Stories That'll Restore Your Faith In Humanity: 2019 In Review

SILVER SPRING, MD — President Donald Trump's impeachment. Mass shootings. Natural disasters. The college admissions bribery scandal. Shocking and heartbreaking stories, like these, dominated headlines in 2019.

And although it's been a tumultuous year, there's still so much to celebrate. Every day in Montgomery County, residents are helping out loved ones and complete strangers — just because.

Here are our favorite heart-warming Patch stories from 2019:

Silver Spring Seafood Owner Saves Rare Calico Lobster Named Eve

A race calico lobster's life was spared from a steam pot after it was rescued by a Montgomery County seafood distributor.

11-Year-Old Girl Launches Business While Mother Is Furloughed

An 11-year-old girl from Gaithersburg has launched a business selling handmade sugar body scrubs while her mother, a U.S. Food and Drug Administration employee, is furloughed.

Germantown Native Becomes Yale's First Black Student Body Prez

Kahlil Greene, a Germantown native and Poolesville High School graduate, has been elected as the first black student body president at Yale University.

Free Bookstore Opens At Wheaton Mall

Velocity of Books, a Rockville-based nonprofit that promotes literacy by distributing free books, opened its first brick and mortar location at 11160 Veirs Mill Rd. in March. The 400-square-foot store housed thousands of books for kids and adults to take home.

Husband Raises Money For Wife To Get Green Card, Finish School

The husband of a master's degree student struggling to become a permanent U.S. resident has set up a GoFundMe page to keep her in school and cover immigration bills.

TLC Helps Prom Dreams Become Reality For DC-Area Students

Prom dreams became a reality for more than 200 D.C.-area high school students at TLC's "Say Yes To The Prom" initiative on Tuesday. Students from Crossland, Duval, Roosevelt, and Gar-field high schools were invited to Discovery's headquarters in Silver Spring and shopped free of charge for prom dresses, tuxedos, shoes, and accessories.

Monte Durham, of TLC's hit wedding reality show "Say Yes To The Dress: Atlanta," also offered students one-on-one style sessions.

New On-Demand Transit Service Will Cost Less Than A Cup Of Coffee

Montgomery County has launched a mobile application that will power the region's first on-demand microtransit service, government officials announced in June.

89 Pets Adopted During Clear The Shelters Event In Montgomery

"This year was a great success and we were so happy to see so many dogs, cats, guinea pigs, birds, fish, and even a horse find their forever homes," Montgomery County Animal Services and Adoption Center wrote on Facebook. "Thank you!!!"

Former Slave From Montgomery County Honored In Book

Montgomery Parks is publishing a biography about Rev. Josiah Henson, a former slave and Underground Railroad conductor from Montgomery County.

José Andrés Feeds Bahamians After Hurricane Dorian

Celebrity chef and Bethesda resident José Andrés was in the Bahamas with his World Central Kitchen nonprofit to help those in need. The nonprofit — which is famous for feeding millions of natural disaster victims, including those in Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria — delivered thousands of meals to victims of Hurricane Dorian, according to Andrés.

Hometown Heroines: Students Save Kindergartener's Life

Two elementary school students from Silver Spring received the AAA School Safety Patrol Lifesaving Medal on Tuesday for stopping a kindergartener from running into traffic.