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CNN 5 Good Things
How about a break — for your ears? At CNN, we know the news can be a lot to take in. So each week, 5 Good Things offers you a respite from the heavy headlines and intense news cycle. Treat yourself to something fun and uplifting every Saturday as we share the bright side of life from all over the globe.
This Actor Wiped Out Debt for 900 Families
CNN 5 Good Things
Mar 15, 2025
A three-year-old boy conquered his fears and saved his great-grandmother. The Montana Bar Fairies are turning grief into action in a state plagued by drunk driving. A college student in Boston helps women in need feel seen and beautiful. Actor Michael Sheen paid off $1.3 million worth of debt for his neighbors. Plus, this guy has been diving for lost golf balls for 30 years.
Episode Transcript
Krista Bo
00:00:00
Hey there. It's a good day to look at the bright side, isn't it? This actor may have played villains on the big and small screens, but he's being dubbed a hero in real life. Plus, you know how the tooth fairy rewards lost teeth? Well, the Montana Bar Fairies reward good decisions.
Carli Seymour
00:00:16
It's like even if you get to a few people and it makes them think twice about that behavior. That's everything to us.
Krista Bo
00:00:25
From CNN, I'm Krista Bo and this is 5 Good Things.
00:00:34
Three year olds aren't always the best at following directions. But Bridger Peabody from Strasburg, Colorado, rose to the occasion, conquered his fears, and saved his great grandmother, who he calls Gigi. CNN affiliate KUSA reports Sharon Lewis was bringing her great grandson home from the local children's hospital last month, where his older sister was getting treated for hurting her finger. As they made their way through the dark backyard, Sharon tripped near the door trying to get her keys out.
Bridger Peabody
00:01:05
She had her walker. And she fell
Sharon Lewis "Gigi"
00:01:06
And when I fell, I hit the corner of the cement step.
Bridger Peabody
00:01:10
She bonked her head and then it popped open.
Sharon Lewis "Gigi"
00:01:15
And I said, 'you know what? You're going to have to go out to the car and get my phone.'
Krista Bo
00:01:20
With Gigi's head all bloody, Bridger mustered up the courage to face his fears.
Bridger Peabody
00:01:24
I was scared outside in the really dark.
Krista Bo
00:01:29
It's hard to hear, but the family security cam footage from the driveway shows brave Bridger walking to the car in the dark, telling himself, "don't be afraid. Don't be afraid." So cute.
Bridger Peabody
00:01:44
I made it!
Krista Bo
00:01:47
Sharon was able to call for help and was eventually taken to the hospital, where doctors told her she had a serious concussion and put 22 staples in her head.
Bridger Peabody
00:01:55
But she's all better. I can help Gigi.
Krista Bo
00:01:59
Bridger may not be a big kid yet, but he's certainly his Gigi's hero.
Sharon Lewis "Gigi"
00:02:03
He's just a blessing.
Carli Seymour
00:02:07
It is 5:40 a.m. on a Sunday, and my grandma and I are about to drive around our parking lots and see who left their car instead of driving home drunk.
Krista Bo
00:02:14
Carli Seymour, her mom Beth, and teams of volunteers are Montana's bar fairies. Think of them as the grown up cousins of the tooth fairy. Instead of leaving money under pillows, they search for cars, left overnight and bar parking lots and leave special envelopes on the windshields to thank them for making the right choice.
Carli Seymour
00:02:33
So this is a gift card to a local coffee shop for $5 so that they can buy their coffee. And then the abridged story of a victim, as well as an emphatic thank you for not driving home drunk.
Krista Bo
00:02:44
The group hopes incentivizing positive behavior in Montana will make a difference. The state ranks worst in the nation for drunk driving. Federal data shows more than 40% of traffic deaths in Montana are caused by drunk drivers. For Carli and her mom, the mission is personal. This week marked two years since they lost their beloved Bobby.
Carli Seymour
00:03:05
My little brother was celebrating his 21st birthday. He had called a friend's mom. They were going to come pick them up. And while he was crossing the street, he was hit by a driver who was more than double the legal limit.
Krista Bo
00:03:17
The Montana Bar Fairies have been at it for over a year and now have four volunteer chapters in the state.
Carli Seymour
00:03:22
Creating this community of people who have lost loved ones in the same way. And all working together toward something and seeing the evidence that people are changing and people are listening is super empowering. It feels so good.
Krista Bo
00:03:38
In addition to leaving gift cards and spreading awareness, Carli and her mom are pushing for tougher DUI laws like Bobby's Law to try to change the story for their state.
Carli Seymour
00:03:47
We had one gal approached us at an event who told us that she keeps the picture of my brother on her refrigerator as just a reminder for her teenage kids to not drink and drive. And I think even if you get to a few people and it makes them think twice about that behavior. You know, that's that's everything to us.
Crystal
00:04:11
That my first makeover ever. And it felt amazing. I feel good for the whole weekend.
Krista Bo
00:04:16
That's Crystal. And lately she's been thinking about what makes her look and feel beautiful. For about a month, she says she's been learning how to apply makeup that really highlights her skin tone, thanks to a nonprofit called Give n' Glow. It provides beauty products, tutorials and makeovers to women experiencing homelessness and hardship in and around Boston.
Crystal
00:04:38
It makes you feel good to learn new skills and you walk out of there looking beautiful.
Samantha Asprelli
00:04:44
I know for myself that having that mascara on makes me feel more confident and capable. We want to believe in ourselves and that is exactly what we are trying to do for the women who are receiving our products.
