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
WAKE UP CALL One phone call changed my entire life around. Well it was December 2009 and I was just about through my first semester of college, and for the past 11 years I had thought seriously about killing myself except what was holding me back was my family and friends who cared about me. Then one day I got a phone call...
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SHARING
SHARE Last Christmas, I gave the gift of Sharing. More accurately I gave a board game that was designed to teach young children about the virtues of Sharing. My wish for the New Year 2011? A new Way to teach the virtues of Sharing to adults. Thinking more on this... I'm thinking about how many people think...
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COMMON GROUND
WISDOM IS ALWAYS YOURS! 9 years ago and the day after 9/11 I began working on an idea that I now call "The Secret American Dream Project". I didn't know it at the time, but it was an idea based in the idea of sharing. It took time... lot's of time, but the idea has evolved into an idea to "Save The American Dream"... through...
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COMPASSION
SAVING THE BEST FOR LAST Best Dance Ever Recipient of the “Best Dancer” award in the seventh grade, I wasn’t surprised that all the boys wanted to dance with me at the year-end dance. What did surprise me is how they stood in a line and waited for their turn. Looking around the school auditorium, I felt unworthy as I saw so many...
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RIGHT CHOICES
JOSEPH B All of my children are my heroes. But for today I want to focus on my 18 year old son who is DEFINITELY my hero! Faced with many adversities, family situations and peer pressures, Joseph has always had a core sense of right and wrong, justice and injustice, the foresight to see ahead and realize that making the...
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STRENGTH
BRYAN M To me, I always thought no child should have to regret going home at the end of the day. But, unfortunately, that's what my friend Bryan had to go through. He was only fourteen years old, I only twelve.. I didn't pick up on the signs of abuse for a couple months. But when I did, all I remember is it hitting me...
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COURAGE
RICHARD W My hero was in the mini series Band of Brothers. He should have received the Congressional Medal of Honor for destroying four 105mm cannons on D-Day. He used machine guns to lay down covering fire while his men reached the trenches. This strategy is still taught at West Point today.
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APPRECIATION
DIDN'T HAVE TO BE. The devastation that a divorce brings on a child is life changing. When I was young I did not understand why all the bad things happened to me. I thought the world was out to get me. After an abusive and negative father, and a depressed mother decided to end a downhill marriage it left my brother, sister, and me...
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HELPING OTHERS
ADRIENNE AND DON D My parents have almost always been there for my sister and I but there have been times they haven't been. Adrienne and Don are actually the parents of a friend of mine and every time my parents couldn't be there or just failed to be, Adrienne and Don just said, "Come over". We had done nothing for them, my mom...
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COMPASSION
TRENT L He is my dad. Okay, so not really. But, he's my step-dad. My mom married him when I was almost 5 years old. My whole life he has always been there for me. Done everything that my "real" father hasn't. When I am down, he'll pick me up. He has done so much for me in my life. The biggest part of why he is my hero is...
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COMMITMENT
CONNIE P My hero Mrs. Peebles, is my religion teacher. She teaches us morality ,but she doesn't just teach because it is her job she actually cares about us. She makes us really think and debate with each other on different things in life. She is turning us into better people. She is committed to teaching teens values.
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DETERMINATION
PRISON At 18 years old I was playing with a handgun and I accident shot and killed my friend. I lost my friend and as far as I was concerned my life was over. I had come back to my home for Thanksgiving to see my mother for the holidays. At that time I was working for the F.B.I as a clerk. I was planning to attend...
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CARING
PIES ACROSS AMERICA My cousin wanted to give people a smile like someone had done for him. He was in a dark place and someone gave him a pie and that lifted his spirits so with the help of a few people we created Pies across America we just want people to give someone a pie and make their day. Spreading smiles one pie at a time. We...
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LIVE LIFE
GRIG B My Dad is in the final stage of type four brain cancer/tumor glioblastma, the most aggressive of all. I am Daddy's little girl and am having trouble with loosing him. He is considered by others a great man who has done great things. He has helped a lot of people. People tell us what a great person he is and all...
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RISING ABOVE
AN ACTORS LIFE FOR ME. All my life I wanted to be an actress. When I got married I ended up in a not so healthy situation... it took me 13 years to realize that I was important. My dreams and who I was mattered and no one can take that away from me. If I did not have acting during this time I may have ended my life through the deep...
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INSPIRATION
HARRY S My hero is my dad. As a family physician, he was also a hero to many people by saving lives everyday. However, he was my hero day in and day out. He was such an inspiration to me in making sure that I did something in my life that would help others. I have always known that I wanted to help people and have an...
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DEVOTION
DEVOTED MOTHER. Growing up has always been a struggle. Ever since I was a baby, my Mom has been nothing but a loving single mother. When she got pregnant with me, she was working on her Masters in Graphic Design at a college in Chicago, Illinois (which is where I was born). Even before that famous day on November 5, 1992 when I...
