Lily the Bernese Mountain dog is very proud of all of her heroes.  These kids are really something - they are very active in their community and have learned the importance of giving.  You can be one of Lily's Heroes too!  Want to learn more or need some ideas?  Click on "Become a Hero".  Is one of your pals doing something really cool that helps people?  Check out "Nominate a Kid".

Lily hopes that kids (and parents) will be inspired by these stories.  Many of these ideas can be copied and carried out right in your own neighborhood.  If you appear on our website in this section, you will be entitled to a free certificate.

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Jaylen Arnold is the President of Jaylen's Challenge. Jaylen is an 8 year old boy with Tourette Syndrome, Asperger's, and severe OCD. From his own experience and while being a witness to bullying, Jaylen decided to make a change. Jaylen's motto is "You don't have to be smart to do something great! Bullying No Way!" Jaylen's Challenge is a campaign to raise awareness in regards to people with disabilities and awareness to Bullying. Jaylen made his own wristband, his own logo, and even talked a very nice man in the United Kingdom into making him his own web site. He designs it, and Mr. Paul animates it and gets it onto the website. One can go to Jaylen's web site and contribute for the education of children.

Jaylen is currently educating Elementary and Middle School students. When a contribution is made, those funds act as a "Pay It Forward". The money not only purchases a wristband that is sent to you, but it also pays for 2 more wristbands to be given out to children.

County: Polk FL, USA 

School: Victory Christian Academy

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Allison Bornhorst has a huge heart and we are so proud of her! She wanted to have a birthday party for her 8th birthday and she wanted to invite all the girls in her grade at her school. She doesn't like to hurt people's feelings and didn't want to leave any of the girls out. I told her that she could have a party but I that she should put on her invites to have her friends donate to a charity instead of gifts because she already has plenty of stuff. She loved the idea since she just wanted to celebrate with all the girls in her class anyway! I gave her a list of local charities and her response was "Mom I want to donate to the Children's Medical Center, because without them I wouldn't be here!" So she made her invitations and put on them "No gifts please, instead I'd like to donate to Children's Medical Center in honor of my Birthday."

Ally took a shoe box and decorated it all up to put her birthday money in and made a sign saying "Thank You Children's Medical Center". At her birthday, she opened all her cards and kept putting all the money from her cards in the shoe box. The families from her class and our neighbors donated $250.00 to Ally's birthday request and we took her down to Children's Medical Center to present it to the Neonatal Unit where she spent the first week of her life. She's kept her decorated shoe box and has already started her next donation for the Children's Medical center. In May she she did an interview on the Children's Miracle Network to let people know why it is important to donate to Children's Hospitals for helping other kids who need it. She's always willing to give of her time and money to help others and we are very proud of her and plan to help her continue to know the importance of giving from the heart!

County: Miami OH, USA 

School: Piqua Catholic

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Bria Brown is a cancer survivor and a volunteer for the American Cancer Society. She volunteers because she overcame the odds - she beat cancer by deciding not to let cancer beat her. At age six she was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma - a rare form of bone cancer, which left her with prosthesis in her left leg. We were told that Bria might not survive and that she would have serious limitations. Bria has to travel from Miami to Jacksonville Florida every 3 months to get her leg lengthened. After the procedure she is in a wheelchair or on crutches for about two weeks. It is very painful for her however she has never let it stop her from going to her Relay for Life Meetings or any other volunteer function that she has.

Bria is now 15 and is and is still fighting for the cause. Bria used her survivor story to get people in her community involved in the in only All African American "Relay for Life" cancer walk in Dade County. She lost 17 of her friends that she met in the hospital to cancer including her best friend Chendarilyn Williams who had the same cancer she had. The two were inseparable, each year she honors them. She took 17 of her own teddy bears in a basket to her Congressman Kendrick Meek in Sept 2006 as a volunteer youth ambassador for a big event called “Celebration on The Hill" to remind him of the 17 kids that died of cancer so that when he votes on cancer issues he will be reminded of them. She travels to Tallahassee Florida every February for Advocacy Day to meet with her state representative and ask them sign on the bills that promote more money for cancer research and prevention so that other kids won't have to die.