Krista Bo
00:04:56
Give n' Glow founder and CEO Samantha Asprelli started the organization in 2023 as a freshman at Northeastern University. And Crystal is now one of thousands of women who have received things like makeup and skincare products from student volunteers at Give n' Glow.
Samantha Asprelli
00:05:11
'It's really a fun and interactive way that we're able to empower women with the education surrounding self-care and beauty that they can take 30 seconds out of their day to look in the mirror and seeing more than just their circumstances.
Krista Bo
00:05:24
Samantha says they team up with beauty brands like Thrive Causemetics and Glossier for the new or gently used products, and they host pop up shops and workshops at shelters and food pantries. It's not just women in Boston who get to benefit. Samantha says they send beauty kits to 46 organizations nationwide.
Samantha Asprelli
00:05:41
We realize that beauty is very personalized and we don't want to tell women how to feel beautiful. We want them to navigate that themselves, and we are here to provide those resources for them to do that.
Krista Bo
00:05:54
For more information about the program and how to contribute, check out givenglow.org.
Michael Sheen as Aro
00:06:02
I will collect every facet of the truth, but from someone more central to the story.... Edward...
Krista Bo
00:06:11
That's actor Michael Sheen as the leader of a coven of evil Italian vampires who could read minds in the movie Twilight breaking Dawn part two in real life. Sheen is from Port Talbot, Wales. It's a working class town that's been decimated by the gradual decline of its steelmaking industry. In fact, he still lives there and is giving back to 900 of his neighbors by wiping out the equivalent of $1.3 million of debt with $129,000 of his own money.
Michael Sheen
00:06:41
When I realized that I could do this, that I could get 1 million pounds worth of people's debt and just write it off. It seemed like a good thing to do.
Krista Bo
00:06:49
In an interview with BBC's The One Show last week, the actor explained he wanted to spotlight the perils of a debt industry that the man's sky high interest rates on short term loans. And if you're wondering how the math works out here, let me explain. Debt buying companies purchase unpaid debts at a huge discount, so she snagged a bundle worth 1 million pounds for cheap and then canceled it instead of collecting on it, freeing people from the burden.
Michael Sheen
00:07:15
The debt that I was able to buy included credit card debt, overdrafts, car finance, that kind of stuff. People are going through unexpected events like a, you know, an illness or a washing machine breaks down, or a car or even just Christmas. And you have to, you know, you need some help to get through these times. And so that's why I wanted to, to do this.
Krista Bo
00:07:34
He doesn't know the identities of those people whose debts he paid off, but he does know how hard it can be for people to climb out of debt. The Guardian reports Sheen grew up poor, got rich being an actor, and then lost pretty much all of his fortune in 2019. When a sporting event for people experiencing homelessness around the world fell through. He recovered financially and now he's on a mission to help others do the same. His efforts will be detailed in the documentary Michael Sheen's One Million Pound Giveaway. It's nice to hear when celebrities use their fame and fortune for good.
00:08:09
Coming up. Learn about one of the most unusual jobs in sports. We'll be right back.
00:08:19
Ever wonder what happens to golf balls that land in the water? Seems super wasteful to just leave them there, right? Well, it turns out there was a guy for that. Golf season is officially in full swing, and some of the world's best golfers have been at the Players Championship in Florida this week at the TPC Sawgrass Course.
Don Riddell
00:08:40
The 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass is arguably one of the most famous holes in world golf.
Krista Bo
00:08:45
That's CNN's Don Riddell, reporting from the 17th hole at the course outside Jacksonville, Florida.
Don Riddell
00:08:50
If it is the penultimate hole of the Players Championship and it is the ultimate risk and reward hole.
Krista Bo
00:08:56
The thing that makes this hole unique is that it sits on an island of grass, surrounded by a lot of water. According to Golf Digest, nearly 11% of the shots made at that hole end up in the water or in the drink, as they say. It's a bummer for the players when that happens, but that's Jim Best's time to shine.
Jim Best
00:09:16
Unfortunately, it's not a forgiving grin. The bare minimum of is like 70,000 balls. I'm out of there.
Krista Bo
00:09:24
Jim is a scuba diver who's made a 30 year career of finding and selling lost golf balls. And business is good. He told CNN sports that every year he salvages around 400,000 balls between ten courses, including the popular TPC Sawgrass. Jim says it takes him about a week to scour one golf course, and he'll bring oxygen tanks and spend hours in the water to find the balls. He's navigating algae. He's avoiding alligators and finding cell phones and even putters from some angry players. He stumbled upon some famous golf balls, too, with special markings on them.
Jim Best
00:10:00
Yeah, Phil Mickelson's golf ball. Tiger Woods' ball from 2005. We've got Donald Trump's ball here.
Krista Bo
00:10:08
But he doesn't sell those. He says he lets his kids keep them.
00:10:14
All right. That's all for now. Join us tomorrow for the next edition of One Thing. Host David Rind takes you to college campuses to hear how students and faculty are navigating free speech rights and student safety in the face of increased scrutiny by the Trump administration. Five Good Things it's a production of CNN Audio. This episode was produced by Eryn Matheson and me, Krista Bo. Our senior producers are Felicia Patinkin and Faiz Jamil. Matt Dempsey is our production manager. Dan Dzula is our Technical Director and Steve Lickteig is Executive Producer of CNN Audio. We get support from Joey Salvia, Haley Thomas, Alex Manasseri, Robert Mathers, Jon Dianora, Leni Steinhardt, Jamus Andrest, Nichole Pesaru, and Lisa Namerow. special thanks to Don Riddell and Wendy Brundige. And thank you for listening. Take care. Till next time.
