finding that there weren’t a lot of options that are not really invasive,” Moore said.

“Removing the uterus is the only clinical option available right now for most of the women that have fibroids that keep growing,” Moore said.

So Moore came up with a way to research fibroids outside of the human body.

“Unless someone is literally in my body taking a biopsy at every single stage of my fibroid development, we have no idea how they form or why they form and so for me and my group we have the power to actually engineer different tissues to build these jello models to understand why you know certain diseases occur and so it was kind of this aha moment where I was like why don’t we put the expertise that I have together with a solution that affects almost 80 percent of women to figure out what fibroids even develop in the first place,” Moore said.

These first-of-their-kind 3D lab-grown fibroids give Moore and her team the chance to study each phase of fibroid growth and test ways of destroying them while preserving healthy tissue.

“So that way ideally you wouldn’t have to have the big surgery you could just take something in a pill or deliver it topically or directly to the fibroid and have that kind of start regression of the fibroid,” Moore said.

So far, Moore and her team have been able to halt the growth of fibroids, but they are still working to completely eliminate them. She says in order to do that, they have to focus their attention on finding the source of fibroids.

“There are so many women and people who are impacted by fibroids and now that we can all kind of join this chorus its like this beautiful choir right where were all singing like this is a problem, we need more people to help out. So to have any part in contributing to eventual solutions I feel like is a privilege,” Moore said.

As she seeks to create a non-invasive treatment for fibroids, Moore says she is still dealing with symptoms from her own condition.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. WMAR’s editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Isabella Ledonne

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    OVERLAND PARK, Kansas (KSHB) — Overland Park students aren’t just using small parts of their brains, they’re re-imagining what it means to take care of the entire brain.

Every Friday, students from Blue Valley Unified School District help take care of residents at Prairie Elder Care, a facility that cares for patients with Alzheimer’s, dementia and memory illness.

But care comes in many different forms, from medical services to playing classic card games like UNO. Students are part of the PEC-CAPS partnership program and get hands-on experience in a real health care setting.

“It creates sympathy, it creates compassion,” Program Director Chad Ralston said. “It only makes [the students] better healthcare workers in their future.”

CAPS’ partnership with Prairie Elder Care is the only program in the country that brings together senior year students with senior citizens diagnosed with dementia or other memory illness.

“Sharing those moments [with seniors] brings a lot of joy out of me,” Ian Guzman, a senior at Blue Valley Northwest High School, said. “I’ve never had a brother, so it’s kind of like a brother moment.”

For students like Guzman, making lasting connections is just as valuable as the real world experience.

“They live their whole lives raising their kids and taking care of others,” Blue Valley West High School senior Ellee Caldwell said. “Just being able to give that back and give them that care that they’ve been giving to everyone else their whole life just means a lot.”

It’s not just fun and games on Fridays. Students learn the science behind taking care of brain health during a simulation lab at the care facility.

“That opportunity allows our students the ability to hopefully become healthier themselves, and then allow them to help others that are challenged in those areas,” Ralston said.

More than 50,000 Kansans are living with memory illness, dementia or Alzheimer’s, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.

Betty Copeland’s husband of 61 years is one of them.

“I’m just waiting for a cure,” Copeland said.

Anyone who has handled a loved one’s diagnosis understands the tough transition into full-time memory care.

That’s why seeing joy across generations during PEC-CAPS fun Friday’s can mean so much to families, too.

“Their whole thing is about trying to make my husband’s life as sweet as he is and has been for years,” Copeland said. “They all deserve this kind of treatment.”

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Matt Witkos

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    GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan (WXMI) — Pat Dorgan spent 50 years at Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital in Grand Rapids — and Friday was his last day.

Dorgan, the hospital’s longest-serving employee, built a career helping patients regain their ability to walk through orthotics and prosthetics. His colleagues made sure he knew he would be missed.

“This might be an old picture of the front of the old Mary Free Bed on Cherry Street. I was 17 years old when I started there,” Dorgan said.

Over the course of his career, Dorgan earned multiple credentials.

