For many in the Tri-State, 2020 has been more than tough.
The year has given all of us our fair share of rough patches. But where there is darkness there can be light. WCPO 9 News reporter Whitney Miller took a look at some of the stories we covered this year that brought good vibes and helped shape a wild year.
From celebrating the new year to a global shutdown, no one could have predicted just how quickly things would change. Hospitals filled up and airports thinned out. Wearing a mask was the new normal.
But everything was not all bad. We found ways to celebrate each other with car parades and drive-by birthdays.
When the Cincinnati Reds traditional Opening Day Parade was postponed, fans found a way to bring the excitement home and online.
A Butler County woman suffering from polysistic kidney disease was given a second chance at life when people helped find her a donor. It took a year of her husband campaigning online and on the side of the road wearing a sign asking for help. A donor was later located four hours away in Pittsburgh.
“We are just blessed beyond what I could have ever imagined,” said Aaron Thorn.
When racial tensions flared over the summer, local business owners at The Mecca gym in Norwood teamed up with a local barber, Vernon Jackson, to raise money for businesses that were damaged during protests.
“Its a gesture that you are not forgotten, that you are appreciated and that you are noticed,” said Jackson.
The Recovery Center of Hamilton County created free online therapy group sessionsfor people who felt just how heavy the pandemic could be mentally.
“We all have the same anxiety right now; we all have the same worries,” said Bill Brown, with the Recovery Center of Hamilton County.
And then there was super neighbor Ron Clark, who helped save a woman from a burning home in Covington.
“My neighbors said this house was on fire and there was a little girl in there,” said Clark.
Clark was able to grab a sledge hammer and run next-door and beat down the front door.
“The smoke was so thick you couldn’t see anything within a foot of your face,” he said.
The 20-year army veteran was able to help the woman to safety. When people told him he was a hero, he had this to say.
“This is what people do. This is humanity … get out there, be a human being,” said Clark.
The following is a list of nine stories that show the good news in 2020.
- Retired woman works to keep NKY students safe during pandemic
- After searching for a year, Butler County woman to get life-saving kidney donation
- Covington man broke down a door and pulled his neighbor from burning home
- WCPO 9 viewers rescue mother of six from threat of eviction
- Business owners raise money for storefronts damaged during protests
- Positively Cincinnati: La Soupe turning would-be wasted food into meals for kids, families
- College, high school STEM teachers team up to 3D print face shields for healthcare workers
- Local group providing free counseling for those in need during COVID-19 anxiety
- Neighborhood brings Reds Opening Day parade to 4-year-old superfan
