Neha Gupta

In 2005, Neha Gupta created a Empower Orphans. This program provides direct assistance around the worlds. In 2009, the United Nations estimated that there was 145 million orphans and/or abandoned children in the world. 

Neha Gupta was astonished by this. She and her family would go to visit her grandparents every year in India, and while there, would volunteer at the orphanage. Neha decided she wanted to do more. when she was only nine years old, she created Empower Orphans so that the money would go directly to helping the orphans. 

She has focused her efforts oBal Kunj orphanage and Shree Geeta Public School for underprivileged kids. 

Empower Orphans has funded 5 libraries (15,500 books) in the area, 3 computer labs with 12 computers, a sewing center with 30 sewing machines, 25 van loads of home furnishings to improve conditions, a 4 day eye and dental clinic for 360 children, the complete education of over 50 children, and provided food, clothes, and blankets for over 1,000 children.

This is all began because of the empathy of a nine year old girl for the orphans she saw while volunteering.

To find out ways you can help visit Empower Orphans.

Temple Grandin

"Nature is cruel, but we don't have to be."

Temple Grandin

Photo Courtesy of: BubblesMakeHimSmile

In 1950, Temple Grandin was diagnosed with Autism after her parents originally thought she had been brain damaged. Her mother hired a nanny for her and her sister to try to help Temple. It worked. Temple began talking at age 4, which is usually uncommon for children with autism. Temple didn't stop there, she went on through school and onto college, receiving a bachelors degree in psychology and a masters in animal science.

She does not let her illness define her. She now spends her time promoting animal welfare and autism awareness. 

Temple Grandin has been in many media projects including ABC's Primetime Live, the Today Show, Larry King Live, Times Magazine, People, Discover, New York Times, and Forbes to name a few. 

She also had a biography made on her by HBO which was nominated for 15 Emmys. 

In 2010, she was named by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. 

She herself has published several books on living with Autism. 

Temple Grandin has achieved so much in her life, but it is the fact of how she encourages parents with kids who have Autism through her work and her writing. It gives them hope for a better life for their kids. 

Diane Latiker

Diane Latiker

Living in a large urban population for the majority of here life, Diane Latiker was no stranger to the problems faced by urban youth. She had dropped out of high school herself and had seven children all before the age of 25. It wasn't until she was 36 that she decided to turn her life around. Getting her GED and remarrying as well as having another daughter.

 It was when her youngest daughter became a teen that she began to worry about how her daughter would grow up with so many gangs in Roseland, a dangerous Chicago neighborhood.. She encouraged her daughter in other activities to hopefully help her avoid that lifestyle, and then Diane's mother encouraged her to try helping others. 

When Diane began she was somewhat nervous, then she realized that most of the kids in her neighborhood did not dream of being part of a gang, they had other dreams and aspirations to do something better with their life. 

That's when Diane Latiker decided to keep her house open to those kids 24/7 in order to provide a safe place where they could come and just be themselves. She names her nonprofit program Kids Off the Block.

Many credit Latiker for changing their lives around. Giving them a place to do their homework and someone who would talk to them and take them seriously. 

Maurece Gilchrist is one of those kids who had his life changed by Diane Latiker. Maurece had been part of a gang and only came to Latiker's house because his friend was going there after school one day. Now he is out of gang life and planning on playing football at college. 

Her program has expanded ever since. In 2008, donors helped her buy the house next door since her house could no longer fit anymore people. She has also made a stone garden in memory of all the youth in her area who have lost their lives to violence just in the time since 2007. There were over 220 stones in the memorial. 

Diane Latiker is having a positive influence on her community. Giving her neighborhood hope for something beyond gang life. She also has given hope to other neighborhoods like Roseland in different cities across the nation where her nonprofit has gone and spoke.

Stan Brock

Remote Area Medical 

The first thing that comes to mind when you think of medicine is probably not a cowboy. But that is what Stan Brock was before he created Remote Area Medical. After being kicked in the head by a horse in the middle of a rain forest in Brazil, he was far from any medical assistance. 

It is not only in Brazil, but in many parts of the world that it is hard to receive medical assistance. Luckily, Stan Brock was able to heal on his own, but others who have more serious injuries sometimes can not. That was when Stan Brock decided he wanted to do something.

His thought was "Hey, lets bring these doctors a little closer than 26 days on foot."

