Good News Across America: Big Dreams, Second Chances and Communities Showing Up
August 28, 2026
The biggest headlines often focus on conflict, politics and crisis. But across America this week, another story is unfolding.
Students are proving what can happen when schools refuse to give up on them. Communities are raising money for families who need support. Young athletes are rewriting record books. A pilot walked away from an extraordinary emergency landing. Rescued animals are getting new homes.
And four astronauts who carried humanity around the Moon are being honored for making history.
Here are some of the good-news stories worth knowing.
San Antonio Elementary School Goes From an F to a B in One Year
One of the most impressive education stories in Texas is unfolding at Pershing Elementary School in San Antonio.
The school jumped from an F rating with 58 points in 2025 to a B with 89 points in 2026, a 31-point improvement that was the largest one-year gain among San Antonio-area schools.
Principal Shelene Livas and the Pershing staff introduced a more focused academic strategy that included subject-specific instruction, frequent student progress checks and an effort to make learning part of nearly every aspect of the school day.
The results were dramatic.
Nearly three-quarters of Pershing students demonstrated academic progress, and the school earned 91 out of 100 points in the state's school-progress category.
The staff isn't stopping there.
Their next target is an A.
It's a reminder that a school rating isn't a permanent label. With leadership, teachers, students and families working together, an entire campus can change direction remarkably quickly.
West Texas Community Raises More Than $129,000 for Families
In Midland, Texas, thousands of people turned a community walk into a major source of support for families raising children with disabilities and special needs.
The 2026 SHARE Walk raised $129,358 for Sharing Hands A Respite Experience, an organization providing services including respite care, counseling, support groups and educational resources.
More than 3,000 people participated in this year's gathering at the Midland County Horseshoe, making it SHARE's largest annual community event.
The fundraising total was recently celebrated with a ceremonial check presentation.
Sometimes the most powerful part of a fundraiser isn't just the dollar amount.
It's thousands of people making one message very clear:
Families don't have to navigate everything alone.
12-Year-Old Kinley Rasmus Makes Little League History
A 12-year-old baseball player from Alabama became one of the biggest stories of the Little League World Series.
Kinley Rasmus of Phenix City, Alabama, broke the record for the most hits by a girl in Little League World Series history while helping her Southeast Region team advance through the tournament.
And she didn't only make an impact at the plate.
Rasmus also tied the historic mark for most career Little League World Series strikeouts by a girl, matching the record associated with former Little League sensation Mo'ne Davis.
In one appearance, Rasmus threw six scoreless innings, allowed just one hit and struck out eight batters.
Little League says Rasmus became the 25th girl to compete in the Little League Baseball World Series and the ninth to pitch in the tournament.
For young girls watching from somewhere else in America with a glove in their hand, that's bigger than a box score.
It's proof that somebody can walk onto a field where few people like them have played before and belong there anyway.
23-Year-Old Pilot Walks Away From Dramatic Ocean Landing
A flight emergency off the Florida coast had an outcome worth celebrating.
Faith Tenkley, a 23-year-old pilot, safely executed an emergency water landing in the Atlantic Ocean near Boca Raton after her aircraft experienced serious mechanical problems.
Tenkley was flying solo when she encountered trouble including an engine failure and landing-gear issues.
Instead of attempting a riskier runway landing with significant fuel aboard, she chose the ocean.
She carefully navigated away from buildings, swimmers and people on paddleboards before bringing the aircraft down in the water.
Tenkley escaped without serious injury.
Witnesses and fellow pilots praised the composure she demonstrated under intense pressure.
There is something deeply encouraging about this story that has nothing to do with luck.
Training matters.
Preparation matters.
And when everything suddenly goes sideways, staying calm can matter most of all.
A 90-Year-Old Woman Needed a Lap Dog. Mocha Needed a Lap.
This might be the story that gets you. 🥹
Donna James, 90, wanted a small dog who could sit comfortably in her lap and keep her company.
Meanwhile, a blind Chihuahua named Mocha was looking for a home.
Mocha had unexpectedly lost her eyesight and had developed a strong preference for staying close to people.
The Missouri-based rescue organization Pawportunities realized the two might be an unusually perfect match.
They were.
When Donna and Mocha met, the little dog settled into her lap while Donna immediately began cuddling and comforting her.
Donna lives in a multigenerational household, and her family has developed a plan to make sure Mocha forms relationships with everyone in the home and will always have people available to care for her.
One needed companionship.
The other needed a home.
