Nanny & CNN Hero: Marie da Silva
Having suffered enormous personal losses due to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Malawi, Marie Da Silva, a nanny working in Los Angeles decided to set up the Jacaranda Foundation. The Foundation, run on Marie's personal earnings, donations & volunteer support, endeavours to provide education & food to the children of Malawi, most of whom have been orphaned due to HIV/AIDS.... posted on Nov 16 2009, 2,261 reads

Saving Lives, One Click at a Time
For a decade now, Khushroo Poacha has stood by the sole belief that to do good work you don't need money. Poacha runs indianblooddonors.com, a site that lets over 50,000 blood donors and patients in need of blood connect with each other almost instantaneously -- all without cash donations. His site is perhaps a classic example of what the Internet is truly capable of, but more importantly, it is a... posted on Nov 14 2009, 2,535 reads

The New Orleans Musician's Clinic
Eleven years ago, Bethany and her husband, Johann Bultman, decided the best way to keep the music alive was to keep the musicians healthy. "The reason we chose to target musicians in New Orleans is because they represent a pure American cultural form, jazz music," said Johann. Thanks to the Clinic's volunteer doctors, a grant from the federal government, and various charitable donations, the non-p... posted on Nov 03 2009, 1,941 reads

Nightshift At The Marriott
Picture this: It's almost 11pm on a hot August day. You're exhausted, having just driven over 600 miles, and you arrive at the newly opened Marriott, your last hope for a place to lay your tired body down for the night. You are third in line at the front desk, where there is a single young woman on duty, doing everything she can to keep things under control. When you finally arrive at room 309, y... posted on Oct 22 2009, 6,884 reads

Homeless Man Writes Symphony With No Musical Training
A self-trained musician who slept rough on the streets for a decade has been hailed a genius after writing a symphony. Stuart Sharp, 67, saw a vision of the musical masterpiece in his mind after his baby son Ben died 35 years ago. He could not read or write music but the tunes were so vivid he was determined to turn the 'imaginary' sounds into a symphony in memory of his lost child.... posted on Oct 19 2009, 5,902 reads

Is it Oprah? No, it's Ludacris!
"This is Ludacris, and I'm giving away 20 free cars. ..." The famous rapper was pulling an Oprah in his hometown of Atlanta, Georgia. The rapper announced that if listeners were able to pay the taxes, registration, tags and insurance, they should go to his nonprofit Ludacris Foundation Web site and write 300 words about why they deserved new wheels. Four thousand people took him up on the chal... posted on Oct 18 2009, 3,945 reads

16 Year Old Headmaster
At 16 years old, Babar Ali must be the youngest headmaster in the world. What started as a role playing game of teacher and student has transformed into daily classes to 800 poor children in his family's backyard. Despite the free schools, these children cannot afford to attend and must supplement their families' income. After his day at the best school in his region of West Bengal, India, Babar c... posted on Oct 15 2009, 4,680 reads

The Landlord Who Would Not Evict
September 23rd marked 41 days that the 6-foot, 4-inch tall guy with the tattoo of Jesus on his left arm and the gray ponytail has worked at Walgreens pharmacy on Celanese Road. "The 2-to-10 shift. Proud to do it," says Peirce. He is not your usual landlord. One of Pierce's tenants worked in construction and has a wife and two little kids. A second man worked in utilities contracting and has a baby... posted on Oct 13 2009, 4,991 reads

My Run: 75 Marathons in 75 Days
After tragically losing his wife to breast cancer and struggling to raise three young children on his own, Terry Hitchcock seized on an idea. He wanted to accomplish the impossible: run 75 consecutive marathons in 75 consecutive days to bring attention to the incredibly difficult lives of single-parent families.... posted on Oct 08 2009, 3,690 reads

Sylvia's Center: A Living Memorial
Liz Neumark, cofounder of one of New York City's most successful catering companies, started Sylvia's Center on the farm she bought to supply produce for her business. There she hosts inner city schoolchildren so they can not only see how food grows, but participate in the process and taste it fresh. The center is named for her daughter, who died suddenly at the age of six. It combines who Sylvia... posted on Oct 04 2009, 2,044 reads