From a car crash to a chessboard, these strangers chose kindness

Good deeds successful question

A car mishap leads to generosity and 2 brothers usage chess to marque a difference 05:45

CBS News contributor David Begnaud's latest installment of Dear David features inspiring stories sent by viewers, including the communicative of a Wyoming antheral who raised $14,000 for a teen operator and 2 young chess champions who donated their winnings to assistance a sick child.

Man helps teen regenerate car aft crash

When 16-year-old Gracie, whose household asked that she lone beryllium referred to by her archetypal sanction since she's a minor, mislaid power of her car connected an icy roadworthy successful January and slid into Bryan Pedersen's vehicle, she thought her satellite had ended. Her car was totaled, and arsenic a precocious schoolhouse pupil who had worked hard to bargain the conveyance herself, she felt devastated astir losing her independence.

But Pedersen, the clang victim, couldn't halt reasoning astir the teenager's situation. Despite suffering harm to his conveyance and having his children successful the backseat during the crash, Pedersen felt compelled to help.

"Something heavy down said we got to bash thing to assistance her," Pedersen said.

After making calls and learning that Gracie was a bully pupil who worked astatine a hardware store to wage for her car, Pedersen launched a fundraising run connected Facebook. Adding respective 1000 dollars of his ain wealth to donations from friends, helium raised astir $14,000 to bargain a replacement vehicle.

"I didn't adjacent cognize what to say, I didn't cognize what to do. Because it was specified a immense gift, obviously," Gracie said. "I had nary thought however to explicit however overmuch it truly meant."

Pedersen told the teen she would recognize the existent worth of the acquisition implicit the adjacent 20 years, erstwhile opportunities originate for her to wage it forward.

"Good deeds are contagious," Pedersen said. "We each privation to help. We each privation to clasp the doorway unfastened for idiosyncratic down us. It's however communities are built."

Brothers Vivaan and Sarang Sankrithi person been playing chess since they were toddlers, and their Washington location is filled with trophies and medals from tournaments. But their biggest accomplishment isn't what they instrumentality location — it's what they springiness away.

The young chess players decided to donate their tourney winnings to assistance 10-year-old Atlas Kaya, who has been suffering from chronic pancreatitis since property 4. With nary known cure for the disease, Atlas has been hospitalized 17 times successful the past year.

"I would accidental that we were astatine astir apt the lowest constituent that we've been since we've been connected this journey," said Crystal Kaya, Atlas's mother.

After proceeding astir Atlas done a communal friend's fundraiser, the brothers pledged to donate immoderate prize wealth from their upcoming chess tourney to Mission: Cure, an enactment moving to find a cure for pancreatitis.

Seven-year-old Vivaan placed archetypal successful his section, earning $225 that helium instantly donated to the cause.

"You don't ever person to walk for yourself if you don't request thing and you tin walk it connected radical who really request help," Vivaan said.

For Atlas, the motion meant much than the wealth itself.

"Someone had really donated that was similar a kid and didn't walk it connected thing else, similar was truly meaningful," Atlas said.

When the families met for the archetypal time, Crystal said it provided "a spark of anticipation that was truly needed during a precise acheronian time."

"Once we started winning much money, we ever spent it connected ourselves," Sarang said. "Now we recognize that there's a batch of kids and adults successful need. So we effort to donate astir of the wealth present due to the fact that we cognize it's not conscionable astir us. It's astir others."

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David Begnaud loves uncovering the bosom of each communicative and volition proceed to bash so, highlighting mundane heroes and proving that determination is bully quality successful the quality with his exclusive "CBS Mornings" series, "Beg-Knows America." Every Monday, get acceptable for moments that volition marque you grin oregon adjacent shed a tear. Do you person a communicative astir an mean idiosyncratic doing thing bonzer for idiosyncratic else? Email David and his squad at DearDavid@cbsnews.com