Sarah Cronk
The Sparkle Effect is an innovative, student-run program that helps students across the country create cheerleading and dance teams that include students with disabilities. Sarah founded The Sparkle Effect in 2008, and it continues to profoundly change the lives and outlooks of participating students with and without disabilities, replacing insecurity with confidence and joy. Generally, athletes are taught to perfect their skills, to conquer, to win. Sparkle Effect teams are not about perfection, they are about connection.
Susan Runvsold
In 2003, Susan Runsvold set out to ensure that no child would have to experience a Christmas without any exciting gifts, an experience that she feared herself when she was young. Since then, her vision has expanded, as she discovered that bicycles can have a more profound impact on children's lives than she first imagined. These bikes bring children independence, confidence and a fun way to exercise. Today, TurningWheels For Kids distributes bikes not only at the holiday but also year round.
Kate Bialo
Furniture Sharehouse collects gently-used and new furniture from the general public and redistributes it free of charge to economically disadvantaged families, giving them the basic household furniture helping to rebuild their lives with dignity. Clients are referred by social service agencies, ensuring that the furniture goes directly to those who truly need it.
Ida Mae Johnson
Ida has committed over 40 years to helping inner city children stay out of trouble by providing after school mentoring and activities. Her once small community center has grown tremendously. United Neighbors is a community-based agency that provides services in housing, youth programs, literacy and health education. It is also a HUD-certified local housing counseling agency and helps to stabilize neighborhoods through a home ownership program.
Amy Paterson
After Amy was diagnosed with Breast Cancer, she realized first-hand how difficult it was to organization child care for all of these critical care visits. Her experience led to the creation of My Little Waiting Room, a nonprofit offering drop in child care to the hospital. My Little Waiting Rooms mission is to promote the health and well-being of families by bringing drop-in child care to the hospital so that children can thrive as families heal. We figure since grocery stores, gyms, community centers and other locations offer this needed service, hospitals should too. Especially since families at the hospital are often in crisis and could really use the help.
Linda Wuestenberg
After the death of Linda Wuestenberg’s son, Stevie in February of 2007 in a motor vehicle accident, Linda and her family worked to establish a nonprofit, Parent Grief. The Goal of their non-profit was to create legislation that established a Next of Kin database in Ohio.
The Next of Kin database is entirely voluntary where citizens can provide the Department of Motor Vehicles with emergency contact information of family members to be notified in the event of an emergency.
Because of Linda’s tireless efforts Law enforcement personal now have more resources to allow them to quickly contact a victim’s family in the event of an emergency. Most importantly fewer families have to go through what she had to experience when she had not been notified that her son was in ICU at a local hospital for over 7 hours because police and hospital personal were not able to locate Stevie’s next of kin. Unfortunately, those were some of Stevie’s last hours.
Jessica Carscadden
Jessica Carscadden a 4th Grader in San Diego lived in a Chinese Orphanage till the age of 5. Now in San Diego California Jessica has started a project called “We Care Bears”. The Aim of her project is to provide the Local Police and fire department bags of stuffed animals to keep in the trunks of the cars and on board the fire trucks, to give to kids they encounter, who may be scared or injured.
To date Jessica has been able to provide 100 plus bears to local emergency response units in San Diego, Poway and Rancho Santé Fe. Fire Trucks in Los Angeles are now being outfitted with teddy bears with a goal to equip all Orange County Response vehicles with stuffed animals.
Brittany Kyte
In 2006 Brittany Kyte headed up a bullying awareness program called “Stand Up”. She recognizes that bullying has become such a prevalent problem in today’s society; she’s driven to empowering students to overcome the bullying. Brittany visits students throughout Northeast Tennessee and has even spoke at the Tennessee House of Representatives. She defines bullying in her speeches and outlines the different types as physical, verbal, and emotional. To date she has reached out to over 4,000 children and has raised over $3,000 for her cause.
She is doing a great job to curb bullying in our school systems, acting as a beacon to those, who like here, were bullied or are being bullied now.
Kristin Braddock
Kristin Braddock designed and executed The Income Generation Project, a non-profit organization dedicated to equipping young women with skills to design and sew clothing that will be marketed in the U.S. Through this project, the girls will earn money to sustain themselves and their families, as an alternative to their bodies for income. The Project is underway in Dharmpura, New Delhi, India, where the community is in need of a serious shift among it’s women.
Kristin personally connects with the girls of a low-caste community to provide them with this new hope. She has made an incredible impact on young women in the region and has provided them with a new-found sense of dignity.
Lucy Duane
Lucy Duane brings attention to the killing of retired thoroughbred racehorses, in her home town of Louisville, KY, home to the Kentucky Derby. She is a firm animal rights believer and partnered here fundraising with Old Friends Equine Farm. She raises money at farmers markets, horse shows, and local craft shows. She has participated in TV appearances and news stories to bring attention to her fundraising.
Her dedication to the these thoroughbred racehorses is a unique story of compassion.