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HARD WORK
RANDALL F My Dad, has done everything in his power to make things perfect for me. He fed me the best food, he gave me the best clothes, he has done everything to make me a better person. He broke his back making the family stable. I'm never going to forget him.
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HONESTY
MICHAEL S Please bear with me, I'm not very good on the keyboard. My two sons and I went through a situation in 2006 that changed our lives. I have told my sons since that time that we make mistakes but it's what we do afterwords that determines who we are. Their mother made a mistake with someone else and we must move on....
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HELPING OTHERS
KYLE I My hero is a man that doesn't know he is my hero. He is taking care of me from what happened to me in the past with my health. He is going way out of his way for me and he cares for me in a way that makes me feel good, that someone can do so much for you and they never ask anything of you. He is a good person (I...
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COMPASSION
JOEL G This story begins on a cold day in November, where our hero emerges from the bathroom. Hands held high, he screams out "Save the Kittens". An avid kitten lover, and fan of the Hawks, he decided to adopt a kitten. After naming the kitten Chief Paw Paw, they soon became suspiciously close. Their relationship...
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HELPING OTHERS
I AM WORK IN PROGRESS AND THAT WAY I EVOLVE AS A PERSON AND STICK TO MY VALUES I have always striven to become the best version of myself possible. I believe all humans have gifts and talents which we can use to forward our own personal agendas or, hopefully, that we choose to develop them in way that we not only benefit ourselves but more importantly help in the largest possible sense of...
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GIVING BACK
METRO PULSE “PAY IT FORWARD" KNOXVILLE-STYLE WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6, 2010 “Pay it forward” does not mean that the people who owe you will ever pay you back. It means when the tables turn in your life, your pay back may come from all sorts of different places, people, and circumstances you least expect. Furthermore, we cannot selflessly give while expecting something in return. Having...
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MAKING A DIFFERENCE
MICHAEL A Very shortly after meeting Michael, I realized he wasn't just another soul inhabiting this earth.   Not just another guy.    While most of us go about our daily lives having little if any affect on others, I came to realize that this Hero had been affecting others lives for years.    Because of a personal...
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HELPING OTHERS
MICHAEL A Michael Anthony is an extraordinary human being who has devoted his entire adult life to helping make this a better world and helping individuals be more positive. He does it for free through his wonderful book which can be downloaded at his website www.howtobehappy.org. Disappointed at a young age with the...
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DEVOTION
WHO HAS GIVEN MORE? It started as casual small talk; catching up on life events since our last encounter. The conversation turned to a new topic, one I will never forget. This friend of mine, a mother, with a son serving our country in special operations began to share with me his recent experiences. She described a situation...
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LIVE LIFE
JASON G Jason has taught me so much about life lessons and being an all around good person. He also car pools with me so he is promoting environmental values too! What a peach :)
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HELPING OTHERS
BATTING PRACTICE One time I had a little league game against another local team. The coach for the other time was throwing batting practice to them, he looked tired. I knew him, but we weren't really close. I offered to throw batting practice for his team. I did. Later he approached me and said "you know what, you're a great kid,...
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OPTIMISM
BY GEORGE, WE DID IT. Sometimes, people tell me I'm weird. No one truly knows just how upset it makes me feel. I cry so much. But when I wake up, I look up at my ceiling, and a rush of happiness pumps through my veins... the "By George, we did it." poster is prominently staring down at me. I am so grateful to values.com for giving me...
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HELPING OTHERS
MAXINE GORMAN G My wife, Maxine, a nurse, is my hero. She's 24x7x365 devoted to the needs and care for others. She's responsible for the health care of 70,000 students in Prince George's County, Maryland. She's up at 5 AM and makes sure that there's staffing at 215 different health rooms. She's off to work at 8 AM and mentors...
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HELPING OTHERS
POLISH HERITAGE While I was traveling through Europe, I passed through Poland, the birthplace and childhood home of my now deceased maternal grandparents. On a whim and with only two names and an address 10 years outdated, I decided I would attempt to track down relatives that my family had informed me existed but with whom they...
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DETERMINATION
ERIKA K Erika is my communication studies chair. She is an influential woman who has overcome many difficulties. She has suffered through being bullied, and discriminated against, at one point on a daily basis. She has overcome these obstacles to be the powerful woman she is. She teaches her two daughters to treat others...
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HELPING OTHERS
SALVATORE DEVITO JR. D I would like to share a heroic deed by my father, Salvatore DeVito Jr., during a family vacation to Florida. The action he did was not for fame but as a deed out of unselfishness and kindness. As you see, we were driving past a magnificent resort called the Gaylord Palms when we saw two women driving out of the...
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