>> thanks for joining me for this special show called what's the good news? i'm claudine wong. we're showcasing inspiring stories of people across the bay area and highlighting good news. we've seen throughout the year. let's begin in the north bay with the girls flag football team that is working hard to keep up with demand. here's ktvu crystal bailey for the first time, the u.s. olympic games in

2028, in la will have women and men's flag football. >> and now it's a growing trend in bay area high schools office. army officer 3123 offense at san rafael high school. the demand was so high to create a girls flag football team. at the start of the school year, nearly 40 girls showed up to play. >> we started working with the district and administration so we can get the funding and just everything to form together, and then magically it happened at the beginning of the year. don't let the ball get behind you, teacher and coach shannon mcclure tells us. >> local artists and businesses helped the new team get footballs, design the uniforms and supply the flags. >> everything is really been kind of an uphill battle for us as a team. we've had to fight for everything and really just work to get what we needed. >> like a team so dedicated they practiced in their halloween costumes since august, the girls have played 12 games around the bay area.

>> we haven't won one yet, but every time we go out, we are better freshmen and seniors alike. >> the team is a family for the range of ages. >> i'd say we're pretty close. >> the bulldogs followed in the footsteps of the trailblazing terra linda trojans across town, who were the first in the school district to build out a girls team last year. their head coach says they grew from 14 players to 33 players this season. >> football isn't dumbed down for girls. this is just an alternative for us. just because we couldn't play with another gender. this is for everybody. >> and for mcclure, who played when she was in school. this is all about empowering young women girls, helping girls be powerful, raising strong girls and strong women is something i believe in. and as the sport grows, mcclure says she plans to create a junior varsity and varsity squad. the team is three

games away from the end of the season, but they're still looking for funding to continue to play next season. if you'd like to help out, they have a gofundme and you can find that on our website, ktvu.com in san rafael. crystal bailey, ktvu, fox two news and from football to basketball. >> ktvu is greg lee gives us a look at a first of its kind partnership in the u.s. between the golden state warriors and a bay area prison. >> the sun rises on a new day at california state prison solano, inside the general population facility in vacaville. nearly 4000 incarcerated men are serving sentences for a range of offenses under the watchful eye of officers from the california department of corrections and rehabilitation, hard missing your family, trying to get home. >> it's tough having a lovely wife and daughter that supports me and that needs me dearly, and having to be in here when you're incarcerated, you lose everything. >> but on this day, 16 men have found a new mindset.

>> mentally you are free. you are a coach. >> inside the prison's gym. a transformation is underway. >> before we get started, i think it's best that we get you guys suited up. >> it's such an amazing experience to have people come in here and engage with us in this way gives us hope. >> when they got that jersey, you could see just the pride they had in receiving that. >> the group of incarcerated men picked out of a pool of applicants to participate in a first of its kind program in the united states. >> we believe that sport could make a meaningful difference in the rehabilitation of those serving custodial sentences. >> our goal is we want to impact you through the game of basketball positively. >> cdc are teaming up with the golden state warriors. the twinning project and the positive coaching alliance to launch a six week basketball program designed to teach these men coaching fundamentals, leadership and through them, life skills, teamwork, communication, overcoming challenges and obstacles all those things that help you be successful on the court definitely translate into your life as well.

>> it provides normalization for the inmate population and what they what they do through sports, you know, is that it allows them to have that same feeling that you have in the community. >> the twinning project began in the uk in 2018, pairing professional soccer clubs with local prisons. it's expanded now into the u.s, but this is the first time they're using basketball big brands out in the community, out in society, haven't given up on them, still believe they can do something with their lives. >> still believes they still believe they can turn their lives around. >> it's been a dream come true again. i'm from oakland, so i am a very much a warriors fan since i've been born with a mural of steph curry in the background, instructors walked the man through a classroom session on the basics of coaching basketball. >> playing for real set up. >> you're going to work with each one of these coaches on a different fundamental skill. >> then time to hit the court. push. pull push. >> pull. ready? here we're going one foot step with our right. >> stevie stevenson has been in prison for 33 years. he's been

