My Unsung Hero

At 15, Everett was about to steal a shirt at the mall when a girl saw him and whispered, “It’s not worth it.” He stopped, and decades later, he still thinks about that moment.

After making a series of unfortunate choices, Jay found himself sitting in a jail cell, alone and hopeless. But a fellow inmate's words brought him comfort, and changed the course of his life.

A few years ago, John’s daughter developed a sudden illness, later discovered to be a condition known as PANDAS, and for months she could barely leave the house. On the first warm day of the year, he brought her outside. A man drove by, rolled down his window, and said something John will never forget.

After a few weeks of studying abroad in France, Holly felt overwhelmed and homesick. But an encounter with a stranger at the post office changed everything, and led to a decades-long friendship.

Dan was born with a cataract that left him mostly blind in one eye. As a kid, he was painfully self-conscious about it. At baseball practice one day, his coach noticed he was losing sight of the ball and helped him adjust. Fifty years later, it’s still a small act of kindness Dan has never forgotten.