Caroline was not the first person to find herself in a good job with all the security, money and niceties that a good corporate job provides. She was also not the first person feeling unfulfilled in that role; a burning sense that something was missing in her life. The difference is⏤Caroline Boudreaux acted on that […]

Addiction comes in all forms. Psychology Today, defines it as a condition in which a person engages in the use of a substance or in a behavior for which the rewarding effects provide a compelling incentive to repeatedly pursue the behavior despite detrimental consequences. Greg Nance found himself is such a place for seven long […]

“Growing up, I was always told that I would end up pregnant, that I would never be anything, that I would end up in jail, that I would be homeless”, explains Cordelia Cranshaw. “I really felt like I didn’t have much confidence. My mother — after her being incarcerated, in and out of my life, and […]

This story starts at a doorstep back in 1991 in the country of Romania. Baby Hannah was left hours after birth, umbilical cord still attached to her tiny body. When Hannah was discovered, she was still bleeding, but alive⏤as the homeowners called the authorities with the news. Alone, lost with an uncertain future… Hannah would […]

Seconds can make the difference between life and death.Being in the wrong place at the wrong time can change the outcome as well.Having trained personnel with the proper equipment for treatment close by is often the deciding factor. At just 17 years old, Mike Papale was in a life and death situation. At one point […]

“When I stood on the starting line at the Boston Marathon two runners down from Alberto Salazar (then the world record holder) and Bill Rodgers (four-time winner at the Boston Marathon), I wondered, ‘Dick, what in the heck are you doing on the same line with these guys?’“ It was at that moment that an […]

Seventeen years ago, Greg Buzek was working as a Product Development Manager making anti-theft devices. They were the type of devices designed to deactivate if merchandise left a store without being purchased. Greg made a very good living at this, but found himself completely unfulfilled inside. Something wasn’t quite right in his life. It was […]

Jake Clark enlisted in the Army at 17 years old; he served five years and then went onto become a Los Angeles Police Officer and FBI Agent. He reenlisted after Sept 11th, and then spent another four years in the military, deployed with the California National Guard for two tours in Kosovo. First we need […]

Homelessness is a worldwide problem, a national disaster, and a drain on local communities. Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime. There are many origins of this famous quote – Chinese, Native American, Italian, Indian, or Biblical, Lao-Tzu, Maimonides, or […]

“Finally, I met a guy who wanted to get to know me as a friend. He wasn’t hitting on me, he didn’t need money, he was completely self-sufficient. He saw something in me. I’d never had anyone mirror back a positive image of me, ever. I’d always looked at other people, regardless of their position […]

Kathy & Roger Flynn were so excited at the birth of their first child,their beautiful daughter Ansley Sara Flynn. “Shortly after this joyous occasion we were suddenly approached by our pediatrician stating, “I hear a heart murmur, but feel like it is innocent however, as a precautionary measure we have arranged a pediatric cardiologist for an […]

Life can change in the blink of a moment, and when you least expect it. Sometimes it is an ordinary everyday event that goes bad. Fact is, many of these encounters happen within a few miles of your home even. It was May of 2017, when Aspen made a typical stop at a Subway sandwich […]

“I used to walk to work every day in Crystal City,” Snyder says of the area in Northern Virginia near the Pentagon. Each day, she encountered veterans like Clarke, whose situation astounded her. “I couldn’t believe it. He was homeless, right here in my area.” That is where the story begins. Lieutenant Colonel Deborah Snyder served […]

“I was going to redefine what was possible, I was no longer going to be defined as the burn kid,” Shay Eskew explained. The story begins on October 4, 1982 when Shay was just eight years old, and his friend Jeff, was 7. Shay’s mom had asked him to go across the street to warn […]

How do you unsee what you’ve seen? Impossible really. The lasting impact of war on our veterans has a traumatic affect on every aspect of their lives; for the duration of their lives. Consider that our veterans are waiting months and even years for basic health care. The VA Appeals process takes minimum 2-5 years; in the mean […]

She is full of energy, sharp, organized; she manages the teams, writes the grants, plans the cleanup, does the research. He is a bit quiet, unless he has something to say… has a steady hand, tactical in nature. He runs and maintains the equipment, he is the Vessel Captain. Meet Chloe and James. Together they […]

“If you want true joy, you’ve got to stop looking at yourself,” says Luke Mickelson. Mickelson knew something was missing in his life. It was time to get off the sofa and figure it out. Back in 2012, it came to the attention of Mickelson through his Church, that some kids in the community were sleeping […]

At the time, it seemed a pretty lofty goal; to climb out of the hospital bed and crawl eight feet to the bathroom. A simple task by most standards, but not when you have life-ending cancer. Compare that moment to being just eight feet from the summit of Mount Everest. In contrast, the eight feet to […]

There are far too many cities and towns struggling with homelessness, with no easy answers on how to fix the problem. It is a growing crisis largely being ignored by local municipalities and government as a whole. As an example, in the state of Georgia, the Department of Housing and Urban Development reports that well over […]

“What if this woman who was beaten by her boyfriend and put in ICU for 3 days was your mother? Well guess what? She is my mother,her name is Cathy. I watched my mother get beat on and belittled my whole childhood. Every man I saw her with after she and my father divorced when […]

The birth of a child is one of life’s greatest experiences; the emotional and lasting impact has consequences that will last a lifetime and beyond. When that birth becomes compromised with a life-threatening birth defect, your world is immediately forced into a tailspin of unimaginable emotions. This is a story of two lives on two […]

“I cannot be called brave and courageous until I do the hardest thing, which is to acknowledge publicly that I am a survivor of sexual human trafficking.” And with that, Norma Bastidas changed everything. Growing up in the community of Sinaloa, Mexico; violence, sexual abuse and human trafficking are a way of life, as the cartels run […]

When things go bad, it is often difficult to know you’ve reached the lowest point of the plummet. Sometimes you have to brace yourself for what comes next… Lisa Williams was at the lowest point of her life – so she thought. She was in the hospital surrounded by family as they disconnected the defibrillator from her […]

“We’ve been fighting this battle to get ahead of this infection to stop the spread, we hate to tell you, the outcome is not good,” explained the doctors. The news was anything but good. This was not the December holiday surprise Jim McCay was expecting. How could a small misstep one evening, at the end […]

A life of trauma and tragedy transformed into a warrior against sexual abuse and violence; a beacon for truth, hope and knowledge. Dr. Gregory Williams is a most unusual man. Most anyone would run and hide from the sheer embarrassment of a tortured childhood – from the hands of a father completely out-of-control. He remembers […]

He was on a mission in one of the most hostile areas on the planet, in Southern Afghanistan; a place also known as “The Devils Playground”. He knew something wasn’t quite right. He blamed himself for the death of the enemy. He questioned his decisions of leadership that placed him in the wrong spot at the […]

Andy had just finished volunteering with a group of guys to build a home for the show, ABC’s Extreme Makeover Home Edition. He had been working with groups like Habitat for Humanity and Extreme Makeover when he asked himself the question: “Why aren’t we doing this for our own military families?” He and his buddies decided […]

In many ways, John’s life was all mapped out; at least in his mind it was. An excellent student; good grades, athlete, good attitude, even perfect attendance in school. The kids in school were always trying to get John high by offering him drugs. He managed to stay clear of drugs despite the peer pressure that […]