Everyday Hero Stories

Where did your values come from?

We've all had people in our lives who have made a positive impact on us. A parent or grandparent, a sibling who was there for us, or maybe even just a guy who shines shoes for a living? Whoever they are, tell us their story so they can inspire us even more.

Tell Us Your Story
REACHING OUT
HOPE W Hope is a nurse currently working in Darfur with Doctors Without Borders assisting women and children in a clinic camp. Hope wears many hats as she works with cases of trauma/childbirth/rehabilitation; not to mention the general well being and survival of those she touches. She is my hero.
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OVERCOMING
THE POWER OF LOVE Raising my youngest daughter as a single parent, particularly through her teenage years, was the hardest thing I had ever done in my life. She struggles with depression, anger, low self-esteem, resentment, and a general feeling of being unloved. Not denying that there may be other factors involved, I am convinced...
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GIVING BACK
LIFE IS NOT WORTH WASTING I was riding in the middle of a field on my ATV when it flipped over on me leaving me paralyzed from the chest down. I lay out in the field for a really long time before going to the hospital, helpless. In the rehab center I stayed at, I fell in love with people helping me. I saw first hand the difference they...
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LISTENING
A FRIEND TO BE THERE It was a fairly chilly Wednesday night, and for some reason, I had decided to go to Pioneer Girls (kind of like girl scouts). I figured maybe someone I know might be there. We had talked a lot about friendship in class earlier that day, and it got me thinking. I walked into the familiar room, seeing familiar...
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CONFIDENCE
CHURCH FRIENDS I'm a twelve year old girl. Most of you might think this is pretty young, but I'm going into eighth grade. I go to church every Sunday, and every Sunday I sit in youth group. I walk in, and sit in the back. I always thought this is how middle school would be, sitting alone. I had friends, of course, they just...
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COURAGE
GABRIEL W One of my heroes is my 9 year-old son, Gabriel. Gabriel was born 11 weeks early along with his twin brother. Both were unable to breathe very long on their own and needed respiratory support in the neonatal intensive care unit. Gabriel's brother recovered quickly and soon was home with his family. But Gabriel's...
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COMPASSION
RICHARD O Richard and his wife (Myra) have been teachers in some way all their lives. They have helped in ways we only wish people would really take time and effort to do. Without expectation of any return, they have touched so many lives, old and young, by their constant giving of themselves and making people feel good...
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MOTIVATION
HUMBLE BEGINNINGS I have come a long way from riding on the back of a donkey as a child in Portugal in the 50's and 60's, where I grew up. My family was poor; in fact, I recall times when my courageous mother had to literally beg for food to feed four hungry boys. At the time, we also never had a permanent home to live in, and...
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RIGHT CHOICES
GERARD W Gerard W. is a hero to many people. He isn't perfect to start with—he has flaws and problems, just like everyone; he's my hero because of his ability to get over them and see past himself to help others. He overcame his depression, kicked bad habits like substance abuse and drinking. He now sends a message to...
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OPTIMISM
LIFE IS LOVE Life, most people say, is fleeting. It flies right by us and we barely even notice until something horrible happens. My name is Bec and I am sixteen. August 3rd was the fourth anniversary of my mother's death. It all started on January sixth of 2004 when my mother was checked into the hospital. I was scared; a...
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COMMITMENT
WENDY B Wendy B. was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in June 1998. Rather than succumb to the effects of this illness, Wendy decided to inspire others and raise awareness of MS by climbing the Seven Summits (the highest peak on each of the seven continents). She has succeeded in conquering five of the seven already,...
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GIVING BACK
RACHEL L Rachel is the founder of GEMS (Girls Educational & Mentoring Service), an organization which helps girls who have been commercially exploited. The girls she fights for often come from foster homes, single family homes - those the rest of us have written off and the legal system does not adequately protect....
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HARD WORK
FREDERICK W Frederick is my father. At age 16 he lied about his age to join the Navy after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. He was the engineer on the PBM amphibian plane. After the war he came home and he did what he could to get a job. With a standard of honesty and hard work my father worked until he retired at 68 years old....
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AMBITION
ASHLEY F Ashley is a 17 year old, profoundly deaf, female, motocross racer. She has just turned pro this year and is currently undefeated. She has won numerous amateur championships. She rides only by the feel of the vibrations of her motorcycle over some of the roughest terrain ever.
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DEDICATION
LETA A Leta is a living legend here in Texas, who lives and works in Granbury, TX. She is the nation's most winning high school girls basketball coach and happens to be 71 years old and going strong. She is soon to be the nation's most winning coach for girls and boys and has no intent of retiring anytime soon- or at...
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COMPASSION
I LIVE INSPIRED Two years ago my life took a quite unexpected turn. I can remember the exact moment, sitting on the front steps of my apartment listening to an old friend explain his goal to help people in recovery from substance abuse. Little did I know this mission would soon expand to include helping the world live more...