sentenced to life without parole and says this program is a highlight and an escape from the norm to get away from just prison. >> everything the talking, the yard, dealing with everything inside the housing units, the program's primary focus may be basketball, but it's clear to everyone involved the lessons run far deeper than a game. we can take these skills to the street, we can take these skills and talk to at risk youth, talk to grown ups as well. >> it's very useful for when i want to coach the guys on the yard, and even when i want to teach my daughter some drills. >> in six weeks, the men will graduate equipped with new skills to coach and lead clinics of their own. another byproduct teaching teamwork between a group of diverse men who may not always see eye to eye on the yard, may not talk to one another on the yard. >> but because of this, we're getting to know one another and building camaraderie. >> we might belong to different

groups or segments or ethnicities, but we still have this shared experience, and a lot of us are a lot more positive than the yard may allow us to kind of expose. >> thank you for making it all the way over here. >> at the end of session one, the exhausted group shared one sentiment gratitude. gratitude to be seen. gratitude for a fresh start and gratitude for a chance at a future outside these walls. >> programs like this gives me the hope that i have a chance. i have an opportunity to correct the wrongs that i may have done, that i have done, and kind of give back to the things i've taken away. >> two three inside california state prison solano greg lee, ktvu, fox two news. >> we recognize that sports really is a mirror of society, right now. it really touches on race, money, policy, gender, and so many artists are dealing with that topic. >> and a new exhibit called get

in the game is now at the san francisco museum of modern art. it examines the intersection of sports, arts, and culture in this country and pays tributes to organizations like the warriors and players like willie mays, who have broken barriers. our special segment, what's the good new returns a er this

>> i feel very lucky that i was well prepared and i had wonderful guidance counselors and parents that were supportive

of this whole process, and that's helms ortega. >> he immigrated to oakland five years ago, and this year was accepted to 120 colleges. he is now at uc berkeley, majoring in music and now to frank mallicoat, who has a story about service and students tucked under the shadow of mount tamalpais is marin catholic high school, where 17 year old jack miller is in his final year college. >> his calling busy? you bet. but it's not all about books and classrooms for this super senior. >> i really love it because i've learned some cooking skills along the way, and it feels really good to help people. >> since his sophomore year, jack has been volunteering at series in novato. the marin nonprofit provides thousands of weekly medically tailored, organic meals and delivers them to those facing diet related illness. >> i love cooking the food. i've really found a passion in making the meals, and i've really met a

lot of nice people there. i've met a lot of friends through who are teenagers from other schools and it still feels really good to help out into the community. >> jack's work at series is part of marin catholics christian service project, where students are required to volunteer at least 50 hours of service time to seniors. the disabled or to marginalized communities over their high school career from teaching swimming or the game of chess. hundreds of students, just like jack, are making a big difference in the north bay through these encounter programs. >> i love it, it's been awesome. >> yeah, 18 year old matt campbell is now a freshman at tcu, but before graduating, he logged over 500 hours of service time. that's ten times the required amount. the lion's share at series. he believes the lessons learned will be with him a lifetime. >> just knowing that there's always something bigger than myself out there, and it's something i want to see myself do in college, is volunteer and have something like an opportunity bigger than just me, or like my school or my sports

team, something that really benefits a lot of other people. >> i feel like they are learning, you know, empathy for not only themselves but for other people around them. i would get a measuring cup like what you can use. >> it's a win win. for series two. their teen program includes over 300 youth chefs and gardeners, all helping to prep over 215,000 meals a year. jack is now a student member of their board of directors, and next summer he will walk away with leadership and cooking skills. well beyond the classroom. >> this is really a youth led space where we ask them to rise and be their best people, and they do it over and over again every day. >> i've learned that being a leader, it's about communicating with others and learning more about them and why they're there and then helping helping them throughout the p cess. >> our good news

welcome back to what's the good news? a ktvu special this year. san francisco presented nakisha foggo with a special proclamation celebrating her accomplishments as the first black woman to be a principal dancer at the san francisco ballet. >> i feel really proud that i'm able to help or inspire other dancers to see themselves in a big ballet company, such as san francisco ballet and in the east bay we found michelle henry, a woman who is breaking barriers as she chases her dreams.

