Thomas Exler
Thomas Exler

I nominate Thomas Exler for the My Hero for Values.com. Thomas is a compassionate, dedicated man who volunteers both locally and nationally for several organizations. The current organizations that he volunteers for include Pittsburgh Ostomy Society, Association for the Bladder Exstrophy Community, Courage to Shine™ a project of the Association for the Bladder Exstrophy Community, and Jamie’s Dream Team.

Thomas was born with bladder exstrophy in 1965, at Pittsburgh Hospital, in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. At a time when the doctors and nurses weren’t familiar with bladder exstrophy and struggled with how to tell Thomas’s mother the news about her infant son. The doctors did very little to help Thomas at the time. It wasn’t until 1967, when he had a bilateral hernia repair but nothing done to help with the urinary system.

In 1969, at the age of four, Thomas had an ileal conduit-urostomy. Because if this surgery his surgeon Kamthorn Sukarochana M.D., and mother founded The Tri-State Ostomy Association at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. This organization was to help children from birth to age eighteen, who had ostomy surgery. Thomas remained active in this organization throughout his youth.

When Thomas turned eighteen he worked with the local Children’s Hospital WOC nurses. When they would take children, who had ostomy surgery, to Pittsburgh Pirate’s games and bowling.
In 1992 at age 26 Thomas join the Youth Rally, a camp or children who had ostomy or alternative procedures. He remain active with the Youth Rally until 2003. While doing the Youth Rally, he did the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America regional camp from 1999 until 2002.
Pittsburgh Ostomy Society https://www.facebook.com/pages/Pittsburgh-Ostomy-Society/190575250971420 is an organization for patients who have had some type of ostomy surgery. Thomas has been a board member on and off since 1999. Currently, he is on the board and speaks to patients about living with an ostomy or having an upcoming surgery. The group meets once a month for about three to five hours.

Thomas also volunteers for the Association for the Bladder Exstrophy Community www.bladderexstrohy.com which is an organization helping patients and families deal with the severe birth defect of bladder exstrophy. Thomas was born with bladder exstrophy, so he has a firsthand understanding of what these patients and families are going through. He is currently Vice President (2006-2010 and 2013-present) and past President (2010-2013) for the Association for the Bladder Exstrophy Community. During the year he attends and speaks at varies events throughout the county, including a seminar at John Hopkins, Association for the Bladder Exstrophy Community Great Lakes Campout in Bristol Indiana, and California Bladder Exstrophy Support Team Campout in South Lake Tahoe California. This past summer he sponsored a young lady from Scotland to come to the United States to speak at both the Campout in Bristol and in Lake Tahoe. The young lady is Kirsteen Lupton, the 2006 Pride of Britain Award winner, who also was born with bladder exstrophy. Video: http://youtu.be/QS29fNZuhjk

Courage to Shine™ www.courage-to-shine.org was founded to acknowledge, motivational and inspirational individuals and/or groups of patients whom have overcome congenital genitourinary birth defects and/or major urological surgeries in their childhood (but not limited too), and have the courage, strength and determination, to transform that adversity to triumph later in life. Thomas is the founder and chairman of the Courage to Shine™ that is under the Association for the Bladder Exstrophy Community. Through the Courage to Shine™, he has taken a Courage to Shine™ Award winner, and https://couragetoshineblog.wordpress.com/courage-to-shine-tours/ including Australia http://youtu.be/_DEs7bP-Tj4 , England http://youtu.be/Rf3oOtOPE_M , Iceland and Spain http://youtu.be/Q1OpJOSngzA . Motivating and inspiring individuals with bladder exstrophy to lead normal lives.

