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5 Good Things: Some Good News That’s Totally Nuts
CNN 5 Things
Oct 25, 2025
A wildlife expert performed a tiny transplant surgery. A Texas volleyball team serves an epic surprise for their school’s beloved custodian. New research brings good news to parents hoping to prevent peanut allergies. A retired computer technician in Florida is paying it forward to people in need. And in Chicago, second chances are in full bloom for at-risk youth, thanks to this CNN Hero.
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Host/Producer: Krista Bo Polanco
Producer: Eryn Mathewson
Showrunner: Faiz Jamil
Senior Producer: Felicia Patinkin
Editorial Support: Dan Dzula, Kathleen Toner, Christie O’Reilly
Episode Transcript
Krista Bo Polanco
00:00:00
Hey there, welcome if you pressed play looking for a mood boost, I've got you. I'm Krista Bo Polanco, and this is Five Good Things. Hear how a high school girls' volleyball team in Texas surprised one of their biggest fans with an epic gift, and you'll meet the retiree from Florida that calls himself the Tech Fairy.
Craig Clark
00:00:18
I know that there were a lot of good people out there working hard that didn't have the advantages that I had. And if there's a way to help those people, that would be great.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:00:27
Plus, the surprising reason peanut allergies are on the decline, and in a rough neighborhood in Chicago, hope is taking root thanks to this CNN Hero.
Quilen Blackwell
00:00:35
This is about creating real and tangible opportunity in a place that desperately needs it.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:00:40
You'll want to stick around for that one, and when we come back, a butterfly gets a major makeover.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:00:51
Since September, millions of monarch butterflies have been taking the trip they do every year, flying south across North America to central Mexico to hibernate for the winter. A few weeks ago though, a female butterfly broke her wing along the way, and some caring citizens stepped in to help.
Janine Bendicksen
00:01:08
The fact that somebody called and asked if we could rehabilitate a butterfly is very uncommon. I get a call from the receptionist and she said, Janine, you know, somebody called about a butterfly that's injured. Should I just tell them no? And I go, no, no, no, no. I said, have them bring it in.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:01:26
Janine Bendicksen is the director of wildlife rehabilitation at Sweetbriar Nature Center and Wildlife Hospital in Smithtown, New York. They rehabilitate around three thousand animals every year.
Janine Bendicksen
00:01:37
So we're kind of like an assisted living for wildlife that can't live on their own in the natural world.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:01:43
So Janine knew she couldn't repair the broken wing, but she could replace it.
Wing transplant surgery recording
00:01:48
This shouldn't lay on there. I know, let's get the size patch first.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:01:53
Using a wing that had fallen off another butterfly, some contact cement to stick it on, cornstarch to keep it dry, and a hanger to gently hold the butterfly still, Janine performed a wing transplant from home with some help from her partner. The whole thing took about five minutes.
Janine Bendicksen
00:02:10
I wouldn't call myself a plastic surgeon, but they look pretty darn good when I put them back together. I wasn't sure if she was gonna fly straight and fly off, and when she did, I don't think y you could wipe the smile off my face.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:02:24
In January, she plans to visit a monarch sanctuary in Mexico, and she'll be on the lookout for her patient.
Janine Bendicksen
00:02:30
I named it Spirit because butterflies are just very spiritual for me and they represent life and how fragile it is and how much we should appreciate the little things in life.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:02:49
At Community High School in Nevada, Texas, the girls' volleyball team surprised their favorite custodian with a car. They found out that Abel Rodriguez didn't have reliable transportation and often stayed late waiting for rides. So the team raised over $9,000 with help from their coach, their community, and a local car dealership and insurance agency to get him behind the wheel.
Coach Ashley
00:03:13
I was really proud of them to see the that there's something bigger than them, there's something bigger than volleyball and that they took it upon themselves to solve this problem.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:03:22
Seventeen year old Jorryn Collins led the effort.
Jorryn Collins
00:03:25
Abel's an amazing person, he has a million reasons to be sad and never has a smile not on his face. He always is jumping for joy, he is always more happy than you will ever be, honestly. And you would never guess the the reality of his situation.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:03:39
Over a hundred people gathered outside of the school last week to surprise Abel with the keys to a 2017 Ford Escape.
Abel Rodriguez
00:03:49
I am very happy. I can't believe it. When they told me, I didn't know if it was true, but thank you so much for what you have done for me. I will always be here for whatever you need.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:04:04
Now some good news for new parents. Turns out, as scary as it sounds, when it comes to peanut allergies, one way to prevent them might just be a taste of the cause.
Dr. Ruchi Gupta
00:04:15
Right now the recommendations have been to introduce peanut products early to infants. And this happened after a large study, the LEAP study in 2015, which found that introducing peanut products to infants early could potentially prevent peanut allergy.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:04:34
That's Dr. Ruchi Gupta, a child allergy expert at Northwestern University. Ten years later, we're seeing some promising results. A new study in the journal Pediatrics shows peanut allergies in kids under three are down more than 40% since 2017. That means about 60,000 children have avoided food allergies.
Dr. Ruchi Gupta
00:04:52
So this study is exciting because it does show early signs that we may be on the right track.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:04:58
Still, about eight percent of kids have some kind of food allergy today, and more than two percent have one to peanuts. So Dr. Gupta says patients can start small once babies are ready for solids, which is usually around four to six months. Just watch out for any symptoms of an allergy, like a rash, hives, or vomiting.
