Stories That Made Us Smile in 2015

We know. Sometimes, it seems like only bad news is dominating the headlines.

But as we wind down 2015, we wanted to focus on some of the positive stories that put a smile on our faces this past year. The uplifting ones that show the many good people and good deeds happening in the Chicago suburbs everyday.

Here is a look at some of our most-read that made us smile in 2015:

1. Blackhawks’ Duncan Keith Helps a Little Girl Score a Goal: Unable to walk or speak, 5-year-old Cammy Babiarz of Wheaton was born with Rett syndrome, a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects one in every 10,000 girls. She was featured this past year in the Chicago Blackhawks’ What’s Your Goal video. We’ve included the video in our article: Watch for yourself but you may want to grab the Kleenax box first.
2. Family Values, Sharing Christmas Spirit Behind Batavia Native’s Massive Light Display: For the past seven years, Brian Larsen has been lighting up his Elburn home with over a million lights to create a Christmas light display enjoyed by residents from the suburbs and beyond. Larsen says his display is about sharing family values and the Christmas spirit.
3. Buddy Benches Spring Up Across Suburbs, Help Elementary Students Connect: The concept is simple: young students who are feeling lonely while at school can sit at the bench, which will signal to other kids to come and interact with them. Maybe this is something we will see more of at schools in 2016.
4. Meet the Garoppolos’: Patriots Backup Quarterback Shows Off Hometown: The back-up quaterback for the New England Patriots was in line to start for the Patriots this past season if Tom Brady did not won his suspension appeal. He didn’t get to start but the NFL did travel to his hometown of Arlington Heights to shoot a video that was posted on the NFL website. The support showed by his family and friends in the video definitely made us smile.
5. A Hug, a Love Story and a Miracle: Young Lombard Couple Overcoming Tremendous Odds: This heart-warming story is an example of a great article submitted directly to our site from a Patch reader. It was shared over 500 times on Facebook. Definitely worth a read!
6. The Real Matt Foley, an Arlington Heights Pastor, Interviewed for Chris Farley Documentary: Spoiler alert: He doesn’t live by a van down by the river. The real Matt Foley, a long-time friend of Farley’s, is the head pastor at St. James Catholic Church in Arlington Heights who was interviewed for a documentary on Farley, I Am Chris Farley, this past year.
7. Local Palatine Family Making Big Move: This adventurous and selfless family of six decided to move to the Rift Valley of Kenya to provide hope to abandoned and neglected children who live in extreme poverty. Wow. Kudos to them!
8. Jenny McCarthy and Donnie Wahlberg Buy House in St. Charles: News surrounding Jenny McCarthy and Donnie Wahlberg’s move to the Chicago suburbs generated a ton of interest this past year. This article includes a glimpse of Jenny McCarthy’s photo shoot in St. Charles with her new husband Donnie Wahlberg and was shared over 20,000 times on Facebook.
9. Teen Meets Jenny McCarthy While Working at Batavia Store: The former Playboy model took a photo with the teen while she shopped at Bed, Bath & Beyond. He said his friends were impressed by the encounter.
10. 72-Year-Old to Use Lottery Winnings for His Upcoming Wedding: The suburban man said he planned to use the $200,000 on his upcoming nuptials.
11. After 115 Years in Same Family, This Historic Lake Co. Estate is Selling for $1.7 Million: This is an interesting article about a Lake County estate that is on the National Register of Historic Places list. The photos of this home made us go, “WOW!”
12. Missing St. Charles Girl Now Home Safe: The girl was missing for six days in July so readers were happy to hear she had been found safe. This article received over 16,000 shares on Facebook.