Heroes Among Us
Once again People magazine and The Early Show are partnering for a five-part series, Heroes Among Us.
This annual series shines a spotlight on ordinary people doing extraordinary things and pays tribute to five individuals whose stories of courage, commitment, strength and compassion were featured in People during the past year.
- Monday, meet Sandra LaDay, a tireless angel changing lives in a Texas town on the Gulf Coast. Also, Harry Smith speaks with the magazine's deputy editor, Larry Hackett, about "Mother Mercy" and other heroes.
Learn more about LaDay's organization. Visit People Supporting People's Web site. And to contact LaDay, send an e-mail to sandra@peoplesupportingpeople.com.
- Tuesday, meet Jeanette and John Murphy. Some years ago the couple adopted a child with special needs, and then they adopted another, and another. Today, they have a very big and wonderful family.
Visit the Murphy House Project to learn about the Murphy household and their needs. And to find out about the needs of children at-risk in the legal system, visit the Keenan's Kids Foundation.
- Wednesday, meet Paul White, a teacher who has turned around the lives of Los Angeles gang members in a unique one-room schoolhouse.
To contact White, send an e-mail to White_Paul@lacoe.edu.
- Thursday, meet Elissa Montanti, a woman who single-handedly changed the lives of 50 children around the world. Though she started with no funding and no political connections, that didn't stop her from providing hope and healing.
Visit The Global Medical Relief Fund and learn about how you can make a difference in children's lives.
- Friday, meet Bob Nixon. He left a successful movie-making career 13 years ago to clean up the Anacostia River in Washington, D.C. He recruited young men and women from one of the roughest neighborhoods in the nation's capitol and soon learned that the river wasn't all that was endangered.
Learn how you can be part of the Earth Conservation Corps.
And click here to learn about how you can help Hurricane Katrina victims through the Children's Health Fund.