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
TEAMWORK
TEAM SPIRIT Once there was a race for handicapped children, with one gold medal to be won. The race started, and was only 100 meters. There were seven children competing for that one gold medal. Soon after the race began, the last place runner fell down. Without hesitation, the sixth child stopped to pick up the seventh....
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COMMITMENT
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...
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INSPIRATION
A LESSON TO US ALL My senior year was supposed to be the "best" year yet. I anticipated being "cool" and having younger students look up to me. Now 23-years-old, however, I look back on my senior year in high school and the thing I remember most vividly wasn't being "cool" or having underclassmen admirers. The day I remember is...
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CONFIDENCE
WHY DO I STUTTER? I stutter. When I was younger, I didn't know what it was and I was often ashamed of it. I even was home-schooled because of it. I had no friends and thought no one liked me 'cause I was different. Well, 2 years ago I started speech therapy and began to realize that I wasn't alone. There are a lot of people...
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LOVE
MY NO.1 SON My son was away for a few days when his tooth fell out. And he didn't want to spend his money 'till he got home to me. So, the morning he got home, he asked if he could go across to the shop because he wanted to buy some sweets. When he came home, he hadn't bought himself anything. Instead, he had bought me a...
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LISTENING
THE ONLY ONE THERE My life had been going downhill since the beginning of high school. I hated school and I didn't care about anything in my life. But something my brother had told me about my high school was sitting in the back of my mind through the beginning of the year. He told me, "If you ever needed someone to talk to, the...
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COMPASSION
SHARING THE FEELING 'How long will you be poring over that newspaper? Will you come here right away and make your darling daughter eat her food?' I tossed the paper away and rushed to the scene. My only daughter, Sindu, looked frightened. Tears were welling up in her eyes. In front of her was a bowl, filled to its brim, with curd...
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CHARACTER
CHRIS H Chris was hit head on by a drunk driver at 7 a.m. on Nov. 15, 2005 on his way to work. He was instantly paralyzed from the neck down, was pronounced dead at the scene, revived and pronounced dead in the helicopter on the way to the hospital. Many more times he came very close to dying and had to be revived. Chris...
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REACHING OUT
DON G Don G., my hero, was a college instructor when I was a freshman in college. Although he did not know me before I was in his speech class, he learned a bit about my interest in radio broadcasting and offered me an opportunity to start, build and eventually manage our college radio station. He gave me the break in...
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INSPIRATION
HOLY CARS A couple of years ago, my wife and I purchased a new truck. I took my father-in-law out for a test drive to show it off, and I could tell the horsepower and all the extras impressed him. As we turned a corner, however, a truck pulled out in front of us. We have all seen a truck like this truck before. White,...
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HELPING OTHERS
ROAD SIDE ASSISTANCE Spring of 1995 was a strangely hot spring, especially for Minnesota. I was 9 months pregnant with my first daughter and needed to drive about 45 minutes from a very rural area to my doctor's office. I drove an older car, which wasn't in the greatest of shape, but it got me from point A to point B -- except on...
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LOVE
THE LOVE OF A BROTHER I was born in a secluded village on a mountain. Day after day, my parents plowed the yellow dry soil with their backs towards the sky. One day, I wanted to buy a handkerchief, which all girls around me seemed to have. So, one day I stole 50 cents from my father's drawer. Father discovered about the stolen...
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COMMITMENT
NINTH WARD TREASURE I was itching to go back on active duty with the US Coast Guard, especially to go back to the Gulf Coast of the United States. I had been ordered down to Gulfport, Mississippi the night after Hurricane Katrina hit. With in three days of making landfall my Coast Guard Unit was running Search and Rescue Missions,...
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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...
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APPRECIATION
NANCY (MOM) R At the time of my birth it was found that I had or should I say have a condition known as Osteogenesis Imperfecta and my mother was told I would not live beyond the age of three years. Well, looking back on my life now, at the age of forty-nine, I have to say that I got much of my strength from my mother. She was...
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APPRECIATION
SHARONE O Her name is Sharone and she is my mother. She is my hero. She became my hero gradually during my lifetime. As I grew and matured I was able to recognize all that she has done for me, sacrificed for me, and taught me. I have a great deal of gratitude for who I am because of what I learned from my mother. When I...
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CARING
CHRISTOPHER & ANDREW L My younger son, Andrew, has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. He and his older brother, Christopher, have become so involved in fighting this disease by making others aware and raising funds to donate to the Muscular Dystrophy Association. They are my heroes because they make me so proud of them.
