Video- Idol Gives Back: President & First Lady Obama

Video- First lady urges holiday giving

Vermont church to sell Tiffany window to help homeless

Imagine the good that could be done with all the treasures stored in the Vatican?

BRATTLEBORO, Vt.—Here's a twist on the old saying, "When a door closes, a window opens." A Brattleboro, Vt., a church is removing a historic stained glass window, so it can open its doors to the homeless.

The First Baptist Church is selling a stained glass window that was installed in 1896. It depicts St. John the Divine and was created and signed by Tiffany Studios.

Proceeds from the sale will be used to repair the church's leaking roof so it can continue to host a winter shelter for people who need a place to sleep and a warm meal.

An antique dealer who specializes in stained glass windows told the Brattleboro Reformer the window could fetch anywhere between $40,000 and $60,000 at auction.

Run-down SC school featured by Obama gets facelift

Here's a heartwarming story to scrub Bachmann and Scarborough out of your brain.

DILLON, S.C.—Students who had grown resigned to old, "nasty" furnishings at their dilapidated middle school in rural South Carolina were elated Monday to find new furniture and a freshly painted cafeteria, thanks to a student's plea, a president's speech and a businessman's response.

"I was amazed. They changed the whole thing," said J.V. Martin Junior High eighth-grader Jessica Manning, 13. "It let me know somebody cares about us."

(snip)

President Barack Obama brought national attention to the school Feb. 24 in his first address to Congress when he read a letter from eighth-grader Ty'Sheoma Bethea asking for help replacing her run-down school.

Bethea had addressed her letter to Congress, so her principal sent it to the White House and South Carolina's congressional delegation.

Darryl Rosser, CEO of classroom furniture supplier Sagus International, called Principal Amanda Burnette the day after Obama read Bethea's plea. After visiting the campus four weeks ago, Rosser said he knew he had to do what he could.

Over the weekend, Sagus sent nearly 2,000 pieces of furniture on four tractor-trailer loads. Volunteers worked throughout the weekend to put the surprise together, including a final coat of paint about 8 p.m. Sunday.

The furniture, plus setup and shipping by Sagus partners, was worth an estimated $250,000, Rosser said.

On Monday, Rosser said students' reactions made it all worthwhile.

"It was heartwarming," he said, smiling widely.

Joe and Jill Biden Serve Homeless On Christmas Eve

I don't seem to remember Cheney doing anything like this.

Vice President-elect Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, slipped on aprons Wednesday afternoon to serve meatloaf to a few hundred homeless people at a soup kitchen in Wilmington, Del.

Biden told a local news station that the long lines outside the Emmanuel Dining Room highlight the need for an economic stimulus package, which he said he hopes President-elect Barack Obama can sign as early as Inauguration Day.

"A lot of people are hurting," Biden told the reporter. "This is part of the pulse. You can just see when things pick up here. They're not good everywhere else, but a lot of middle-class folks are getting killed too. So it's the number one priority for our administration.

"This is kinda home. And it's important for people to know who are standing out there in line that there's a lot of people who are thinking about them," said Biden, whose sister is a board member of Emanuel, the news station reported.

UPDATE- If the video won't work for you, you can see it here.