Stan decided it would be a good idea to create a program that would be able to pick up sick people in an airplane and bring them to care. In 1985 he put his own flying skills to test and started his Remote Area Medical. His program also began as a nonprofit where volunteers would be dropped off in locations to provide medical assistance. It began focusing on locations over seas but quickly, rural United States locations were asking for assistance as well. Today his program has a state of the art air plane with 20 dentist chairs. The kind of care they are able to supply depends on what doctors are volunteering at the time. 

Stan Brock pushes all praise toward his volunteers and away from his self. 

He tries his hardest to provide care to everyone he can. 

Rachel Beckwith

A Birthday Wish

Photo Courtesty of: The Examiner 

What did you wish for on your ninth birthday? I think I wanted a new Barbie or some clothes. 

Rachel Beckwith wanted water, not for herself but to donate. Rachel had the idea of instead of getting gifts for her birthday, she wanted to have her loved ones donate to give clean water to those who needed it

Her goal was to raise $300 to donate to those in African villages. 

A month after her 9th birthday, Rachel Beckwith was killed in a car accident. 

The horrific accident brought public attention to this young girls cause and allowed her campaign to raise way more than she could have expected, $1.25 million. 

Today, Rachel's mother continues to run campaigns in Rachel's honor. 

To donate you can visit her site charity:water.

Amy Stokes

"... we expand their village to include the entire world. "

~Amy Stokes

In 2003, Amy Stokes adopted a young boy from South Africa. Although that is an admirable thing in itself, this is not why I consider her someone extraordinary. Adopting her son encouraged Amy Stokes to launch her idea, Infinite Family. 

Most people know that HIV/AIDS is very devastating in South Africa today. Most people do not realize the affect this disease has on the orphans. 

Amy Stokes created this program to help these children grow up with an adult mentor there to support them. They do this via a video mentoring program that Amy and her colleagues set up.
This program allows pre-teens and teens to have an adult figure in their life from different places around the world. 

This program officially started in 2006 and has been growing since. Infinite Family allows personal interaction between these children and an adult figure to talk of things like homework, the future (careers), and even just the troubles of growing up. 

I do not know how I could live without my parents, both of whom I talk to at least 5 times a week.

Amy Stokes created this amazing program in order to help these young people develop into educated and well rounded adults, and I admire her for going above and beyond and helping others help the children as well.

I would encourage you to visit her site for Infinite Family and learn more about this program and how you can get involved.

9/11 Heroes

"No man is worth his salt who is not at all times ready to risk his well being, to risk his body, to risk his life in a great cause."
~Theodore Roosevelt

I don't think anyone will ever be able to forget 9/11. I was pretty young at the time, but I, like most people of my generation, remember exactly what I was doing when I found out about the horrific events. I remember getting off the bust at my best friend Samantha's house and my mom being there and looking sad. I remember her making me go home with her and her explaining the tragedy to me. 

I couldn't understand why or how someone could do something so heartless and cruel to other human beings. I still can't understand it.
I can not imagine anything close to what the families of people who were in the building went through, or the people trapped in the building themselves. 

I will not go without mentioning the heroic acts of bravery put on by New York's finest, their police officers, as well as their firefighters, first responders, and even the rescue animals present. A great deal of these amazing people (and animals) died while trying to save the lives of others. 

Even the people within the building who knew they themselves would die but tried to get others to safety

Father Mychal Judge, a catholic priest in the area rushed to the building after the first plane hit to try to say a few final words to the dying, unfortunately he himself ended up dying too. 

2,600 people lost their lives that day, but many were saved due to the kindness of strangers.

Usman Farman was saved by a man he referred to as a Hasidic Jewish man after he fell down. 

Two woman lead a blind newspaper vendor to safety. 

Errol Anderson, a firefighter, helped create a human chain to lead people through absolute blindness caused by the cloud of dust. He brought them to the Brooklyn bridge where it was considered safe before he returned to the site. 

Many more people would have perished in the horrific events of that September day if it was not for the courage and kindness of complete strangers. 

Thad day will forever be ingrained into the minds of many Americans, but I hope it is not only remembered as a day of tragedy, but also a day that united the country. 

For More Information:

http://www.alternet.org/story/142566/how_9_11_should_be_remembered%3A_the_extraordinary_achievements_of_ordinary_people/?page=entire