Case closed. ❤️🐶
Rescued Baby Spider Monkeys Get a New Beginning in Nashville
Three infant Mexican spider monkeys rescued from the illegal wildlife trade now have a safe home at the Nashville Zoo.
The monkeys, named Miso, Matcha and Mei, were taken from the wild at an extremely young age and illegally sold into the pet trade.
After authorities confiscated them, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums' Wildlife Confiscations Network helped place the animals at Nashville Zoo.
The animals were less than two months old when the zoo announced their arrival.
Instead of remaining caught in the illegal wildlife trade, they are now receiving specialized care in an accredited facility equipped to address their social, physical and behavioral needs.
The rescue is part of a larger national effort connecting law enforcement and animal-care organizations so confiscated wildlife can receive appropriate long-term care.
America Is Still Helping Clear the Shelters
Across the country, August has also become adoption month for thousands of shelter animals.
NBCUniversal Local's annual Clear The Shelters campaign is running through August 31, connecting NBC and Telemundo stations with animal shelters and rescue organizations across the United States.
Since the initiative began in 2015, organizers say it has helped facilitate more than 1.3 million pet adoptions and generated more than $5.6 million in donations for animal-welfare organizations.
Fundraising for the 2026 campaign continues through September 15.
It's a national campaign made up of very small moments:
A shelter door opens.
A family walks inside.
An animal walks back out with them.
And somebody's house suddenly has a new member.
Artemis II Astronauts Honored After Historic Journey Around the Moon
One of America's biggest achievements of 2026 is also being celebrated Friday.
NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, along with Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen, are set to receive the Congressional Space Medal of Honor at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.
The four astronauts completed the historic Artemis II mission earlier this year, becoming the first humans in more than half a century to journey around the Moon.
Their Orion spacecraft traveled farther from Earth than any previous crewed spacecraft before returning safely to the Pacific Ocean in April.
The mission wasn't simply about setting a distance record.
Artemis II tested systems intended to help enable future missions to the lunar surface and eventually support NASA's longer-term ambitions toward Mars.
For generations raised on stories of Apollo, Artemis II offered something rare:
A chance to watch a new chapter of human lunar exploration happen in their own lifetime.
Today Is Also a Nationwide Day of Giving
Friday, August 28, marks Give 8/28, a national giving initiative supporting Black-led and Black-benefiting nonprofit organizations.
The campaign connects donors with organizations working in education, health, families, community development and other areas across the United States.
The larger idea behind the campaign is simple: small donations multiplied across thousands of people can provide meaningful resources to organizations doing work directly inside communities.
It's another reminder that generosity isn't always a giant check with cameras around it.
Sometimes it's $10.
Sometimes it's volunteering.
Sometimes it's sharing somebody else's mission with the right person.
Impact has a surprisingly large number of doors.
The Bigger Story
None of these stories means America's problems disappeared this week.
They didn't.
But they reveal something that's easy to lose underneath the daily avalanche of breaking-news alerts.
People are still helping each other.
Teachers are still refusing to give up on students.
Communities are still showing up for families.
Young people are still breaking barriers.
Rescue workers are still finding animals homes.
Pilots are still relying on training when seconds matter.
Scientists and astronauts are still pushing farther into the unknown.
And somewhere in Missouri, a blind Chihuahua named Mocha has apparently concluded that one particular 90-year-old woman's lap is exactly where she was supposed to be.
Sometimes good news isn't the absence of difficult things.
Sometimes it's what people choose to do in the middle of them.
Sources and direct links
San Antonio Express-News, Pershing Elementary's one-year turnaround
Open the full San Antonio Express-News story
Midland Reporter-Telegram, SHARE Walk raises $129,358
Open the full Midland Reporter-Telegram story
SHARE West Texas
Open the official SHARE website
Little League, Kinley Rasmus and Girls With Game
Open the full Little League story
ESPN, Kinley Rasmus sets Little League World Series hits record
Open the full ESPN story
ABC News / GMA, Faith Tenkley's emergency ocean landing
Open the full ABC News video report
People, Donna James and Mocha
Open the full People story
Nashville Zoo, rescued spider monkeys
Open the official Nashville Zoo story
NBCUniversal, Clear The Shelters 2026
Open the official Clear The Shelters announcement
NASA, Artemis II crew receives Congressional Space Medal of Honor
Open the official NASA announcement
NASA, Artemis II crew returns after historic lunar mission
Open NASA's Artemis II mission report
Give 8/28
Open the official Give 8/28 website