Scribble

Krista Bo Polanco

00:00:01

Hey there, welcome! I'm Krista Bo Polanco, and this is CNN Five Good Things.

Ethan Hua

00:00:06

And it pains us to see that there are problems that could be addressed, but aren't not. If you see a problem, try to act upon it.

Krista Bo Polanco

00:00:12

Here, how two brothers from the Bay Area are helping their community and the planet. In New Zealand, a dog was lost for a week in the wilderness and strangers came to the rescue. Plus...

Lucas Gorelick

00:00:23

He is such a great dude and I am so sure that I gave it to the right person.

Sgt. Christopher Romero

00:00:28

I love you, brother. Literally saved my life.

Krista Bo Polanco

00:00:31

Two first responders, thousands of miles apart, are now connected forever by a lifesaving choice. Later on...

Lisa Ireland

00:00:38

Now the number that everybody knows now belongs to the helpline where people can get the support that they need.

Krista Bo Polanco

00:00:44

That 80s song you probably know by heart is taking on a whole new life. We gotta take a quick break, but when we come back...

Pitch and Pair

00:00:51

In a city of 8 million people, are you ready to find love?

Krista Bo Polanco

00:00:57

The dating trend where your friends make your case.

Pitch and Pair

00:01:03

Ladies hide your men, men hide your wallets. First of all, here's my friend Nora. Because I am a scientist, these are just my observations. She is intelligent.

Krista Bo Polanco

00:01:13

So long swiping, single people are ditching the dating apps and putting their love lives into their friends' hands with a PowerPoint presentation.

Pitch and Pair

00:01:21

Why you should date her? She is a good sport. Like she's always down to clown. She's down to be the butt of the joke or the front of the joke.

Krista Bo Polanco

00:01:27

It's the latest dating trend where a loved one takes the stage and pitches their single friend to a room full of strangers with slides.

Joe Teblum

00:01:35

Sometimes it's really hard, especially as a shy person, to talk about yourself and, you know, boast yourself up. And sometimes the best person to actually do that is one of your closest friends, or even in some cases your siblings, or your boss, or your coworker.

Pitch and Pair

00:01:48

Brian, a fun fact, he cried every single time Mufasa died. Awww. We're gonna start off with that. Brian is 31.

Joe Teblum

00:01:54

You wouldn't spend hours and hours prepping a presentation, putting it together, then getting on stage and vouching for a friend unless you really thought they were a great person.

Pitch and Pair

00:02:03

I know we've kind of joked a lot tonight, but really, Sam is truly one of the most lovely, reliable people I've ever met. She is exactly...

Krista Bo Polanco

00:02:10

Joe Teblum is the founder of Pitch and Pair, an IRL dating event based in New York that's helping lead the worldwide trend.

Joe Teblum

00:02:16

We definitely hear a lot of people with they're getting burnt out with the apps. They're sick of the apps, they don't like them. We're trying to create a third space, a fun space where typically like you would have to go to a speed dating or something like that by yourself. Um, but now you get to go with your friends and it's just a fun way to mingle and meet people.

Krista Bo Polanco

00:02:35

Joe's been hosting these events for nearly three years, expanding to Chicago, Toronto, LA, and London. Each night, around a dozen friends present for three to five minutes in front of hundreds of people.

Joe Teblum

00:02:45

'We do have a lot of long-term relationships from the show, and it's fun for both sides. It's an awesome thing to see and experience.

Krista Bo Polanco

00:02:52

'If you want to pitch your single friend, you can find more information on their socials @pitchandpairnyc.

Lucas Gorelick

00:02:59

Everyone asks me, everyone goes, do you feel lighter? And I think it's like eight ounces or something, but no, I don't feel lighter. I feel proud of myself.

Krista Bo Polanco

00:03:08

'Lucas Gorelick is a 20-year-old EMT and a student at the University of Nevada in Reno. And four months ago, he donated a kidney to a stranger in need.

Lucas Gorelick

00:03:18

It was always about just doing what I could to help, and you give up so little to help so much.

Krista Bo Polanco

00:03:26

Inspired by the story of a kidney transplant recipient he met, Lucas researched if he could qualify to be a living organ donor. Ideally, he hoped to donate to another first responder. That's when he found Kidneys for Communities, a national nonprofit that connects potential donors to a community they care about.

Lucas Gorelick

00:03:42

As I was scrolling through this page of responders, Chris caught my eye and had a whole bio on him, what had happened, how he got into law enforcement. I just, I felt this connection with him that I had never felt. And I was like, you know what? I'm gonna get tested.

Krista Bo Polanco

00:03:58

'He's talking about Sergeant Christopher Romero, a 40-year-old newly retired police officer living in Long Island, New York. He was diagnosed with kidney disease in 2020, and last year he was told he needed a kidney transplant to survive. He got listed on the National Transplant Waiting List, whereas of late 2024, roughly 90,000 people are waiting for a kidney. Chris made flyers, social media posts, even some of his friends got tested, but no one was a match until Lucas found him online.

Sgt. Christopher Romero

00:04:26

It's unreal or strange to step up and so young. I mean, it's amazing to me, but I do believe everything happens for a reason.

Krista Bo Polanco

00:04:33

After months of testing, Lucas flew to New York for the surgery in December. The transplant was a success, and the two agreed to meet at the police station where Chris used to work in Queens.