Dr. Ruchi Gupta
00:05:15
And what you can do is use like peanut butter, smooth peanut butter, and then thin it out with breast milk, formula, applesauce, whatever you desire. I think one really important thing we're learning is increase their food diversity at that young age. The more foods and different types of foods they get into their gut, the better.
Craig Clark
00:05:38
I know that there were a lot of good people out there working hard that didn't have the advantages that I had growing up and if there's a way to help those people that would be great.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:05:48
Meet Craig Clark. He's seventy nine years old and from Bradenton, Florida.
Craig Clark
00:05:52
And I go by the name of the Tech Fairy. I began to take in computers after someone bought a new one and I would take their old one and then find someone to give it to.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:06:03
The retiree said he's given out 710 refurbished laptops for free since he started this more than eight years ago. He replaces every hard drive, installs a fresh system, and loads them with free software, all out of his own pocket. And unlike the Tooth Fairy, the tech fairy visits when people least expect it. He always keeps two to three laptops ready to go in his car just in case. And when Craig is out in public, he keeps his eyes peeled for people who are being kind or working hard or all of the above.
Craig Clark
00:06:33
Then I basically say, this is gonna sound strange, but I call myself a tech fairy and is there any chance that you or anyone in your family might need a laptop?
Krista Bo Polanco
00:06:41
One of his favorite stories a young waiter he helped who went back to school.
Craig Clark
00:06:46
We really bonded, just a delightful guy. And I gave him a laptop and then he enrolled in college. And one day, two or three months after I gave him the laptop, he walked up and said, Craig, I just want you to know last week I got two six thousand dollar grants from my college that I never would have known about if I didn't have that laptop. And I said, Buddy, you deserve every bit of it. Don't thank me, thank yourself. Look in the mirror, you're doing great.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:07:11
And his work as the tech fairy helps him just as much as it helps others.
Craig Clark
00:07:16
This gives me a reason to interact with people. It keeps me busy and I can't name a point that where this hasn't been a blessing in my life.
Quilen Blackwell
00:07:25
The issues we face here in Chicago aren't unique to Chicago. It gives me hope that we're onto something that can permanently change the inner city as we know it.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:07:34
Hear why this man is considered a CNN Hero.
Quilen Blackwell
00:07:42
When I drive around the neighborhood, you know, I think most people will see the trash, they'll see the vacant lots, they'll see kind of people hanging out on their stoop. But for me I see a gold mine.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:07:50
'In Inglewood, one of Chicago's toughest neighborhoods, Quilen Blackwell and his wife Hannah started a farm-to-vase nonprofit called Southside Blooms, as part of an effort where flowers and futures have been growing since 2014.
Quilen Blackwell
00:08:05
Our mission is to use sustainability to alleviate poverty. And the way it works is we flip you know, a vacant lot into a flower farm. We grow our own flowers, we design them in our flower shop, and then we sell them at market. We have retail bouquets, weddings, corporate events, and everything in between.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:08:22
You might remember hearing about Southside Blooms on the podcast before we covered them last year. But this year, we're happy to report that Quilen's work has earned him the title of a CNN hero.
Quilen Blackwell
00:08:32
'This is about creating real and tangible opportunity in a place that desperately needs it. So a big part of what we do is creating jobs in the floral industry for at-risk youth. Think about the flowers you see here. The reason why they're able to blossom and bloom and for us to enjoy all their glory is because they were rooted for months, right? Sometimes years, in order for them to flower. And our youth is no different. As long as they're rooted and as long as they're getting all of the ingredients they need to be successful, there's nothing that they can't do.
Dionta White
00:09:04
You had to grow up fast around here. I lost a lot of friends from gun violence.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:09:09
'28-year-old Dionta White has lived in Inglewood all his life.
Dionta White
00:09:12
I ended up in jail for a burglary. I was in there for three months. Being in jail really opened my eyes like, nah man, this ain't it's two places you're gonna end up. You gonna be in here or you gonna be dead out there? Nah, neither for me. So it really opened my eyes.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:09:27
Since working at Southside Blooms for the last three and a half years, Dionta says it's helped him control his anger, teach him key life skills, and make him proud of his community.
Dionta White
00:09:37
This is the opportunity for us to change the next generation. We want y'all to do better. And just like when we grow these flowers, we bring peace to the community. Like, it just feels good.
Quilen Blackwell
00:09:46
The issues we face here in Chicago aren't unique to Chicago. Whenever we flip a vacant lot into a flower farm or open up a new flower shop, it gives me hope that we're onto something that can permanently change the inner city as we know it.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:10:01
To learn more about Southside Blooms and how you can support it, check out the link in our show notes.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:10:09
'All right, that's all she wrote. Thank you so much for listening. And there's more goodness where that came from if you sign up for the CNN Five Good Things newsletter. The link to subscribe is in our show notes. And as always, join us tomorrow for the next edition of CNN One Thing. But before we go, we want to hear from you. Are you liking what you're hearing? Do you have any good news to report or have a story we should cover on the show? Want to just say hi? I'd love to hear from you guys. So give us a call, 404-981-2293. Take care. Have a good day. Till next time.
