Dawn Loggins, Student, Heading To Harvard After Being Homeless, Abandoned By Parents — When facing homelessness, bullying, and being abandoned by family, many people might be tempted to give up hope. But for 18-year-old Dawn Loggins, who was just accepted into Harvard University, this was not the case. “When I was younger, I looked around at my family and I saw the neglect, the drug abuse, the bad choices and I saw my family living from paycheck to paycheck, and I just made a decision that I was not going to end up like my parents. After years of hard work, catch up, and at times even working as a school custodian, Loggins’ dream finally became a reality when she opened her acceptance letter from Harvard.

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Originally from Minnesota, Laurie grew up with a strong love for horses and children. She did not have her own horse until she was an adult but she had a dream that someday, somehow, she would be able to combine these two passions in such a way as to make a positive impact on the world.

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Although never one to look a gift horse in the mouth, Bonny Diver’s horse gave her the best gift of all—the gift of a second chance at life. Bonny Diver is a well-known radio personality in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In 2003, she fell off her horse and broke her shoulder. While inspecting the damage, she happened to discover a robin’s egg-sized lump on her breast. “It put me in shock because every woman is warned about a “lump.” That means cancer, and cancer means death.”

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Yogesh Pathak and his daughter Jhanavi are trying to make a substantial difference for those facing cancer. Both know first-hand how emotionally, physically and financially draining a cancer diagnosis is for both the patient and the caregiver. Born out of a teenage daughter’s love for her father and a father’s resolve to beat the odds, Jhanavi and Yogesh have created the soon-to-be 501(c)3 non-profit, The War on Cancer Foundation.

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Petty Officer 2nd Class Leon Doniphan, a food service specialist aboard Cutter Alert in Astoria, Ore., poses for a photo in front of a Large Navigation Buoy on the Columbia River in Astoria. Doniphan swam to the aid of a young girl who was nearly swept underneath the buoy in September 2011. His actions most likely saved her life.

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The morning of August 23rd, 2010 started as a beautiful summer day.  Terry’s mom, Terry, and Terry’s little sister Alayna were in Ohio visiting family and were only twenty minutes into their six hour drive back to their home in West Virginia when they collided head-on with another vehicle at fifty-five miles-per-hour.
 
After surgeries on Terry’s spleen, spine, and abdomen, Terry was in the ICU room of Toledo’s Children’s Hospital for over a week before he was told that he was now paralyzed from the waist down.   Terry went through shock …

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We had to let Bling Bling, a member of our family that we love more than we can express, die this week because of a brain tumor. She was only 7. It was sudden and unexpected, but she passed surrounded by our love and she knew we all were there. Although paralyzed, she was able to raise her head when we came into her hospital room. She kissed our hands. She tracked each of our voices with her eyes, a slight motion of her head toward each voice as we told her we loved her and said goodbye.

We miss her so much. Get your bed, Bling Bling, get your bed and rest in peace forever in our hearts. We Love You.

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Close your eyes.  Now imagine someone who has touched your life so deeply that you know in your heart your world would never be the same without that person.  Think of someone who has enriched your life, brought peace to your heart, and understanding to your soul.  For me, this story is about admiration for that person, my Grandmother, Lola Jane.  I am so thankful to have the opportunity to honor her and share this with others.
My grandmother has always been my guardian angel, a precious gift that protects, teaches, …

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His first book, “Standup Friend with Me” (Grove press, 1962) won the Lamont Award. It has been through numerous printings. He wrote the narration for the documentary film, “To Be Alive” which played at Johnson’s Wax Pavilion at the New York World’s Fair and won an Academy award. He received a Guggenheim Fellowship. His poems have appeared in many of the leading and underground magazines, as well as in numerous anthologies and textbooks. He has given poetry readings in hundreds of colleges around the country.Once in front of a fireplace in Carlsbad, California, his face glowing from the fire, happy like a small boy’s on Christmas, he told me, “I won’t mind when I die; I’ve been given so much. I have lived such a full life.”

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Abby Vara spent her childhood in Ottawa, Ontario and on her eighth birthday, Abby vividly remembers the evening when a friend close to her father approached with some dreadful news. Upon observing a recent vacation photo, they had noticed it was apparent that Mr. Vara’s face was pulled to one side, showing signs of a stroke. With much puzzled speculation, the family rushed Abby’s father to the hospital where he spent the rest of that evening. It was his first time in a hospital as a patient instead of a doctor.

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