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GIVING BACK
GIVING BACK In 2002, Samantha M., a then student at the University of the Incarnate Word, was involved in a near fatal automobile accident. She was driving the car and the passenger, her close friend, died. When Samantha awoke from the coma, she said that she wanted to climb a mountain and bike across the US. The last few...
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LIVE YOUR DREAMS
LIVING THE DREAM I volunteer at a local Reparatory Theater as an usher. Tonight was just like any other night. A bunch of us were standing by the door waiting to escort people to their seats. It's common to greet one another with a "how are you" and half the time it seems we don't even listen to the answer- always hoping that...
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REACHING OUT
MICHELLE B My hero is my daughter Michelle. She has Down's Syndrome. She is 37 years old and on her 4th pacemaker. She was never expected to live past early childhood. She had open heart surgery at age five. She had other people make fun of her because of her weight and she struggled but finally lost 65 lbs. She has kept if...
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REACHING OUT
ERIN B Erin B. has taught me that you don't have to be fake or selfish to be popular with your peers. She has come into my life and taught me how to be a better friend and a better person. She brightens every room she walks into, and makes a new friend with everyone she greets with a "Hello."
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REACHING OUT
COACH P Coach P is rough around the edges. He growls when he speaks and he is constantly yelling on the football field. He is hardest on me though. I always thought that it was because I was his son when in reality it was because he always knew how good I could be. There were times when quitting would have been so...
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AMBITION
AMANDA G Ms. G. teaches everyone to love who they are and she has never judged anyone. She is a very talented teacher and mentor. Ms. G. is not afraid to do anything. She's always willing to defeat fear. She's always there for anyone who needs to talk. And she's always willing to give another chance. She truly wants...
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HARD WORK
MY SON SAVED MY LIFE When I was 30, my mother died. I had a boyfriend who was not interested in marrying me. I found myself pregnant and alone at 31. My father was horrible, he and my baby's father called me constantly to urge me to give my child up for adoption. All I wanted was to be a mother. The only one who took me in and...
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REACHING OUT
DEANNA M Deanna McLemore, my mother, has given selflessly to our small farm community for over 45 years. As a nurse she has touched the lives of most families in the county, either caring for their elderly parents, their children, or anyone in between. She has given up time on the weekends and in the evenings, always off...
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CARING
RACHEL JOY SCOTT She changed the world by being nice to others and believing in them. But most of all she is my big sister in JC. She was not afraid to live her faith to the fullest. I am so proud of her....
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COMPASSION
STEVE S There are many people who know the right things to do in life, but not many people who actually act on them. My brother, Steve, is an exception. He lives his life by assisting others and has recently helped a friend obtain a much-needed prosthetic leg. At the beginning of 2005, Steve's friend was stricken by two...
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SHARING
THE BEST GIFT FOR A BEST FRIEND I still recall the day my Mom suggested, "Let's get you some new clothes." You can imagine that to a little girl that may mean the world, but to me it meant the Universe because we were not financially well off. So I went wide-eyed, wondering what I could select. To my surprise my mom allowed me to pick out three...
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CHARACTER
LIZABETH J My mother was diagnosed with stage four breast cancer in 2002, while I was in the fourth grade. My parents were divorced and my older sister and I spent three weeks out of the month with my mother, who was a single mom. I was amazed at her strength when she received the news of her diagnosis. I never saw her cry...
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FRIENDSHIP
TRAVIS P My Trip to Travis' House By Jessica H-4th Grade Student Wow!!! Travis Pastrana keeps his promises! When he visited our school, he invited me out to his house in Davidsonville, Maryland to teach me how to ride motocross. My mom, Patty (my 4th grade teacher), and I hopped on a plane a couple weeks ago and took...
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LISTENING
SHARING IS CARING So working at camp has taught me so many, many things—especially working at a camp for kids coming from low-income families and neighborhoods. One thing it has taught me is that these kids are not short of kindness and happiness, they just show it differently. Along with other counselors, I was setting up...
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CARING
FITTING IN My experience as a first year camp counselor held many things I was expecting, but also a number of things I was not expecting, with my group of 6th graders. My campers came from lower income neighborhoods and schools for an 8 week summer day camp. All of the kids seemed to know each other before arriving, and...
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REACHING OUT
MY FRIEND In my late 30's a friend of mine died of cancer. She fought for 6 years and suffered through numerous treatments. In my late forties I was told I had cancer. For two weeks I kept it to myself. I had decided not to fight it. I told no one. One night while chatting with a friend on line I typed the words that...
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CHARACTER
TAYLOR "A song for a heart so big, God wouldn't let it live." -Jimmy Eat World, "Hear You Me" I grew up with Taylor. He came to my fifth birthday party, and was constantly a visitor at our house. There where always whispers, talk of something bad that us children could never quite understand, not until many years...
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