Merseyside is full of amazing people who help and inspire others.
Over the last year the ECHO has spoken to many people who have touched other people's lives, inspired to make change or show others how they turned their lives around. The ECHO has decided to look back at a number of these uplifting stories which happened during 2022 in Merseyside and nearby.
Stories include kind gestures from schoolboys on Halloween, people launching their own businesses which have become international sensations, a man who helps other amateur footballers with their mental health and a former alcoholic who turned his life around.
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We have spoken to many inspirational people this year, but the list would be too long. These are just a few of the inspiring and uplifting stories we have published this year, take a look below.
Ring doorbell footage captures lads making heartwarming decision
A Ring doorbell camera captured a heartwarming gesture from two lads, which left viewers in tears.
Jodie Laithy, from Page Moss, left out a bowl of Halloween sweets for trick-or-treaters on Monday, October 31. But when she looked back at her camera later that evening, she spotted "the cutest thing ever" as two lads came to the door.
The two boys approached the door wearing ski masks and rang Jodie's doorbell. After waiting for a few seconds, one of the boys notices an empty sweet bowl on a chair near the front door.
The boy was captured picking up the bowl and saying "somebody has taken them [the sweets]" before putting it back down. He then immediately opens his plastic New Look bag full of sweets and starts placing some of his own into the empty bowl.
The boys turn to the Ring doorbell camera and wave before saying "happy Halloween". This story warmed the hearts of many Scousers and one of the boys, Nathan Hornby, mum Natasha Holloway said she burst onto tears when she saw the clip.
Mum and son's 'silly idea' for eBay listing now an international business
A mum and son's "silly idea" for an eBay listing turned into an international business selling spices around the world.
When Sanjay Aggarwal, 39, told his mum Shashi, 71, to list one of her homemade spice blends on eBay on Christmas Day he thought it would be a good retirement hobby for her. But the idea proved so popular with customers that it soon turned into a successful family business called The Spice Kitchen.
The Spice Kitchen started in Sashi's kitchen at her home in Birmingham before moving into a premises in Widnes, where Sanjay now lives with his wife. Now in its tenth year, the family-run company has since moved into a bigger base in Speke, and now sells its products in over 500 stores in the UK and across the world.
Sashi, who was born in Kenya and later moved to India, was the first in her family to travel over to the UK to marry her husband. Her love of cooking was born at a young age, and she still uses a 100-year-old spice grinder that was passed on from her grandmother to blend her spices by hand today.
The Spice Kitchen now sell a range of different products alongside their Indian spice tins that come wrapped in Indian saris made by Sashi, including mulled wine, spiced cider and hot chocolate making kits. The company is also due to publish its own cookbook in May next year full of Sashi's recipes.
Liverpool FC fan explains the importance of his Everton tattoo
An Liverpool FC fan has an Everton FC tattoo for a very special reason.
Colin Dolan, 57, who was diagnosed with bipolar in his mid-30s and has battled with his mental health set up Liverpool Football Therapy in 2019, after benefiting first-hand from Everton's community programme Imagine Your Goals. Aimed specifically at Mersey Care NHS patients, the programme uses football as a therapeutic tool to help participants improve their emotional resilience and boost self-confidence.
Colin credits the Everton in the Community programme with saving his life on a number of occasions - and has even got the logo tattooed on his arm, despite being a Liverpool FC fan. But after benefiting from the programme for several years, Colin saw there were so many people in Merseyside who were not under Mersey Care's service.
He said: "So many people throughout Merseyside have mental health issues but didn't qualify to be involved with the programme. These people had to have the opportunity to use football as part of the recovery process or as part of ongoing therapy.
"I knew I had to reach out and use my feelings and experiences of mental health on and off the pitch to help other people."
Liverpool Football Therapy hosts two sessions each week across Merseyside - one in Netherton and one in Speke. The five-a-side football sessions are for adults of all genders affected by any form of mental ill health, but most importantly, no one needs to be referred. Colin, who also serves as the managing director, explains the programme actively encourages people who haven't yet been diagnosed to come to the sessions due to the length of the referral process.
Woman buys 'castle' after posting letter asking if owners were selling up
A woman bought her dream house after posting a letter asking the owners if they were selling the property.
Sarah Nolan, who lives in West Derby, bought her first property on her own in Huyton at the age of 22 and while she "loved everything about it" she still dreamed of her West Derby home.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, she'd walk up and down the street with her friends and "admire the house". They eventually encourage her to put a note through the door to see if the owner was thinking of selling up.
