Yep, good things happened in 2024. Here are the most uplifting news stories from the past year.

This year saw a U.S. presidential election, a looming recession, wars overseas, natural disasters and other world-changing events. But there were also less divisive – and downright positive – news stories about good things that happened this year. Here are our top uplifting stories from 2024.

1. An NBA player fulfills his dream of being a teacher

New York Knicks player Mikal Bridges grew up wanting to be a teacher. It was his own second-grade teacher, Mrs. Porter, who inspired him. But standing at 6′ 6” and possessing superstar basketball skills, Bridges found himself the 1st round 10th overall pick for the 2018 NBA draft.

He gave up the dream of being an educator for his other dream – playing in the NBA. But earlier this year, Bridges – then a Brooklyn Net – got to test out his dream for a day when he taught at P.S. 134 in Brooklyn. He told CBS News basketball is his career for now, but he hopes to become a teacher — or even a principal — one day.

2. Man paralyzed as a teen competes in his first marathon

Mason Branstrator’s life changed when he was paralyzed in a skiing accident at 17 years old. But that hasn’t stopped him from playing sports and competing in a marathon. Mason, 20, completed the wheelchair race at Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth, Minnesota, this year.

CBS News met Branstrator at the University of Denver, where he’s a student, and he showed us how he trained for the race – and shared how the adaptive sports community has uplifted him after his accident.

3. Theater hires people with disabilities and highlights their talents

The Prospector Theater in Ridgefield, Connecticut, hires people with disabilities for a variety of roles – from serving popcorn to ushering to taking tickets. The theater says they search for each employee’s “sparkle” – their individual talents that they can use at work. Some sparkles include painting custom movie posters and giving a pre-movie rap performance to theatergoers.

4. “Guardian angel” gives rides to strangers in need

Lyn Story, a 64-year-old retiree in Fort Worth, Texas, uses her free time to help people in need. Story met Apryl Goodwin, a 46-year-old who had been diagnosed with uterine cancer, on the Nextdoor app. Goodwin needed someone to drive her to her treatments, and Story volunteered.

Not only would she regularly drive Goodwin, but she started giving rides to Kevin Horrigan, another local resident who is legally blind, who also reached out on the app.

After David Begnaud shared her story last April, a Philadelphia car dealer wanted to honor her selfless act of kindness and surprised her with a new car.

5. First Black astronaut candidate makes it to space after more than 60 years

In 1961, Ed Dwight was selected by President John F. Kennedy to enter an Air Force training program known as the path to NASA’s Astronaut Corps. After completing the program in 1963, the Air Force recommended he join the corps, but he wasn’t selected and entered private life in 1966.

He was denied the chance to become the first African American astronaut – but more than 60 years later, at 90 years old, his dream of going to space was fulfilled when he landed a seat on a Blue Origin flight.

Dwight and five crewmates blasted off on the New Shepard rocket in May. Jeff Bezos, who founded Blue Origin, has invited many history-makers onto his rockets – which fly into the lower atmosphere of Earth – including Wally Funk and William Shatner.

6. WNBA stars are teammates – and engaged

DeWanna Bonner and Alyssa Thomas are ultracompetitive with each other during a game of one-on-one. But the WNBA stars typically work together, on the court and at home.

The two Connecticut Sun players are engaged, becoming a power couple of the WNBA. Before they were a couple, they played against each other. This year, they got to play against each other again – during the WNBA All-Star Game – and spoke to CBS News ahead of the event about their goals on the court and with each other.

7. Long drive-thru in Southern California gives out food for free

It may just be Southern California’s longest drive-thru line. But when these drivers pull up to the front, there’s no window, fast food or even cashiers.

Instead, each car is met with a troop of volunteers, efficiently placing bundles of fresh produce and two weeks’ worth of groceries in the trunk — all for free.

It’s the Seva Collective food pantry in Santa Ana, California, an area that is known as a food desert. There, residents struggle to consistently access nutritious food, so volunteers have started the scrappy operation to hand out food and toys purchased by the organizers themselves, as a way to help a community dealing with food insecurity.

8. Mom opens cafe to employ people with disabilities

Maureen Stanko always felt her son, Nick, had so much to give. Nick is 20 and is on the autism spectrum and, despite her knowing he had so much to give, what he would do after graduation kept his mom up at night.

So, she decided to create a job for him – and opened a restaurant in Skippack, Pennsylvania. She aptly named it the So Much To Give Cafe, because she aims to employ others with disabilities, who have so much to give, just like her son. 

CBS News visited the bustling cafe, where 63 people —80% with a disability – work as greeters, food runners, sous chefs, dishwashers and servers. 

9. Photographer adds nature to classrooms – via the ceiling 

Some of the classrooms at Taft Elementary in Santa Clara, California, have one flaw in common: They don’t have windows. That’s true for Logan Earnest’s fifth-grade classroom, and he felt it was affecting his students.

A local photographer had a solution – project images of treetops onto the ceiling, so kids feel closer to nature. 

Former school psychologist Ernesto Rodriguez told CBS News the lack of windows does affect kids, because research shows being in and around nature eases anxiety and benefits students. So, he used his photography skills to capture 365 views of tree canopies and then installed them in classrooms to help kids and teachers. 

10. Judge Frank Caprio gets recognition for judging from the heart

Judge Frank Caprio has become a recognized figure around the world. Because as the 88-year-old reviews traffic cases and misdemeanors, he always leads with compassion.

The Rhode Island judge gained recognition on his popular TV show “Caught in Providence” and on social media. When David Begnaud visited him in 2023, Caprio had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and was going through treatment. 

Thousands of people returned the kindness and compassion that Caprio shows in the courtroom by sending him letters and gifts. 

Earlier this year, Begnaud visited Caprio again – and this time, the judge had even more positivity to share than usual. He got to ring the bell at Baptist Health Miami Cancer Institute, celebrating his recovery from cancer.