True Stories of Good People

When the nonprofit Elizabeth Agnello worked for closed its doors, she knew she had to act fast. Dozens of children with serious or terminal illnesses were looking forward to a holiday party that now seemed unlikely to happen. Elizabeth not only orchestrated the spectacular party that the children deserved, but launched an organization of her own to fill a need in the community. Her mission was sim...

When Yasir Salem met Gwen Mann, he knew he had found his person. They cherished their lives together and loved going on adventures. Years later, Yasir tragically lost Gwen after a long battle with various cancer battles. Since then, he has spent his every waking moment becoming an advocate for change and honoring Gwen's memory.

When Bella Schorr was born in June 2015, her family got some unfortunate news: Bella had spina bifida. This meant that as she grew older, her paralyzed legs would keep her from crawling, and eventually walking. Faced with some challenging times ahaed, that's when some of Bella's relatives stepped in with an amazing idea that changed her life and launched a movement: Bella's Bumbas.

Earlier this summer, Jonny Altrogge conquered an incredible feat - he biked the entire 2,700 miles of the Great Divide trail which runs from Banff, Canada, to Antelope Wells, New Mexico. While this accomplishment is incredible all on its own, Jonny's motivation for it was to inspire young kids of color, and help them see that the outdoors is for everyone.

One summer day in 2018, Julie Schwietert Collazo listened to an interview on the radio that changed her life: She learned of a Guatemalan refugee who had been separated from her children at the US border. Without hesitation, she sprung into action and helped this mother reunite with her children in New York—an incredible act of kindness that would end up inspiring thousands of people to join her f...

In August of 2017, 6-year-old Jenny Shaw diagnosed with cancer. Throughout her treatment journey, Jenny's family was lucky enough to live close to the hospital, so they could be there all the time and make it feel like home for Jenny, which loved. However, Jenny noticed that a lot of other kids had few of these same comforts—or even visitors. So Jenny started a movement to bring joy to kids in the...

International crochet sensation Jonah Larson started crocheting when he was just 5 years old - now, at 11, his beautiful designs and joyous spirit have gone viral and captured the hearts of people all over the world. In this episode you'll learn the origin story of Jonah's talents, and hear about how he's now using his gift to make a difference for others.

In 2014, Donnie Davis got a phone call about a local campground in southern New Jersey that was up for sale. A crazy idea popped into his head. It would require a lot of money and hard work, but it had the potential to help save the lives of his fellow military veterans. Donnie decided to take a leap of faith, and the result is more incredible than even he could have ever imagined.

As a social worker, Amy helped families of children battling life-threatening illnesses. To help kids express their hopes and fears, she often used dolls in play therapy. But as Amy worked with kids facing a wide variety of challenges, such as hair loss from chemotherapy to limb differences, she noticed that the children weren't always able to see themselves reflected in the dolls that were availa...

Seven years ago, Megs Yunn met an 11-year-old girl named Beverly who told her something heartbreaking: Beverly had never once celebrated her own birthday. Since that day, Megs has shown over 30,000 children in the Pittsburgh area that they are special, loved, and worthy of celebrating. Now her nonprofit, Beverly's Birthdays, is helping kids look and feel their best with the help of a mobile fashio...

Friendship is a beautiful thing that can enrich our lives in profound ways, but it's especially magical when you find that friend who you not only share dreams with, but both of you push each other to make it happen. In this case, we have friends Sarah & Francine, and the dream is helping support Philadelphia's homeless population. Today, you'll get to hear all about their friendship, and the amaz...

Braden Baker has worn hearing aids since he was 3 months old. Each device costs over $3,000 and isn't covered by insurance, so when the family dog chewed one up, Braden's mother Ashley wanted to use the moment to help him understand that while their family was lucky enough to be able to afford a replacement, many other families couldn't. Braden had never thought about this before and thought it wa...

Rebel Ventures is a collective of high school students from the Philadelphia area who are making a huge impact in their city. What started out as an effort to bring affordable, healthy food options to Philly-area students has turned into a truly unique and inspiring community of young people who are entrepreneurial, extremely creative, and deeply dedicated to improving student's lives, one meal at...

10 years ago, Philip Pavone was diagnosed with cancer. After a grueling battle, he recovered, but he came away from the experience with a newfound respect for those who are going through medical crises. Not long after, Philip began collecting unwanted motorized wheelchairs, refurbishing them, and giving them away to those who cannot afford them. His generosity has changed the lives of hundreds of...

Thirty years ago, Letitia Conliffe was living on the streets with her 1-year-old daughter, Chasity. Eventually, she got back on her feet and recovered, but the problems in her community did not. Drugs, broken homes, and hopelessness plagued her town and the children in it. Letitia knew from experience where that path could lead, and she didn't want that fate for anyone else. So she dedicated her l...

Eric Jordan is a high school teacher in Brownsville, which is a residential neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York. Earlier in life, Eric had the chance to live abroad and it left a profound impact on him. He noticed that a lot of his students didn't have access to the same kinds of opportunities, so he set out to find a way to bring the dream of travel a little bit closer for them. 

When Seth Owen was forced to come out to his family in high school, his parents immediately sent him to a conversion therapist. When that did not provide the results they wanted, they gave him an ultimatum: continue to attend their church which had outwardly attacked him for his sexual orientation, or move out. For his safety, Seth chose the latter... but he was only 18-years-old at the time. Seth...

Fred Guttenberg tragically lost his 14-year-old daughter Jaime on February 14th, 2018, in the horrific shooting that took place at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Since the terrible events of that day, Fred has become a full-time activist, fighting for public safety and common sense gun laws. 

Paul Crowell has loved dogs ever since he was a kid. He's now a grown man and has taken his passion for our four-legged friends to a new level and has helped feed thousands of homeless dogs in the San Francisco area.

Oscar Wang has spent most of his career in the public education space and was troubled by the statistics surrounding the college dropout rate and the associated debt. He also noticed a trend in Philadelphia's food economy - the food scene itself continued to grow, but the turnover rate at restaurants continued to increase. Eventually, he came up with a brilliant idea for how to solve both problems...

Courtney Gilmour is an incredibly funny comedian from Toronto, Canada. She was also born without both hands and one of her legs, and has had to wear a prosthetic leg for her entire life. On the way to a comedy gig one night, her leg collapsed under her while exiting the subway and she fell down the stairs. She decided it was finally time to get the prosthetic leg that she deserved.

You may know Bryce Dallas Howard from her many well-known acting credits, but aside from being a talented actress, Bryce is also an amazing friend. Bryce was a fan of Dr. Anna Akbari's writing and reached out. She then took one of Anna's online courses, after which they started working together and they quickly became close friends. Soon after, Anna was diagnosed with an incredibly rare form of ce...

Chris Van Dorn is the founder of an organization called "Batman4Paws", which takes Chris on adventures all over the country rescuing animals... while dressed as Batman. 

When Gabby Frost was a teenager, she noticed that many of her friends, both online and in real life, were dealing with serious issues like self-harm and suicidal thoughts. She offered them her support in the best way she could, but she wished there was an easier way for young people to get connected with each other and talk about their interests, and also their struggles. Rather than wait around f...

Jamal Burger is the face behind @jayscale, Jamal's incredibly popular Instagram account featuring his stunning black & white photography. Through his photography work, Jamal created a program called The Kick Back, which works to show kids that their dreams can be limitless.