Lucas Gorelick

00:04:43

I'm so glad that I did meet him. He is such a great dude. And we genuinely do at some level feel like brothers now and we text every day and he's so positive and he so happy and he is such a fun person to be around that I am so sure that I gave it to the right person.

Sgt. Christopher Romero

00:05:03

I'm so happy I was able to meet my donor. I love Lucas. I love you, brother. Literally saved my life.

Krista Bo Polanco

00:05:08

April is National Donate Life Month in the U.S., so if you're interested in learning more about organ donation, visit Donate Life America.

Ethan Hua

00:05:19

And it pains us to see that there are problems that could be addressed, but are not. If you see a problem, try to act upon it.

Krista Bo Polanco

00:05:25

'Two brothers from San Mateo, California are doing just that. 18-Year-old Ethan Hua and his 14-year old brother Desmond noticed two things. Their own school uniforms were being thrown out after they outgrew them, while a classmate was wearing shorts in the winter because he couldn't afford pants. So they started HOPE out of their garage.

Desmond Hua

00:05:44

'HOPE stands for Help Our Planet Earth and is basically a non-profit student led organization that takes in gently used uniforms and gives them back out to families at no cost.

Krista Bo Polanco

00:05:53

'Based on the most recent EPA estimates from 2018, the U.S. Generates 17 million tons of textile waste a year. Two-thirds of those unwanted clothes end up in landfills.

Ethan Hua

00:06:04

And in these landfills, they are discarded and they decompose, emitting greenhouse gasses. And that's very harmful to the atmosphere.

Krista Bo Polanco

00:06:11

So what began six years ago at one school has now grown to support 10 schools across three districts in the Bay Area. The teens say they've given out about 12,000 gently used uniforms to more than 1,500 families, saving them thousands of dollars. And they're just getting started.

Ethan Hua

00:06:27

Our favorite statistic is the 30 metric tons of carbon emissions prevented through uniformity use. The work we do saves the planet a lot of pain.

Krista Bo Polanco

00:06:40

A dog and her owner are back together again after a hike in the wilderness went terribly wrong, and strangers like Matt Newton volunteered to find her.

Matt Newton

00:06:50

Every time there was a week night and stormy night, I'd be thinking about the dog and what life would be like living in the bush and wondering whether it potentially could still be alive.

Krista Bo Polanco

00:07:01

Last month in New Zealand, Jessica Johnson went on a hike with her border collie named Molly. Trekking mountainous, snowy terrain, she lost her footing on top of a waterfall and fell 180 feet below. Miraculously, Jessica survived with some bruises and lacerations. But when rescuers airlifted her to a hospital, her loyal companion had disappeared. Word spread fast and about 160 people rallied to raise money for a search flight. Over just a few days, they collected enough money to pay for three hours of flight time. That's where Matt comes in. He's the helicopter pilot who helped rescue Molly.

Matt Newton

00:07:35

We'd been in the area on three occasions looking for her with no luck. I felt that we needed some better equipment. Once we got the right people on board with that gear and the perfect day for it, then we hit the jackpot. And when we found her, she was in surprisingly good condition, a little bit subdued, but I think she looked like she knew she was being rescued. It was the first time when we saw the dog get together with the hair, it was the first time we saw that dog show any affection so you could see the connection between the two of them.

Krista Bo Polanco

00:08:15

Up next...

Tommy Heath

00:08:17

'It's been called millions of times, and girls use it to give to guys all the time, and now it's part of the 6-7 movement, so, um, might really use it for something here.

Krista Bo Polanco

00:08:27

The song I used to sing in the car with my dad now helps people get through some of their hardest moments. Stick around for some nostalgia.

"Jenny" by Tommy Tutone

00:08:40

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00:08:40

'No matter what year you were born, you've probably heard that one-hit wonder by the band Tommy Tutone. The Columbia Records classic went all the way to number four on the pop charts back in 1982. Well, now the most memorable phone number set to a song has a new life.

Tommy Heath

00:08:54

Jenny, Jenny, who can I turn to? Now you got an answer for that.

Krista Bo Polanco

00:09:01

Lead singer Tommy Heath is praising the song's new purpose. Today, if you call the number in the US, you won't reach Jenny. You'll get the cancer support community's helpline instead.

Lisa Ireland

00:09:10

When you've received a cancer diagnosis or you're talking to your family and your head starts swirling, how do I get a hold of somebody? Who do I call? Now that number is so recognizable that people are like, oh, I'm. I know who to call.

Krista Bo Polanco

00:09:24

Lisa Ireland is an executive vice president of the Cancer Support Community. The hotline connects people with treatment resources and emotional support from trained professionals.

Tommy Heath

00:09:34

'It's been called millions of times and girls use it to give to guys all the time. And now it's part of the 6-7 movement, so I feel like we'll use it for something here.

Krista Bo Polanco

00:09:45

You just gotta dial CSC or 272 before those iconic digits. Since the helpline went live last month, the number of people calling in has more than doubled since last year.

Lisa Ireland

00:09:56

And now the number that everybody knows now belongs to the helpline where people can get the support that they need. Community is stronger than cancer and we will work on this together.

Krista Bo Polanco

00:10:08

All right, that's all for now. But before we go, we wanted to let you know Five Good Things has been nominated for a Webby. We're super pumped about it, and we hope you'll do us a favor and vote for us now through April 16th. The link to vote is in the episode description. And join us tomorrow for the next edition of CNN One Thing. Hear why some red states like Kentucky are fighting the Justice Department's request for sensitive voter data. Have a good day. Till next time.

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