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
SACRIFICE
CYNTHIA D My wife is my hero. Over the past seventeen years, including the final decade of my career as a Navy SEAL, she has tirelessly carried the far greater burden in our family. Cindy is a living example of whole-soul sacrifice. She has earned two Masters' Degrees, built a teaching career, raised three amazing...
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HARD WORK
MARSHALL R Although I don't like to label people (whether as "heroes" or "villains" -- as it makes it harder to really see them and communicate with them) I might call Marshall Rosenberg a hero. He gave up a career as a psychologist, many years living on marginal income, to be able to help people resolve conflicts...
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CARING
ST. FELIX, DON AND WINSTON If there ever was an Award for "Great Examples of Kindness, Helping Others and Positive Values," our old friend, Felix Cartagena would be up way up there. Long story short, for about 3O years that I've known Felix he's been doing Bubble, Kite, Bikes and Bear Shows. He's gone thru many 5O gallon barrel's of...
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DEVOTION
LINDA R Linda has always been an inspiration to me but in the past three years she has also become my hero. Her husband, Brad, was diagnosed with ALS a little over 3 years ago. Linda is a very faith-filled person and has used this faith to help her with the challenges of the disease as well as continuing to raise four...
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OVERCOMING
TWO CANCERS, ONE LUNG AND EVEREST!! Only .0000003 percent of the population has been able to summit Mount Everest. Sean did it after two life-threatening bouts with cancer, laying in a medically-induced coma for a year and with just one fully-functioning lung. Now, he wants to take on even greater challenges. Sean was diagnosed with two...
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SOUL
RUBY R Ruby is my two year old daughter. And she has given me more in her two years than anyone else has in my whole life. I was 36 years old when she was born and had pretty much given up on life ever having any purpose and meaning. I was a guy with an addiction to drugs and alcohol and an empty soul; I was living for...
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INSPIRATION
ANNE R My grandmother is and was my hero. She passed away a few years ago. She lived a very difficult life that was filled with tragedy. However she made it sparkle and shine. My grandmother was a child of immigrants and grew up in a family that was very hardworking. She got married young, but unlike many women of...
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DEDICATION
MARK B My hero is my husband. When I met him five years ago I was a single mother who was trying to get my life back on track. He instantly became an a close friend to me. After we dated awhile he gave up his free nights to watch my daughter so that I could go to work in the evenings since I could not afford day care....
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PERSISTENCE
MOMENTUM When looking at our problems it can seem quite impossible to even budge them, much less make a significant impact. Often momentum matters more than strength, and persistence more than initial impact. I heard about this being done when I was in high school: A teacher hung a bowling ball from the ceiling and...
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TEACHING BY EXAMPLE
LAURA A Heroes are people who want to see you do well. Laura went out of her way to encourage people she knew to go to college. She held our hands and told us how proud she was and cheered us on when times got tough. Laura graduates tomorrow and we will follow the road that she provides the light for.
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CARING
LAURIE M Laurie is former Director of St. Peter's Preschool. She is now the Children's Director for our church. She has been in education for over 25 years and has changed many lives. After visiting several churches where we were basically told that my son, who is a special needs child, did not fit in, we found...
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INTEGRITY
IRVEN E He was born in another era, before cars and phones and even radio. He quit school after the 8th grade because that's all the school there was, and then in 1917, at age 20, he went to war in France as a dough-boy. Raising a family in the 20s and 30s was tough since he was laid off from his railroad job with the...
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LOVE
CHILDREN OF OUR WORLD I do not have a hero, however if I had to make a choice, my hero(es) in this world would be all the Moms and Dads that raise children. poetry to help our children.. CHILDREN Children, the most special part of life, God please protect them all from strife. If that means taking them home with you, We...
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TEACHING BY EXAMPLE
LEND A HELPING HAND We were coming home one Sunday afternoon from a fun filled weekend at our ranch in South Texas. I remember the conversation was starting to get a little grumpy in the car with my two girls. Mom and Dads tempers were as well. As we were driving down a long stretch of deserted road, we came upon an elderly...
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INSPIRATION
VICTORIA W My hero is my twin sister who is currently fighting her for her life against breast cancer. Mind you this is her third battle with cancer. Her first battle occurred at the age of 15 when she was diagnosed with cancer (Hodgkins Disease). She endured surgery, radiation and the loss of hair but survived her battle...
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DEVOTION
RICHARD F My husband, Richard, will always be my hero. We will soon celebrate our 17th wedding anniversary and during these years he has never failed to be by my side. About ten years into our marriage my health took a downward spiral and I had to stop working. I had held a job all my life so admitting that I could no...
