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Good news is always welcome. We all need an uplifting story to help us cope with the winter chill and to remind us there are many good people in our midst doing good things.

Washington High School senior Jaden Hambric is the latest in a line of such folks. He’s the 18-year old football, basketball and track athlete who is on the verge of taking his talent to the college level but needs a productive football season to achieve his lifelong ambition.

Jaden unselfishly put his plans on hold this week to donate his bone marrow to his 19 year-old brother Jordan, whose fight with aplastic anemia interrupted his own dream of becoming a mechanical engineer.

Basketball season is well underway and football practice starts next week for a COVID-shortened regular season that is three weeks away.

However, Jaden didn’t even blink when the doctors told him he was a perfect match to save his brother’s life back in October and we’re proud of him for putting his family first. Assuming all goes well, Jaden will be back on the field around Valentine’s Day.

All credit goes to Jaden’s parents for doing a great job instilling those values and we think his upbringing in our small Eastern North Carolina town helped some also.

We’ve seen it time and again after big storms that our community steps up to help each other.

Carryout by Chrislyn owner Chrislyn Wedderien and her staff cooked for and fed almost 1,200 first responders in one day after Hurricane Florence and well over 2,000 meals went to folks from Washington to Morehead City.

Kudos to our state representative Keith Kidwell, who stepped up to help convince Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina to cover the $2 million cost of young Wade Hosey’s medicine to help with a rare disease in 2019.

Community members also donated goods and services to help meet the family’s other needs.

Bright Futures, a joint venture between the Washington-Beaufort Chamber of Commerce and the Beaufort County School System and Eagle’s Wings food pantry are two more examples of organizations who help struggling families keep food on the table and a roof over their heads.

There are plenty of ways to pitch in and we encourage you to find one. It’s free, it’s fun and it will do your heart good.