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AMBITION
JASON W My son, Jason, was severely injured in an automobile accident that left him in a coma for five weeks; he was minimally conscious for another month. While in rehab, Jason struggled to learn how to walk, talk, and eat again. Though he still struggles with his balance and his cognitive skills, he has come so...
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COMPASSION
NURSES MATTER When I was 10 I was hospitalized at Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital in St. Louis, MO for ulcers. They were testing me for a reason and the condition. I had to stay a couple of days and that involved getting shots and extensive tests. I was scared when my parents left, because I believed they would give me...
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AMBITION
ISAIAS G My hero is my brother, Isaias. Right now, he is studying at the University of Indianapolis, majoring in Sociology and International Relations. In his free time, Isaias is always going to George Washington Community School and the Christamore House, teaching inner-city kids about leadership, and he is always...
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REACHING OUT
MAKING FRIENDS, LOSING ENEMIES About five years ago I started at a new school, when my family moved to Iowa. I was just a little excited, but I worried I would never fit in with the other sixth graders. Lucy, a girl in my class, who I thought was not ready for change, didn't like me from the start. In fact, I was pretty sure she hated me. I...
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COMMITMENT
ANASTASIA H My mom has been through everything awful that you could possibly imagine happening in life. As a child growing-up she endured many challenges within her family, school and community. She and my dad got married then and had my brother before my mom was even 20. They were low on money and had a little house in the...
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HOPE
ILLUMINATION A beacon of light over a grey world, a little warmth when chillness pricks, the moon's illumination over the dark sky, a candle glow in the darkest night, a bud blooming with each drop of rain...Certain things that are more felt than touched give us reasons to think that life is all the more beautiful. Still...
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AMBITION
JODY H I began singing as young as I can remember. And as soon as I could, I enrolled with the best music teacher in town. When I started with her, we could immediately tell our political and religious differences. Through her teaching me, however, we have discovered that we have more in common than we could have...
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OVERCOMING
LITTLE MISS MARY A family friend sent me an email one day about this little girl, Little Miss Mary. The letter said that she was on the list for a lung transplant and requested help from the e-mail's recipients. The email was sent to many people who, when they read it, took action. Mary and her family received cards, toys, and...
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AMBITION
CARTER S My Darling Son is My Hero A Poem to him, a soldier.... To live so boldly, to dare and overcome Daily dealings take a path that surprises...saddens Leaving God to make sense of the total sum To rise to necessity, giving yourself for us Yelling commands follow down mazes of mayhem No hindsight needed,...
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CHARACTER
CARING IS IN THE HEART In a ram-shackled house, far from the village, lived a young man who was mentally impaired. He was always seen in the village, working hard to fill his old bag with discarded items and scraps of food. The children of the village sneered at him; the elderly villagers looked down on him and scolded their children...
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COURTESY
THE PARKING METER BANK One Christmas my husband and I traveled from our home in Utah to visit family. Our first stop was to visit my parents on the Oregon coast. My mother gave me a gift that day that will last a lifetime. A simple plastic parking meter bank. We continued north into Washington State to visit his family, but on the...
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DEDICATION
THE TWO FAILURES I remember that hot summer afternoon when I was finally taken to the hospital to get a glimpse of my much-awaited sibling. I had a baby sister and in my five-year-old mind what was of utmost importance was that now I had my very own playmate at home. My father and I waited outside the hospital room for a few...
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PERSEVERANCE
MOTHER HEN I remember that hot summer afternoon when I was finally taken to the hospital to get a glimpse of my much-awaited sibling. I had a baby sister and in my five-year-old mind what was of utmost importance was that now I had my very own playmate at home. My father and I waited outside the hospital room for a few...
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CARING
MARIA R My hero is my Gran, and my best friend. She gave me my Italian blood, for which I am very grateful. My Gran is like a friend as well as a grandmother, and I know she will accept me whatever my condition. We laugh loads despite the challenges we face at any moment. She is my inspiration for all I do as I...
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LIVE YOUR DREAMS
DREAMS DO COME TRUE As a child, my parents, by their example, instilled in me a love for reading. I dreamed of being a writer but the pursuit of dreams was never discussed or encouraged - leaving me to write in secret in my room. Life progressed, however, and an interest in interior design surfaced in my teens. However, at my...
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AMBITION
ETHEL M Ethel is my aunt by marriage; she is my husband's aunt. She has always treated me as someone special, and her kind and loving words have meant the world to me...Those words are what keep me going. I never have to do anything to hear her kind words, she just often tells me that I am her most favorite person...
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