Sarah said: "On the way home I went and bought the nicest paper, envelopes and pen I could find and sat down to write it I think Mark thought I was crazy. We’d spoke a lot about buying a house together and we knew what we wanted in a property. Mark's list was quite extensive. My list was literally this house.
"He left me to it and I stayed up till 4am writing what I thought would be the perfect letter. The house wasn’t for sale and I really didn’t want to offend anyone by asking. The next day I met my friends and we went for our walk. I couldn’t even post it so they ran up the path and put it through the door. We where like school children laughing.
"I got back to my car an hour later and I had a text off the owner saying they’d received my letter and would we be interested in coming around over the weekend to chat. Honestly, at that moment my heart was racing so fast.
"The next day we met the family. Unfortunately, the owner had sadly passed away and they where still deciding whether to sell their family home. If I would of known this I would never of posted the letter but I suppose something just made me do it.
"After a really lovely chat the following day with the owners I think they could see how genuine we were and how we really did love their home."
The 43-year-old and partner Mark exchanged on the house at the start of 2022.
Double amputee to crawl town marathon in 'tough' challenge
Paul Ellis, from Widnes, who lost both of his legs below the knee following a serious fall took on multiple feats this year to raise money.
The 57-year-old broke his spine and was paralysed for six months after a fall in 1992. He lived in pain for years, only able stand for five minutes at a time as his legs were fused at the ankles. In 2008 he underwent surgery to have both legs amputated below the knee - an operation he has described as 'a blessing' as it gave him his mobility back.
Paul raises money for Amp Camp Kids fund, which pays for children affected by limb difference or loss to enjoy holidays of a lifetime in Tenerife. In previous feats Paul has conquered a crawled ascent of Britain’s highest peak Ben Nevis, as well climbing the tallest mountain in Wales and England at Snowdon, and a 50-mile walk.
He also took on the challenge to crawl a marathon around his hometown.
Dragons' Den reject with 'product that could kill someone' now a global success
A swimming instructor who was rejected on Dragons' Den now sells his product across the globe.
Kevin Moseley, who is originally from Skelmersdale but now lives in Portugal, started his career in the swimming world by becoming an instructor. He first got the idea for his product SwimFin, a child's buoyancy aid shaped like a shark fin, when teaching children under his instruction.
However, the moment Kevin realised he could turn 'Sharky' into a fully fledged product was when a four-year-old boy who was struggling in the water tried it on and started swimming "instantly."
Kevin said he looked into patenting the product, however it was too expensive. Then in 2006, the now 58-year-old saw BBC's programme Dragons' Den was looking for applicants and he decided to apply.
However, it did not go well, Kevin said: "So basically they just threw a load of abuse at me. They called Mark Foster an idiot to endorse a man, me, and recommend a product that [they said] is 'going to kill somebody'. [They said] 'it's a ridiculous idea, it'll never work. Goodbye".
Kevin said Peter Jones offered 25% for half the money, but the other Dragons did not back the product. However, Kevin decided to go it alone with the backing of his wife Nicky.
He re-mortgaged his house, cashed in his savings, got heavily into debt with the bank and even sold his swim school business. Kevin registered worldwide patents and started Swimfin Ltd from the garage of their home in Burscough with just one employee.
Since its launch, Kevin's business has gone from strength to strength and SwimFin is sold around the world. In its first year of trading, SwimFin has become an international sensation with orders flooding in from 47 countries and sales topping 70,000.
It has also had the backing from Olympians, Paralympians and even royalty.
Former soldier almost died drinking nine litres of cider a day
A former soldier who "hit rock bottom" drinking nine litres of cider and whisky a day turned his life around after his addiction almost killed him.
For 20 years, Joseph Rimmer, from Huyton, struggled with alcohol. Frequently enjoying boozy nights out with his fellow Royal Green Jackets, his love of beer and spirits exploded into full-on addiction after he left the forces in 2004, leading to years of mental and physical anguish as he repeatedly vowed to kick the destructive habit - only to relapse every time.
His mounting addiction began to take its toll on his family life: his marriage broke down, he lost contact with his children, and he was later arrested for stealing money from his parents to buy alcohol.
The situation only worsened in 2017, when he lost his mother to lung cancer. By October 2018, he said, his life had been reduced to nothing but lying in bed and drinking until he lost consciousness.
It was then he received a desperately needed wake-up call after he collapsed in his home, and was rushed to hospital with severe liver and kidney failure.
After spending three months recovering in hospital, the dad-of-two vowed to turn his life around, and signed up for Alcoholics Anonymous. Four years on, he is now stone-cold sober, and an official AA armed forced liason officer, supporting other ex-soldiers who have fallen into addiction.
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