>> there is something about that sound that deep, all encompassing roar of this 1968 pontiac firebird that, for michelle henry, does something nothing else can do. >> it's one of those ones where sometimes i get nervous and i feel like i want to puke and i want to cry, but as soon as that car starts up, everything goes away and i feel at peace. >> henry is a drag racer, and for her there is nothing like those few seconds on the track. at speeds so high. you need a parachute to slow you down, she says as the first african american woman drag racer from the bay area, she knows that every time she hits the track, she's breaking barriers. >> when i was at famoso raceway last year at the hot rod reunion, i did my run, popped my parachutes and got out the car. there was a few people at the end and they were clapping for me, and when i took off my

helmet, they was like, oh, that's a woman driving. and i was like, hi! and i was like, yes, me driving. >> and i think every time you do that, you break a stereotype or what people believe. >> yes. breaking that stereotype is, is amazing for me because there's not a lot of black women that's in the industry. and we always have this stereotype of we can't do or we shouldn't do, and i'm just here to break the barriers because i want to change the narrative not only for myself, but the generation before me and the generation to come. >> this is in her blood, and it is something that's been passed down to her from her parents. >> my dad is one amazing driver. you know, on and off the track. and then my mom, oh my gosh, she is the goat of our team. she holds it down. >> henry's parents grew up in san francisco and were high school sweethearts. drag racing has always been a part of their

story. >> when i met him, he had a 74 nova and he was racing on the back streets. candlestick. >> this was illegal street racing back in the day. yeah, this is what not to do. >> but after they got married and started a family, denitra says their future meant michael could stay behind the wheel. but he had to get off the streets after a few incidents on the streets. >> my wife was like, you're not going to lose our house to street racing, so figure something else out. all right. so i started going to sonoma raceway wednesday night. drags a lot of us started going. so we really took the street scene off the streets. >> that's a scene michelle grew up watching. but for her mother, it was one thing to watch her husband race. it was an entirely different thing to let her child race. >> i've always wanted to drive my mom, she told me no, and i understand why. you know, being a mother myself, that's a little

scary. but, you know, she she came to a point where she just said, you know, you only have one life and just live it and do what you want to do and i said, okay. so i seized my moment that moment came just last year after denitra battled breast cancer, and after that i told my daughter that, you know, life is too short. >> if that's something you want to do, then we're going to just go for it. you can do it. i'm not against it anymore. sounds like she needed her mom's blessing, though. yes. >> oh, i needed her mom's blessing. like i would have let her drive years ago, but i wasn't going to get in between that conversation. >> now, it seems that conversation is nothing short of a well-oiled machine. everyone working together to get her across that finish line. she has her own style, her own message. so pocket lexus and throw your keys up. >> hey. >> and her parents say watching her chase this dream is like nothing else. >> every time he used to go, i get this nervous feeling all the

time. and with her i don't get it at all. it's strange, you know. i'm the one who i did both of them, strapping them in, getting them all ready. but with her, i don't get that feeling at all. >> i get more excited watching her drive than i ever felt. being behind the wheel. you got to figure this thing makes 1100 horsepower naturally aspirated, no power adders. when i turn on the nitrous bottles in the car, she'll make around 1800 horsepower. so to say. she can't handle it. now, this girl's got it. she's good. she's better than i was. >> and so she takes the mantle for this next generation. breaking barriers with the support of her mother, walking in the steps of her father and creating a path that is all her own. who's the better driver? >> i won't say i mean my dad. he says that he believes i'm the better driver. >> so far. and do you agree? >> yeah. >> that works out well . ou