Jamie’s Dream Team www.jamiesdreamteam.org founded by Jamie Holmes, is an organization that grants dreams to patients going through life threatening illnesses. Thomas has been volunteering for Jamie’s Dream Team since August 2011. During the first several years, he was working full time and volunteering twenty plus hours a week. He became a board member for Jamie’s Dream Team in the fall of 2012. In the spring of 2014 he had a stroke, which slowed him down for several months. While recovering from his stroke, he continued to be involved volunteering for Jamie’s Dream Team when ever needed. He is back to volunteering his twenty plus hours updating Jamie’s website, Facebook page and videos. He also helps Jamie in fulfilling dreams including driving Jamie to meet families both locally and out of state, writing thank you notes, driving to the airport to pick up a puppy, taking pictures and videos at dreams, helping set up and decorate for dream events, and serving food and selling tickets at fundraisers. These are just a few examples of the ways in which Thomas volunteers to help Jamie’s Dream Team.

Thomas will be accepting his 2015 Jefferson Award, for public service, from Pittsburgh, PA Region this coming May 2015.

Thomas bio about himself https://couragetoshineblog.wordpress.com/2012/03/10/thomas-exler-founder-chairman-of-courage-to-shine/

Thomas is a very humble man, who volunteers for these organizations to help change lives. It would be hard to attach a number to the amount of hours or the amount of individuals as well as groups of people that he has helped over the years. I don’t think that he truly realizes how many lives he has touched or inspired over the years. Over the past two years that I have known him, I had the opportunity to see firsthand the difference he has made in so many lives. He is truly an inspiration to me and I believe that he should be a nominee for My Hero for Values.com

Sincerely,
Kathi Kulka
3227 Sundale Drive
Glenshaw, PA 15116
412-953-0547
Kathi416@aol.com

Pittsburgh Ostomy Society
Sharon Glass, President
412-531-0763
glasshalfool@verizon.net
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Pittsburgh-Ostomy-Society/190575250971420

Association for the Bladder Exstrophy Community
Pamela Block, President
424-941-1475
Pamela.Block@bladderexstrophy.com
www.bladderexstrophy.com
https://www.facebook.com/AssociationfortheBladderExstrophyCommunity

Courage to Shine™
Thomas Exler, Founder and Chairman
412-512-3139
texler@courage-to-shine.org
www.courage-to-shine.org
https://www.facebook.com/couragetoshine

Jamie’s Dream Team
Jamie Holmes, Founder and President
412-377-3989
j.holmes@jamiesdreamteam.org
www.jamiesdreamteam.org
https://www.facebook.com/jamiesdreamteam

