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
MAKING A DIFFERENCE
BATTLE WITH AUTISM When my little brother was in the middle of eating his 5th birthday cake we got a call from a doctor saying that "he had autism, good luck" and he hung up. He soon stopped talking and stopped acting normal. I am his big sister and ever since he stopped talking I have never heard his voice and it's 2012. But he is...
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DETERMINATION
I DECIDED... There is no substitute for LIFE! Either you are in it or you're not. It seems to me that many people that I know have been "wishing and hoping and thinking and praying", but I have heard few of them say they are really LIVING the life they wish to live. Well I decided a while ago that I was going to live...
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STEWARDSHIP
THANKS, KERMIT I saw your Kermit the Frog billboard several years ago on my way to a work meeting. At the time, I was a reporter, which was not the right job for me. My dream was to stay home with my kids and be a writer. Seeing the billboard was surreal to me because first of all, it was just the message I needed at just the...
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PERSEVERANCE
CRYSTAL R At age 27 Crystal R., an architect, was diagnosed with AML Leukemia. During her treatments she constantly used an architect's perspective to see how the medical facilities could be improved. A year after being declared cancer-free, she is back to work, designing state-of-the-art cancer research centers and labs....
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COURAGE
ROSA P Here's an idea for a billboard by Zach Matthews, 10 years of age. Got arrested by sitting in the front of the bus, now a hero. Follow what you believe in, pass it on.
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VOLUNTEERING
LESSONS LEARNED FROM SITTING WITH THE DYING Hospice – Lessons Learned Reprint - Originally Published in the Heartland Volunteer Newsletter, June 2011 By: Sam Aspley, Heartland Volunteer People come to Hospice because something brought them there, like a spiritual calling, turning point or event. “What sent you to us?” is the question commonly asked at...
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HARD WORK
TOMMIE & JAN M When I was five years old, my family had a family meeting to decide where we would go on our summer vacation. The children in the family suggested Disneyland. My parents supported the idea of going to Disneyland and then asked us how we were going to pay for it. My dad was a school teacher and we had a large...
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INNOVATION
YOUNG ENTREPRENEUR When I was in high school people were doing many things, skating, singing, drawing or playing sports. Me and my 2 friends decided to use our rap skills to write, produce and record our own 14 track demo CD. We sold 280 of them at 5 dollars a pop from our own efforts. Some of my friends became musical engineers,...
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LITERACY
FATE I had problems finding a job after I got let go from a previous job. I was at the end of my rope and then I saw an ad in the newspaper for a caretaker for an assisted living facility that specialized in caring for the Mentally Ill. Fate would have it. I started out working there passing medications and cleaning...
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RESPECT
GRANDMA ANNA "Pa, I don't want to get married yet". These were the words of my Grandma Anna in the summer of 1904. She was 19 and was to marry Tom . Her pa would give them some land, a cow and some chickens and everything would be alright. They were married at St. Joseph's Church in Browerville, Minnesota. After 65 years of...
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GRATITUDE
SURVIVING 33 TUMORS When I was 13, the doctors found out that I had 33 tumors in my face and head. Lots of doctors told me that I was going to die, but my parents never gave up. They found someone who also believed that I could make it. At age 15, I had surgery; now, I'm 31 and I know to never give up and be grateful for second...
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HOPE
LOST IT ALL, THEN GAINED EVEN MORE I left home to support my sister in her efforts to present a music festival. She lives on the other side of the world, and I went to visit her, not wanting to leave, and feeling like I was leaving home against my will. But I wanted to show her my support, because she is my only sister. So I boarded the plane...
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COURAGE
HEYDN R My hero is my son. He is 8 years old and has a lot of special needs, but this summer he transcended all of those, if only for a while, to help save the life of a man who had almost bled to death after an ATV accident. The man almost completely severed his left arm at the shoulder/armpit, tore 3 inches of his...
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FRIENDSHIP
SAM L My hero is a cello and art history major at Colorado Boulder. While he's an amazing pianist, friend, artist, visionary and conversationalist; I respect him for continually being my confidante since we met in second grade. A large component of his personality is that he's gay, and the story behind his...
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COMPLIMENTS
LIVE TO GIVE I was fortunate this summer to be given a scholarship by the Magic Wand Foundation to attend a leadership camp at Disney called The Ultimate Life Summit. Here, I learned about 7 Mindsets to live my dream life. It was an awesome experience meeting kids from many states in the US as well as other countries ... I am...
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COMPLIMENTS
MAKE SOMEONE ELSE FEEL GOOD AND HELP YOURSELF While I am stuck in a day job that I never really aspired to, and wish I could catch a break somehow, and get back to doing what I feel I was put on Earth to do; I find that complimenting my customers, always puts a smile on their face, and I end up smiling right along with them. A little thing like saying,...
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DETERMINATION
PROOF OF LIFE This is not my story but the story of our daughter, Chloe. Born clubfooted, missing one kidney, 3/4 of a dysfunctional kidney left behind, and missing a blood vessel to her brain. She was delivered 6 weeks early via c section when we were told she would be physically disabled and most likely mentally disabled as...