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CLASS AND GRACE
BIG JOHN C Big John was born into a family of 12 in South Buffalo, NY, back in 1916. He was devoted to Christ, went to Church every morning, and worked two jobs to support his four young daughters and lovely wife Kittie. He was my grandpa, and had a huge family with many nieces, nephews, grandkids, and great nieces and...
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GRATITUDE
THANK YOU! I have wanted to tell this story for many years since it occurred when I was 16, and I am now 67. This is the perfect place and I hope the people involved who helped me and my friends so many years ago will see it and know how truly grateful I am to them. I was riding in the back seat of a car when suddenly...
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LEADERSHIP
CAROL W Carol Weaver is a motivation to every student who ever had the opportunity to learn from her. A school administrator and teacher for over forty years, countless people have been changed by her spunky, energetic, and quirky personality. When I met her I was a shy, quiet, self-hating person; seriously depressed...
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RESPECT
STANDING UP FOR HIS FAITH I was seventeen at the time and my grandma had just passed. It was one of the saddest things I've had to deal with. During the processional to the burial site, we had to drive through a well known gang area. My grandma purchased the plot next to her mother and father years before the neighborhood become a gang...
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LOVE
WHY DO WE KISS? There are perfect moments every day. I pray that I look for them more…. I am typing this feeling better than I have in a very long time. I am sitting on the porch of our cabin with only the moon lighting the woods in front of me. I am a little freaked out that Bigfoot might come bounding out of the dark and...
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GENEROSITY
A BEAUTIFUL SOUL I met her at my place of work, she was my boss at a local bank. Though I am a Christian and she is Muslim, something about her told me she had a beautiful soul. She earned good money but she was always broke and I took it upon myself to sort her out by helping her come out with a budget. As I sat down with her to...
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INSPIRATION
BRADY S My hero is my 8 year old daughter. Brady has Down syndrome, and has been through more than any child should ever have to face. Numerous surgeries, illnesses, therapies, doctors appointments, hospitalizations, and the list goes on and on. She and her sister are the lights of our lives, and Brady's strength and...
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OVERCOMING
DION I Before going to Vietnam, Dion was an accomplished drummer in a local Los Angeles band. He lost 80% of his left hand in combat, along with internal injuries. Originally, he was not expected to live. He still suffers both physically and mentally from this ordeal. BUT he learned to become as good of a drummer as...
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LOYALTY
SIRAN H My hero is my brother Siran. He is 18 years old, three years older than me. He is my hero because he has always been there for me no matter what. For example, when I was three I was terrified of dogs, even the smallest dog would scare me. So one day he taught me not to be afraid of dogs and how to stand up to...
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HOPE
POPE JOHN PAUL II I was able to see Pope John Paul II at a Mass in Central Park and was very inspired when he said "Stand up for life..." I have tried to help people since that day and will continue to do so the rest of my life. I am a cancer survivor now for five years. I feel that God has healed me for a purpose and I believe...
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INSPIRATION
ANAT B Anat Baniel is causing amazing and often miraculous results for children with cerebral palsy, autism, ADHD and many other conditions. She is not only teaching others to do the Anat Baniel Method, she works tirelessly to better the lives of all who come to her. The work is too valuable to ignore. Anat relates to...
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STRENGTH
JOHN C John is a shinning light in my life and the lives of others. I see him every day interact with special people in our department. Specifically John works with Jason, one of the other employees in our office. Jason is a very special young ambitious person and John has taken him under his wing to mentor him and...
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CARING
JUST A TEASPOON OF KINDNESS I work hard at a thankless job; as a restaurant manager, I put in sweat and effort, being pleasant to those who are not, serving plates over and over to people who are often rude and complaining. And then I come home to someone who cannot work; my friend is disabled due to epilepsy - and he only has a few years...
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HELPING OTHERS
H.E.L.P. Help can be either a noun or transitive verb depending on the use. I prefer it as a verb as I like action. I like giving help. It allows me to share life experiences and learn new things. Most every time I help someone, I learn something new during the process. In fact, I like to think of H.E.L.P. as an acronym...
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UNITY
BETTY W A receptionist and mother of two, witnessed three children killed during the political turmoil in Northern Ireland. Within two days of the tragic event, Williams obtained 6,000 signatures petitioning for peace. She then led 10,000 people on a peace march to the children's graves. The peaceful march was...
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LOVE
JARED L My hero is my best friend in the world, Jared. He is a constant source of encouragement to me, and supports me in everything that I do. Jared is person who is very under-appreciated. He does wonderful things for other people, and me, even when we don’t deserve it at all. Jared is the nicest, sweetest person in...
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LEADERSHIP
MIRANDA L Miranda Lynch is 15 years old. She was 13 when she first stepped foot in Nzinga, South Africa, a small, rural Zulu village of mud hits, high AIDS rates, and poverty that constituted the low end of the world's highest income inequality. After spending six days of her "vacation" working in schools and orphanages in...
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