Blog Posts by Nadine Kalinauskas

According to new Dove research, participation in sports and activities can play a crucial role in young girls' development. This follows the 2010 findings that six in 10 girls have quit sports because of poor body image.

To help young girls feel more encouraged and empowered in the activities they love, Dove approached Canada's trampoline superstar, Rosie MacLennan, and asked her to share her story.

"I guess they thought that because I'd gotten to the peak of where I can get in my career, they wanted to hear my story: how I did it and why I did it," MacLennan says.

MacLennan, 24, Canada's only gold medalist at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, recently spoke to Yahoo! Canada News about the new Dove "Girls Unstoppable" campaign and the role moms, mentors and athletics can play in building young girls' self-esteem.

Y! Canada: What is your "unstoppable" story?

MacLennan: Generally speaking, at a young age, you start to get compared to other people. You start comparing yourself to other people,

Read More »from ‘Unstoppable’ Rosie MacLennan empowers girls to pursue the activities they love: A Yahoo! Exclusive

In January, two sloth bear cubs were born at Chicago's Brookfield Zoo. They spent their first few months of life in a maternity den with their mom, 10-year-old Hani.

This Wednesday, just in time for Mother's Day, the still-unnamed brother/sister duo finally made their public debut.

"Zoo guests will be able to witness one of the most intriguing behavioural traits of this species: a mother sloth bear carrying her young on her back. Rarely seen in other bear species, a cub riding on its mother's back is a regular mode of family travel. Hani will continue to carry her cubs until they are about a third her size," the zoo posted on YouTube.

According to zoo spokeswoman Sandra Katzen, sloth bears, which live only in southern Asia, are listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, with fewer than 20,000 thought to remain in the wild, including populations in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

The cute siblings were the first successful sloth bear litter born at

Read More »from Cute sloth bear cubs make their debut at Brookfield Zoo

One South African couple is hand-raising cheetahs alongside their young children.

Featured in the documentary "Cheetah House," the Schoeman family embraces the big cats as if they were domestic kittens.

The young cheetahs, Wakku and Skyla, live and play with toddlers Kayla Schoeman, 1, and her brother, Malan, 3.

Parents Hein and Kim Schoeman are animals trainers on the Abertinia animal reserve where the 1-year-old cheetahs were born. They decided that hand-raising the animals would give them a greater chance at survival, as the cheetah's mother didn't seem capable of caring for her entire litter.

"At the end of the day, it all boils down to how humans and nature can live together and respect each other. That's what it’s about," Hein Schoeman said in a Skype interview with ABC News.

Watch the unconventional family in action below:

"When you raise them, it's extremely strict. You need to establish dominance and respect first of all and maintain that," Schoeman said of raising the wild animals.

Read More »from In ‘Cheetah House,’ toddlers play with adopted cheetahs

On May 5, University of Portland graduate Sam Bridgman did what many of us take for granted: he walked.

Usually confined to a motorized wheelchair — he was diagnosed with the rare degenerative neuromuscular disorder Friedreich's ataxia at age 15 — Bridgman walked across the stage at his college graduation with the help of athletic trainers Cat Wade and Brad Scott, who worked with a determined Bridgman throughout his entire time at the school.

The inspirational student's feat was met with a standing ovation from his proud peers.

Watch Bridgman's inspirational walk below. (Warning: tearjerker.)

"You've never met anyone that smiles bigger and more often," Laurie C. Kelley, associate vice president of university relations and chief marketing officer, told The Oregonian. "His smile just lights up your day."

"He'll be missed," she added. "There's not another Sam Bridgman."

"Our son, Hayden, has FA as well. He is 9 years old. Sam, YOU are an inspiration! I hope your efforts, along with the rest of

Read More »from Standing ovation: Wheelchair-bound university student walks across stage at graduation

This flag has unofficially been representing Nova Scotia for 155 years.Nova Scotia's white and blue flag was first created in 1858.

It has never been officially recognized as the provincial flag until now, and it's all thanks to a young student.

Eleven-year-old Regan Parker, a student at Fanning Education Centre in Canso, Nova Scotia, was working on a heritage project when she learned that her province's 155-year-old flag had never been officially recognized. She contacted Jim Boudreau, her local MLA, who then sought the help of researchers at the Legislative library, CBC News reports.

"We checked with the executive council, leg library, Communications Nova Scotia, and so on, and in fact, it had never been recognized as the official flag," Boudreau said.

"I’ve always tried to encourage students to do independent research, to look at things and to, you know, not just take things at face value so this was, this was very nice to see happen," he added.

On Tuesday, Boudreau introduced a bill, the Provincial Flag Act, to confirm the flag as the official flag of Nova

Read More »from After waving for 155 years, Nova Scotia flag finally confirmed

Aiden and Conner McCandless.Brothers Aiden and Conner McCandless, both in grade 7, will be at tonight's Leafs game, thanks to their generous classmates.

The grade 8 class at St. John Vianney School in East Windsor raised the funds to send the young hockey fans, who both have a genetic disorder, to the game. They raised more than $2,000 — enough to buy third-row tickets for boys and their dad and two Leafs jerseys — and presented the tickets to the brothers at an assembly yesterday.

The brothers jumped for joy in response to the "awesome" surprise gift.

"A little overwhelmed, impressed and full of emotions because this is such a big deal," Aiden and Conner's dad, Chris, told AM800 of the students' generosity, adding that his sons are huge Leafs fans.

"They are the biggest. To talk to them, almost any conversation will be interjected with some reference to the leafs and they are probably the biggest fans I know."

"They always bring us up when we're down. They do choir, all the sports teams; they're just amazing guys,"

Read More »from Students at Windsor school send special needs brothers to Leafs game

On Monday, 31-year-old double amputee Spencer West began a 300-kilometre journey from Edmonton to Calgary — on his hands — to draw attention to the distances some people around the world must walk to get clean water.

West plans to arrive in Calgary on May 16.

"Thirty kilometres a day is going to be rough. Your arms aren’t necessarily meant to be walked on so that’s why I’m doing a bit on my hands and a bit in a wheelchair, to try to keep my shoulders in shape. I certainly can’t afford to lose these at this point," West told the Edmonton Journal.

The We Walk 4 Water campaign, part of Free the Children's Water Initiative, hopes to raise enough money to provide 100,000 people around the world with permanent sources of clean water.

Follow West's journey here.

Last summer, West and his two best friends, David Johnson and Alex Meers, climbed Mount Kilimanjaro — and raised more than half a million dollars for Free the Children's clean water projects.

"Summiting Mount Kilimanjaro last summer with my

Read More »from Double amputee begins journey from Edmonton to Calgary on his hands to raise money for clean-water project

Better late than never.

After a 30-year engagement, Jack Wright, 88, and Shirlene King, 57, have finally made it official.

The long-time sweethearts wed on Tuesday before family, friends and doctors — in the hallway of the oncology radiation department at the West Los Angeles veterans hospital.

Wright, one of only 11 living American survivors of World War II's Battle of Guadalcanal, is currently receiving chemotherapy for head and neck cancer at the hospital.

"I have to undergo several treatments. She's been by my side every step of the way," the former Marine said of his new wife.

The couple is the first to wed at the hospital.

After the war, Wright, known as "Captain Jack" to locals, became a popular figure in the seaside community of Marina del Rey. He lived on his boat, often serenading his neighbours with his accordion.

The couple first met in 1983.

"We were at a hot tub party and I was the only one wearing a bathing suit," King told NBC Los Angeles. "He swam over to me and said, 'Can I

Read More »from 30 years in the making, WWII vet finally weds his long-time love