“I’m credentialed as an orthotic assistant, as an orthotic fitter, and as a certified orthotic and prosthetic technician,” Dorgan said.

When asked how many patients he has helped over the years, Dorgan said the number is difficult to count.

“Hundreds, thousands? I don’t have a number, I just know it’s been hundreds and thousands of patients that I’ve helped,” Dorgan said.

His expertise made him a go-to resource for the most difficult cases, according to Mary Free Bed certified orthotist Melissa Cordial-Stout.

“Pat became kind of the go-to for any hard case. We always wanted to know Pat’s opinion,” Cordial-Stout said.

Dorgan has also witnessed significant advancements in technology throughout his career. He reflected on how far the field has come — from older braces to modern hydraulic devices.

“That’s a Forrest Gump brace. Forrest Gump brace, exactly. So, we still make Forrest Gump braces,” Dorgan said. “It’s changed drastically, of course. So, we could call this a stance control knee joint, where it’s hydraulically controlling the knee flexion, the extension relative to their gate pattern.”

Despite the changes in technology, Dorgan said the dedication of the people at Mary Free Bed has remained constant.

“When we get them, get them up, standing and walking, and that’s a great feeling,” Dorgan said.

As he prepared to turn in his ID badge, Dorgan reflected on what kept him at Mary Free Bed for five decades.

“I’ve always thought it through and said to myself, there’s no other place and I want to work here than Mary Free Bed to do, to do what I do in orthotics and prosthetics,” Dorgan said.

Dorgan said he does not have firm plans in retirement, but he does intend to return to Mary Free Bed to mentor newer staff and pass on his skills.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. WXMI verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Demetrios Sanders

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    DETROIT (WXYZ) — A 13-year-old from Arkansas, who has an extremely rare genetic condition, is getting a pair of custom-designed shoes built in Detroit, specifically for her feet — and her future.

Addisyn Lumpkin of Jonesboro, Arkansas, was diagnosed with Weaver-Smith syndrome at age 3. The condition causes bone overgrowth, including rapid increases in height and foot size. There are only around 51 documented cases in the world.

At 13, Addisyn stands 6 feet 5 inches tall and wears a men’s size 22 shoe. The condition causes her physical pain and makes everyday tasks difficult.

“Like even writing and doing her school work is really difficult for her,” her mother, Emily Lumpkin, said.

Finding clothing and footwear that fits has been an ongoing challenge for the family.

“Obviously, the shoes are impossible, but even clothes that fit,” Emily Lumpkin said. “She would need to wear an adult size when she was 7 years old, that’s not always appropriate clothing.”

Because of the difficulty finding shoes, Addisyn is usually found wearing Birkenstock sandals.

After hearing Addisyn’s story, California-based nonprofit Shoes That Fit stepped in to help.

“And I just thought, we’re a national non-profit, we help kids get shoes for school, this is a problem we can solve,” Nekeda Newell-Hall, Deputy CEO for External Affairs at Shoes That Fit, said.

Shoes That Fit connected with D’Wayne Edwards, a renowned designer and president of Pensole Lewis College in Detroit.

“I’ve spent almost four decades designing shoes for people (athletes) who have large feet,” Edwards said. “And to be able to do this for someone who actually needs it— that to me was the part I wanted to solve.”

Addisyn visited Pensole Lewis College on Thursday to be fitted for multiple pairs of custom shoes. Edwards is using his technology, known as Sz, to create footwear that will grow as she does.

“If we’re building a 22 for her, it can actually go to a 23-and-a-half,” Edwards said.

Addisyn will also get to choose the colors and designs elememts of her new shoes.

“I’ve known for weeks, and I’m still shocked because I’m like, what?” Addisyn said.

For everyone involved, the goal is to help Addisyn feel confident and comfortable.

“I would say this is the best thing that’s ever happened to our family,” Emily Lumpkin said.

Addisyn is expected to receive her custom shoes in a few months. Shoes That Fit says this effort was supported by the Nordstrom family.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. WXYZ verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.