Submitted by Anonymous

Inspiration
Pass It On®
Pass It On®

  email

Your Comments

Here are some other inspiring stories you might like.
MENTORING
MISTY WELLS 5 Years ago Misty saw a need in children in Foster Care and she took action. For the past 5 years going strong Misty started a non profit called " A Reel Future" where she takes children in Group Foster Care fishing. She has single handed taken over 3,000 foster children fishing. She is showing them...
SUBMITTED BY ANONYMOUS Read Story
PEACE
DANA W Grieving (Fly High Dana Wilson Jr.) On March 7, 2022 my only little brother passed away at home in his bed. This has been one of the hardest things to deal with. I dont think a day goes by that i dont find myself breaking down crying. I think my eyes are puffy did alot of crying yesterday..omg this is really...
SUBMITTED BY ANONYMOUS Read Story
MAKING A DIFFERENCE
LORI R. In 2012 Lori, along with her then high school age daughter Shira, began to keep their vehicle filled with pet supplies to hand out to the pets living on the streets of Riverside, CA with their homeless companions. They would give out pet food, leashes, collars and water so the pets would be fed well and kept...
SUBMITTED BY ANONYMOUS Read Story
CARING
TISH R My former wife is an amazing individual. She works as a behavior analyst, and has been helping injured others achieve a much greater quality of life. In one of my proudest specific memories, she facilitated a transition for a man who was in an ALF, brain-injured, from wearing diapers in a wheelchair to...
SUBMITTED BY ANONYMOUS Read Story
COMMUNITY
MATTHEW M Matt was a shining example of what it meant to be a good person. He devoted countless hours to volunteering in the arts and helping his community and even more to the people he loved. He was brilliant, kind, funny, comforting, generous, ambitious, loving, witty, and so many other wonderful words that I could not...
SUBMITTED BY ANONYMOUS Read Story
BRAVERY
HARRIET TUBMAN Harriet Tubman freed 300 slaves she was so brave that is why she is my hero
SUBMITTED BY ANONYMOUS Read Story
COMPASSION
CHARLIE SCHULZ My son, Charlie, was an inspiration to many during his 19 years on this earth. When Charlie was in 5th grade, despite what we learned later was severe social anxiety, their strong sense of what was right led them to circulate petitions among their 5th grade schoolmates and write and present a statement (through...
SUBMITTED BY ANONYMOUS Read Story
CHARACTER
MARJORIE W Marjorie W. grew up in a logging town in the mountains where she was expected to marry and spend the rest of her life taking care of her parents. After World War II, she was able to go to college and change her life's path. Despite leaving her little town, she never lost her core values. She was an honest,...
SUBMITTED BY ANONYMOUS Read Story
WISDOM
JAHSEH O There are many heros I look up to, but Jahseh Onfroy helped me through the darkest times in my life. His music did not only help me but it helped countless people. When he spoke to us, it was always about growing and becoming better than what we are. I have learned many valuable lessons from him, and I constantly...
SUBMITTED BY ANONYMOUS Read Story
A BETTER LIFE
MARC W My father immigrated to the US in the 1950s with his parents when he was a small boy. Holland was still recovering from the Second World War, and opportunities seemed limited. Adding to the economic challenges, my father was the product of a relationship that was scandalous for the time: my grandfather came from...
SUBMITTED BY ANONYMOUS Read Story
HELPING OTHERS
SAWYER A. After learning about children and families in the poverty-stricken villages of Zambia; a country in south-central Africa, Sawyer Anderson wanted to help bring clean, safe water to the villagers. At age 9, Sawyer wrote and illustrated the book, Water Works, which is published in America, Vietnam (in Vietnamese)...
SUBMITTED BY ANONYMOUS Read Story
FAMILY
PAT C Next to his faith in God, the most important thing in my Dad’s life was his family; my Mom who was the love of his life, his kids, grandkids, great grandkids, brothers, and sisters. One of the ways he made life better for all of us and left his fingerprint on our lives was through the use of what I like to call...
SUBMITTED BY ANONYMOUS Read Story
BEING THERE
BK SAINI SAINI My husband helped me since he knew me since 1975. He is there for me every single day. He is so kind all the time. He took care of me during any need except not when he is at the job. He comes at home if any emergency arrives. For God’s grace he was never called till today. I still remember when our second baby...
SUBMITTED BY ANONYMOUS Read Story
COURAGE
WINSTON CHURCHILL Winston Churchill was a transformational leader who exemplifies courage and an absolute refusal to give up in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds. Churchill had the ability to understand the needs of others, listen to those around him, and admit his mistakes while never wavering from his ultimate goal. ...
SUBMITTED BY ANONYMOUS Read Story
KINDNESS
WENDY T Wendy was my wife of 4 years. We dated in high school, over 30 years ago. Eight years ago, we reconnected, and fell in love all over again. I quickly became attuned to why she was so special: Her kindness. I had never met anyone before, who showed as much kindness to everybody, as Wendy had. It wasn't one...
SUBMITTED BY ANONYMOUS Read Story
VISION
FRANCES P Frances Perkins (born Fannie Coralie Perkins; April 10, 1880 – May 14, 1965) was an American workers-rights advocate who served as the fourth United States Secretary of Labor from 1933 to 1945, the longest serving in that position. A member of the Democratic Party, Perkins was the first woman ever to serve in a...
SUBMITTED BY ANONYMOUS Read Story
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 All Everyday Hero Stories

We use cookies or similar technologies to process data when you visit our site. This data may relate to your use of our site, your preferences, your device, or other information about you. We and third parties may use this information for a variety of purposes, such as enabling the sites to function, to personalize your experience when using our sites, and for analytical purposes. Read our privacy policy and terms of use for details. close

Reject All Accept All