welcome back to our good news special congratulations to walnut creek's amit allure. what a moment when she became the youngest u.s. wrestler to win olympic gold. >> i'm getting chills just thinking back to it. >> and from her great love of the sport to a great love story, the story of dwight and gina is a story about destiny. it is a walk down the aisle that has been decades in the making. a love story that has crossed continents, transcended language and time to bring this man and this woman together in this richmond church. >> you're married? >> how did you know you were in love? >> you never know when you're in love. it just happens. >> an unlikely love story of two people brought together by this woman. minvera akilu. this story starts in italy. minvera was

just 21 and had moved from her home in ethiopia to italy in pursuit of an acting career. but instead of a dream, she found herself pregnant and alone and in a nightmare with a man who had promised her the world. >> he was beating me every nigh, and at one point i said, no, i have to run. six days before my due date, i ran and i became homeless on the streets right in front of the church porch. >> among the nuns at the shelter, run by mother teresa, was a woman named gina, who manbarra says saved her life. >> she was bringing me a dinner hiding under my bed. she was giving me clothes for me and for my son minvera and her son eventually moved to the u.s. in pursuit of the american dream. >> but almost 40 years later, it was gina who minvera wanted to see again. and when she found her, gina was living in a small italian village. >> then we kissed and i asked her about her husband. she told

me she just. he. she told me he died. so she was sad. and i said, what's going to happen for you now? she said, i'm okay. i'm 80 years old. i want i'm ready to die because i want to meet him. and i miss my husband. i said, no, 80 is young. you have to come in america to visit me. >> gina would come to america several times, and it was during those visits that she met berra's neighbor, dwight. dwight had lost his wife of more than 60 years, and he and gina had an unexpected connection. does he speak italian? >> no, he doesn't speak one word and she doesn't speak english. zero. >> it didn't matter. this love has tech. >> gina, you're looking lovely tonight. and so then in the back, it says in italian that queen qualcosa di gina.

>> bellissima. >> and somehow something just clicked. >> she said that first of all, he's good looking, man. plus, his generosity. his gentleman and his affection. i fall in love because of that. >> in our hearts, we both speak the same language. >> and so when gina went back home to italy after her last visit, the day she left, he came and said, ma'am, good morning. >> i said, good morning. so you miss gina? i said, yeah, she must come back. >> she did. and then this happened. dwight says, there was no time to waste. >> i've got something here that says, i don't know what the #### it means. boys, for charmaine and the boys was army audio.

>> oh. >> a gesture that was understood without language. did you know? she'd say yes. >> i did not know that a promise of a happily ever after. >> no one expected. >> she said that she surprised. i feel like i found again a love and life. i'm happy here because i have someone by my side. >> it's a life they are excited to start. >> he loves to cook and i love to eat their cooking, so i think i'll probably in six months i'll weigh 400 pounds. >> okay, it's an idyllic life where minvera can toss lemons to gina from her porch to their porch. they share past and now they share a future. >> now she shares everything with me. what she has now i'm

happy to share what i have with her, including love. she gets love from me and then she gets love from a love of her life. you know? so i'm proud. i'm happy, happy to stand in this church on this day, this 81 year old woman and this 88 year old man starting a chapter of life no one could have predicted. we have this edge, but we meet and we fall in love. and there's a chance for everyone. >> well, that love never stops. and that there is a future in always. >> because some love stories are simply meant to be. thank you for joining me for some good news stories. we leave you with a little bit of music from the north bay's ryan woodard. he has autism and didn't speak for three years, but is now singing and soaring as the leader of the

ryan woodard band. >> it's my original right here. >> at 621 in the summer is here and it's gonna be a busy year. i hope the way remains clear. >> i'm gonna live my life. >> i'm gonna take my time. i'm gonna let it shine. >> i'm gonna take what it's night. i've got to keep movi on i'm today on a special holiday episode of voices for change, a chance to stop this busy season and ask you what brings you joy. family. >> i think family is so important during the holiday season and spending time with them and really remembering that's what it's about togetherness, thankfulness. >> i feel like everyone's not everyone. there's people who are nicer around the holidays, so very festive. >> and we look back on some of

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