Emily Zamourka’s full timbre soprano voice was all she had left. Catastrophic medical bills left the Russian immigrant homeless. She’s a classically trained violinist, but someone stole her violin. Zamourka was singing for spare change on a Los Angeles subway platform when a beat cop asked if he could record her, an act that changed her life.
“We saw with our brains, but we listened with our hearts,” the Los Angeles Police Department wrote in a tweet that has exposed millions to the woman’s melodious, operatic voice.
Zamourka’s life is on the upswing now.
Michael Trujillo saw one of multiple news stories about the subway singer and was motivated to start a GoFundMe campaign to help Zamourka get back on her feet. She is grateful, but still had one dream: to meet the police officer whose video made it all happen.
Watch the moment the two met in this story on Hollywood Patch: Subway Singer Meets The Cop Who Changed Her Life (Video)
Zamourka’s story was one of many uplifting stories told by Patch editors across the country last week. Here are more:
Day Laborer Band Serenades ICE Detainees In County Jail
The power of music was also demonstrated at the Essex County Correctional Facility in Newark, New Jersey, where Jornaleros del Norte, a “day laborer band,” offered a touching serenade to imprisoned immigrants, imploring them to keep their hopes up in a time of crisis.
In particular, the band wanted to support a 20-year-old undocumented immigrant who has lived in New Jersey since he was an infant but is awaiting deportation. Life in jail hasn’t been easy for him.
In particular, the band wanted to support a 20-year-old undocumented immigrant who has lived in New Jersey since he was an infant but is awaiting deportation. Life in jail hasn’t been easy for him.
“It was a powerful action,” said Jorge Torres of the National Day Labor Organizing Network, one of the groups that spearheaded the rally. “More than 800 detainees got to experience how music is melting walls.”
Watch the videos and read more about this on Newark Patch.
Love In A Trunk: Miami Beach Cops Play Along With Proposal
The traffic stop in Miami Beach, Florida, was a ruse, pre-arranged by a lovestruck tourist who wanted his proposal of marriage to be unforgettable. His girlfriend pulled over when Officer Otto Lopez flipped on his lights, and obliged when he asked her to pop the trunk.
Colorful balloons floated up, and the woman’s boyfriend dropped to one knee and popped the question.
She said “yes.”
Watch the memorable proposal on Miami Patch.
Teen Takes It Upon Himself To Replace Animal Shelter’s Stolen Money
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Kids today! There’s a lot to love about them. An example: Upset when he read someone had stolen a cash box stuffed with donations to help an animal shelter in Maryland, 16-year-old Alex Seidleck decided to set things right.
He raised more than $600 to replace the stolen donations.
“It really bothered me that someone could be so cruel and selfish that they would steal from animals who have no home, no family and basically nothing at all,” Seidleck told Patch.
Read more about what he’s done on Annapolis Patch.
New Jersey Boy’s Cast For Fishing Derby Nets Funds For Research
Daniel Golembiewski, an 11-year-old Brick Township, New Jersey, boy was so inspired after attending an event to raise money for kids with heart disease that he created his own fundraiser: Cast for Cancer, a fishing derby.
“He talked about it that night,” his mother, Stacey Golembiewski, said.
And then he brought it up again a day or so later, when they went fishing. And she knew her son was serious. He was serious enough that the fishing derby is still a week or so away, and he’s already raised $6,500.
Read more about his fundraiser on Brick Patch
This Young Girl Is Taking On Climate Change All On Her Own
Sometimes the smallest voice has the biggest impact. As climate strikers demonstrated en mass around the globe, 10-year-old Savannah Skinner picketed alone outside Livermore, California, City Hall. There was no police presence, no street closures, no blockades, no anti-protesters. Just a little girl and her homemade sign: “School Strike For Climate: Your House Is On Fire!!! Act Now.”
“We are in a climate crisis and adults aren’t taking it seriously, and it’s my generation that will be taking the consequences,” she said.
Read more about what she’s doing and who inspired her on Livermore Patch.
79-Year-Old Crossing Guard Gets Surprise From Kids
John Lussing doesn’t have a fancy job title, and the pay isn’t much, but the 79-year-old California man is a legend in the San Ramon Valley Unified School District.
On “Walk to School Day” last week, the community surprised him with a bouquet of balloons and thank-you notes written by some of the students.
“John is a friendly face to so many in our neighborhood,” said Laurie Fairbanks, who was part of the surprise shout-out. “He greets all who walk by with a big smile and [he] waves at every driver who passes.”
Read more about this everyday hero on San Ramon Patch.
Inspirational Blues Superfan Gets Her Own Stanley Cup Ring
Laila Anderson, a young St. Louis Blues superfan who inspired fans everywhere during the team’s improbable Stanley Cup run, is delivering smiles and tears again. The 11-year-old received a championship ring from the Blues recently — and the team rings have her name on them.
Laila has a rare, life-threatening immune disease called HLH and received a bone marrow transplant in January. She received medical permission to go to Boston for Game 7, and celebrated with the team on the ice, planting a kiss on the Stanley Cup itself.
Watch the moment she received the ring on Boston Patch.
Here’s How Much This Man Who Likes Beer Raised For Sick Kids
Carson King isn’t a kid anymore, but the Altoona, Iowa, man is helping a lot of them. King, you may remember, hoisted a sign before a nationwide college football television audience that jokingly asked for donations to replenish his Busch beer supply.
After hundreds of dollars poured in, King decided keeping the money would be a selfish thing to do, so he turned his joke into a fundraiser for the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital in Iowa City. His desire to do a good deed for some very sick kids was fraught with complications, but King closed the fundraiser last week with a total he said he “still can’t even fathom.”
Find out what happened and how much money he raised on Iowa City Patch.
Let’s All Make Sure This Old Gent Gets 102 Birthday Cards
George Campbell most assuredly is not a kid. He’s one of more than 53,000 centenarians in the United States.
And the Brick, New Jersey, man wants 102 birthday cards to celebrate his 102nd birthday this coming Thursday.
Read more on Brick Patch story to find out where to send him a card.
This Cop Was In The Right Place At The Right Time
A Boynton Beach, Florida, police officer working an off-duty detail at a local restaurant saved an 82-year-old woman who was choking on broccoli. He performed the Heimlich maneuver on the woman as her grateful friends and restaurant employees looked on.
“He ran into the dining room area and performed abdominal thrusts, which dislodged the broccoli and she could breathe again,” police spokeswoman Stephanie Slater told Patch. “The woman did not speak English but her family expressed their gratitude, as did patrons in the restaurant.”
Watch video of the dramatic moment on Miami Patch.
Kitten Rescued On Freeway During Rush Hour
An off-duty police officer was on the 10-lane 57 Freeway during rush hour in Los Angeles last week when he saw a kitten perched precariously on the center divider. How the the little scaredy cat made it there through all that traffic is a mystery, but luck was with the little gray fuzzball when Sgt. Clement Toscano spotted him.
Toscano is fostering the kitten until a permanent home can be found. And he has an appropriate name: Lucky.
Read more about Lucky, the lucky kitten, on Hollywood Patch.
New Life Begins For Dog That Spent 760 Days In County’s Shelter
This companion animal’s name isn’t Lucky, but he sure is. His name is K-Dog, and he was staring down what amounted to a death sentence when he ended up in a high-kill shelter in West Virginia a couple of years ago.
Thankfully, K-Dog was rescued from there and taken to the SPCA of Anne Arundel County. But sadly, he sat forlornly for almost two years at the local shelter — until now.