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LOVE
CIOCIA GENIA J Ciocia Genia (Polish for Auntie Genia) was my hero. As Mariah Carey's song says, "A hero lives in you,we all have heroes in our lives to inspire us". My Auntie Genia was my inspiration. On Christmas Eve 1932, my Grandma Josefina (age 44) laid dying of breast cancer. Auntie Genia took her brothers and sister...
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LOVE
HUNTER L My nephew, my most adorable perfect nephew. He was born on 11.16.94...we knew he had down syndrome and we were prepared.....he had other conditions that weren't connected. I am so very thankful he his here with us. My sister was told he would be on a "bag" for at least a year (praise God it was less than 6...
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COMPASSION
LITTLE CHRISTMAS MIRACLE I stood outside grocery store with my two heavy bags of food when the parents of a 2 year old offered me a ride. I don't normally take anything from strangers. This time, I did. At the end of the ride, I gave them a candy cane with two pipe cleaners as horns, pair of eyes and red tiny pom pom for the nose. They...
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HUMILITY
OPRAH W I'm 15 years old and I think that Oprah changed my life. She taught me how to be strong and never give up. When I listen to her talk, I believe I can realize my dream and make my family and my country proud of me. When I'm feeling down, I remember how she did the impossible. She is a black woman and every day she...
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MAKING A DIFFERENCE
WHO ARE YOU BEING? "Doing and accomplishing things is wonderful, but what really matters and makes a difference, is who you are being in life while doing them!"
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SMILE
A KIND THOUGHT Just a couple of days ago I was facing difficult times in my life, especially in school. One day after school, I sat on the bus with my face leaning on the window. A million thoughts were running through my mind. I couldn’t help the feeling of disappointment and failure. It so happened that the town was building...
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PEACE
PIERRE D Though I am lacking in hard facts, I greatly admire the work of Pierre De Coubertin in bringing back the spirit of the ancient Olympic Games. Though the modern world has yet to adopt the "Olympic Truce" during the Games; the Olympic Village established during competition allows athletes from many nations to...
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PERSEVERANCE
WALT D Leaving New York with no source of income, Walt Disney boarded a train to the West coast via Kansas City where he once housed a mouse named Mortimer. Always the optimist, Mr. Disney thus created another optimist, a mouse named Mickey. The two, never say die characters, "worked" together to create the foundation...
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TEACHING BY EXAMPLE
GREGG B My hero is Gregg Breinberg the founder of the NY PS22 chorus from Staten Island. The way that he has taught, inspired and compelled the children he teaches to be comfortable as the amazing kids that they are, expressing themselves through song -- in front of millions, is simply breathtaking to me. He has inspired...
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COURAGE
PANTALEON R THIS STORY IS ABOUT MY STEPFATHER PANTALEON RIOS. WHERE DO I BEGIN? HE IS AN AWESOME MAN! MY DAD MET MY MOM IN SUMMER 1978. THEY DATED AND THEN DECIDED TO MAKE A START AND LIVE TOGETHER. THEY WERE MARRIED IN 1984 AND THEN BECAME CHRISTIANS. AS YRS. PASSED, MY TWO BROTHERS WERE BORN AND WE HAD AN EXTENDED FAMILY...
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PATIENCE
HANNAH M Hannah is a young girl. Hannah is an amazing singer, and a great soccer player. Hannah is my best friend. Here is why she is a hero. She is in the hospital fighting Steven Johnson Syndrome. Hannah is staying strong through the chain of events that is happening to her. She is unable to see, as the effect of having...
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VOLUNTEERING
VOLUNTEERS MAKE HOMES FOR HOMELESS YOUTH Thanks to generous grant support, my organization has built nine units of permanent supportive housing for homeless youth -- the first of their kind in the state of Michigan. Funding came together through a unique public-private partnership to bring them from dreams to reality. The units were complete in August,...
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LIVE LIFE
MY FAMILY AND FRIENDS At the young age of 14, I've realized life goes by fast. Too fast. You have to live every moment like its your last. Sometimes, I just take a deep breath and relax as days seem so long, yet years seem so short. Living is a gift. Thank You.
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REACHING OUT
A BEAUTIFUL GIFT I was a self-conscious seventeen year old girl with stringy hair and fifty pounds of extra weight. One night, my parents dragged me along to a party filled with "beautiful people". I felt dumpy and awkward amid the sophisticated guests. I wanted to hide. I looked around the room...the only place left to sit was...
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ENCOURAGEMENT
JOE JONAS S My hero is Joe Jonas, because he inspired me to sing in front of people. Now I sing in front of my friends and my parents and they all say I'm amazing.
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STRENGTH
SOUL MATES I met her 11 years ago and now our 10th anniversary is coming up. I wasn't sure what she saw in me. I thought it was my sense of humor she fell in love with, but somehow she knew it was just a front. I wondered,if she knew it was fake, how could she love a fake? She says we were drawn because we were soul mates...
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