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Your Inspirational Stories

The following stories have been tagged with Appreciation

Peyton's 8th Birthday

When my daughter Peyton was 7, she decided that she wanted to be a "Change Bandit" for the Duke Children's Hospital annual donation radio-thon. She enjoyed raising money to help the sick children in the hospital, and she hit up everyone she knew for loose change. In a short period of time, she donated more than $200 in coins. When she turned 8, she decided that she wanted to raise money for the... MORE
Values: APPRECIATION

Appreciate the Unappreciated

My 19 year old daughter was the victim of an assault in December of 2008. This was a very traumatic event, but because of her inner strength she rose above it. As a victim she was potentially qualified to receive financial victim assistance, which was available through a victim advocacy program in our State. This would help pay for her outstanding doctor bills, and so we applied for it. She... MORE
Values: APPRECIATION

Hitching a ride.

A couple of years ago, my husband had been jailed by mistake in Idaho, about 400 miles from our Oregon home. He had spent a month in the small jail before the judge finally corrected the mistake and released him. Problem being when he had been arrested wearing jeans and a light tee shirt, but when he was released the weather was considerably colder. It was early evening when my husband began wa... MORE
Values: APPRECIATION

Taking Care of Baby

I met a fairly young mother who had two young children on the train ride back to the Bay Area from Portland. She recently lost her husband who was involved in a fishing boat accident when they were living in Alaska. They were on the train to San Diego to stay with family as the first stage of starting a new life. Her two young boys were six and five months, respectively. I really can't imagine... MORE
Values: APPRECIATION

Thank You Team Hoyt

Dear Team Hoyt'You are my heroes and inspiration. I first read about you both in Runner's World and was very touched. I will never forget your extraordinary story. I have a picture of you both running and Rick raising his arm and below the picture I wrote "qualify for Boston in Philadelphia!" Well, I did not qualify for the marathon in Philadelphia because I never went. Last year the imposs... MORE
Values: APPRECIATION

Sebastopol FFA

The FFA (Future Farmers of America) of Sebastopol, California has changed my life so much since freshman year. During Middle School and even before that, I felt like I didn't fit in anywhere. But through FFA I have met a lot of new friends. I tried to become a chapter officer as a freshman, and now in my senior year I have finally made it. I am the current Sebastopol FFA treasurer. FFA has re... MORE
Values: APPRECIATION

McMaster

I go to Mac High School, and once a year we get snacks when we get off the bus. Usually I think nothing of it and just take a snack and then go on with the rest of my day. But today there were stickers on the bottles which told us to "pay it forward" and there was even a website to visit (which was this one) to get ideas. So basically I wanted to say that I look forward to the treats they giv... MORE
Values: APPRECIATION

Two Amazing People

I recently read a wonderful account of an incredible act of kindness. It involved the country singer, Jan Howard, and it occurred back in the early or mid 1950's. You can read about it in her wonderful autobiography, 'Sunshine and Shadow.' She was destitute with three children and at least two of them were babies. She had been forced to leave her husband due to his chronic irresponsibility. At ... MORE
Values: APPRECIATION

Office Angels

I had recently started working at my new job in January 2008 when I started getting these terrible headaches almost every day, among other symptoms. I couldn't figure out what was causing them. Then it dawned on me, my dentist had been bugging me to get my wisdom teeth removed for a good 3 years and now they were posing a serious threat. Only one problem, I had missed my window of opportunity... MORE
Values: APPRECIATION

A Christmas Surprise

In 1970 my five brothers, my sister and I lived in the housing projects of Toronto with our parents. My father was a factory worker, and my mother stayed home. Each year my father would dress up as Santa Claus and go through the streets of the projects sharing joy and candy with the children there. He loved it as much as they did! But around Christmas in 1970, my father was laid off from his j... MORE
Values: APPRECIATION

Beautiful

I came to work in the operating room after nursing school was completed. I was so excited about my new job that I would alternate between being exhausted and not being able to sleep properly. Like many jobs, the newness and excitement wore off and I found myself in drudgery. One night (when I was staying late, yet again) I was feeling aggravated. I didn't like my surgeon, my feet hurt, it... MORE
Values: APPRECIATION

MY DADDY

I still remember the first time I was “qualified” to go to a football game with my daddy. My parents had eight children; so they had a million rules for when you could “qualify” to do things. It was a cold fall day, and I had just turned eight years old, the magic University of Utah football eligibility age. The sky hung low and heavy over our heads as I raced to keep... MORE
Values: APPRECIATION

The Grace of Small Kindness

Every good story has a lesson, and any good lesson is really a gift. I often need to re-learn this lesson, and I can't always find the gift in it, but I can say that this is the story of how I received grace and learned how it is possible to carry that gift everywhere we go. I learned this from my late-husband, who is perhaps the most important person I'll ever know. His name was Ryan. He was ... MORE
Values: APPRECIATION

A Real Christmas Tree

We’d always wanted a real Christmas tree—a tall, lavishly decorated one, like other families had. It would have had singing lights, silver tinsel, blown-glass ornaments, and icicles dressing its snow-tipped branches. And, of course, underneath it would have been overflowing with presents for us children. But December came, and our living room still remained bare. New Christmas deco... MORE
Values: APPRECIATION

Simple Acts of Gratitude

This summer I directed my first theatre production. When I started, I had no idea how much time and energy such a task would require. My entire July month was filled with late-night sewing, constant rehearsals, and the utter stress and worry of our progress. I felt tired and overworked. The weekend before our show I was leaving town to spend time with my boyfriend (a trip that had been plan... MORE
Values: APPRECIATION

Childhood Inspiration

Years back, when I was studying for elementary course, we had a very elderly lady staying alone as a neighbor. She was totally helpless, though financially sound. Out of fear, she never appointed any paid support. One day, I offered to help her out in all of her errands, purchases and general upkeep of her house, but on one condition: that she did not corrupt me with payment in cash or kind. ... MORE
Values: APPRECIATION

The Value of a Dollar

When I was nineteen, I had a job at my local bookstore. Being located in the mall, we usually saw our fair share of characters, many of them teenagers. One night, a fifteen-year-old couple came in looking for a book. They seemed to be the usual type to give mall workers a hard time. When they came to the register, she was a dollar or two short of buying the book she wanted and pulled out a te... MORE
Values: APPRECIATION

Something to Lose

It was the summer before my freshman year of college. I was at my internship when I got the 911 page from my mom and a message saying, “Come home immediately after work.” A bit anxious, I packed up my things and left for the day beating both my folks home. When they walked in the door my mom began to speak but fell into tears. It was then that my dad proceeded to tell me he had can... MORE
Values: APPRECIATION