Each Saturday following Thanksgiving, Myra Hicks takes friends out to feed people who are homeless. She has men crawl under bridges and lead groups into the woods to find tent cities of people who are hungry. When they find children, they also hand out stuffed animals. This year, because of Hicks, homeless people in four […]
Just before 1st Lt. Schanna Speight-Johnson got out of the Air Force in November of 2008, she asked God, “What can I do?” Her answer didn’t come immediately. For a month she searched for a job back home in her native Jacksonville, Fla. Then she ran into a former high school classmate who told her […]
At the age of 21 Dawn Kum moved to California to figure out what she wanted to be. A recent college grad, she was looking for a job as a dietician. Her uncle, a teacher, suggested she follow in his footsteps. Eventually, she got a job teaching at an elementary school in South Central Los […]
It started out quite simply. Dobbie Herrion was driving his SUV around St. Louis. He noticed a basketball court without a net. He went to the store and bought a $3 net. The next day he returned to that court with his ladder and hung the new net. It was a small gesture that made […]
When Yusef Shakur talks about his life, he doesn’t mince words. “I got kicked out of all public schools. My mother made me a ward of the state at the age of 15. She thought I would kill somebody or go to prison. She made the best decision she thought she could at that time.” […]
This month marks six years that Charlene Mabins has lived without her beloved son, Christopher. On September 16, 2007 Christopher, 18, committed suicide. He was a smart kid whose behavior began to change around age 13. Mabins tried everything—doctors, counselors, mentors, hospital. Finally, at age 16, Christopher was diagnosed with depression. And still, Mabins could […]
Patrick Oliver traces his success back to this scene: As a little boy in his home in the projects of Little Rock, he shared the morning newspapers with his parents and his grandfather. Each person grabbed a section of the newspaper and passed the other sections around. He and his grandfather, who lived nearby, shared […]
For 367 days, the people of an East New York City neighborhood lived without any shootings. Woman sat on benches watching their children play. Kids rode their bikes beyond the block they lived on. This peace was a cherished by-product of the work done by an organization called Man Up! inc. That stretch of life […]
Joshua Williams was four and a half years old when he figured out his life’s calling. He discovered it by listening to his heart. “My grandmother gave me $20. I saw a homeless man. I felt really bad. I gave him the $20. I felt good, but I wanted to do more,” said Joshua, now […]
Tawanda “WaWa” Jones was just “a kid” when she started a drill team that has given thousands of children a refuge from the tough streets of Camden. “If this was Gotham City, WaWa would be Batman,” said Taron Green, 27, who credits Jones with saving his life. “She comes to the rescue of everyone and […]
One evening each June, young girls in party dresses and shiny shoes arrive at a Richmond, Va. City jail for a date with their dads. They are escorted inside by the sheriff and met on a red carpet by their fathers, who for the occasion have been allowed to trade in their jumpsuits for suits […]
Some of Elizabeth Ruth Wilson’s accomplishments seem impossible, but only if you believe in limits. Wilson, 22, never has and never will. “Often we say, ‘The sky is the limit.’ Actually, the sky is a limitation,” she said. “The interesting thing is scientists haven’t been able to measure the size of outer space or the […]