County: Dade FL, USA 

School: Monsignor Pace High School

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At the tender age of 4, Hannah Turner was helping her parents hand out Thanksgiving dinner at a homeless shelter in Toledo, Ohio. She saw a man whose split-open shoes revealed he wore no socks. She told her mother, "He can have my socks." Her gesture inspired her family to launch Hannah's Socks in 2007 as a new non-profit focused on providing clothing necessities to the less fortunate in Toledo, Ohio; Cincinnati, Ohio; and their neighboring communities.

Hannah's Socks collects donated materials in the form of men's, women's and children's socks and undergarments, then leverages partnerships with local shelters for distribution to both the homeless and to victims of domestic violence. In addition, we support programs serving under-privileged children.

Hannah, now age 9, volunteers regularly for her family's organization and continues to inspire people across the country and around the world with her unique story. She's been featured in People Magazine and has appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show. Her team hopes to continue to grow and add additional Ohio communities to the list of those it serves.

Hannah's Socks firmly believes that in a country as prosperous as the United States, no man, woman or child should want for something as basic as a warm pair of socks.

County: Wood OH, USA 

School: Toth Elementary School

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Juilliard violin prodigy and winner of the 2009 AAN Neuroscience Research Prize among other international science research awards, Jourdan Urbach founded Children Helping Children (CHC) in 1998 at the age of 7, and has raised to date over $1.5 million through its benefit "Concerts for a Cure," providing funds for neurologically—focused scientific research, musical therapy services at hospitals across the nation, and home healthcare for patients with advanced forms of neurological disease the world over.

Featuring chapters throughout the United States, Latin America, and Australia, lives have been saved with the purchase of every ticket at a Concert for a Cure produced by Children Helping Children. In 2007, at Mott Children’s Hospital’s Ronald McDonald House in Anne Arbor, CHC’s benefit concert raised funds for a musical therapy program for pain management for children recovering from critical surgery.

County: Nassau NY, USA 

School: Yale University

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In October 2008, Jared Davis wondered aloud what homeless people did for warmth during the winter months. Soon after, he announced that he was going to do something HIMSELF to help them by collecting jackets and coats. His 'jacket drive' turned into a huge affair! He got his school involved and asked our local paper to run a small request for gently-used jackets and coats. People were thrilled to get involved and many even donated BRAND NEW jackets with the tags still attached! Jared spent about two months criss-crossing the county as he collected 327 jackets! He then sorted the jackets, first according to gender, and then by size.

Then, on Thanksgiving Day, he spent the holiday at The Daily Bread soup kitchen in Melbourne, Florida handing out the jackets to men, women and children. On the drive home, he reflected on the day and said, "Mom, I'll never forget this day!"

County: Brevard FL, USA 

School: Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy

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When Tyler Page was 9 he watched his first episode of Oprah with his mom. She was featuring a story on children being sold into slavery by their own parents for as little as $20. Fishermen would take them miles away and make them fish for 14 hours with one small meal a day. He couldn't believe how these children were being treated and when he found out that just $240 would keep one child out of slavery for an entire year he asked her to pause the show. He asked if he could have a fundraiser in order to raise that money. His mom asked what he would do and how he would do it and three weeks later, in March of 2007 he and his buddies had their first car wash. They didn't raise the $240 but $1,200! He decided not to stop and kept having more fundraisers with more and more children wanting to help at all of them. He set a $50,000 goal, started a non-profit organization called Kids Helping Kids Leadership Academy, Inc. and surpassed that goal in just 17 months. Kids from all over wanted to help so his mom started a leadership academy where kids come and learn about integrity, honesty, communication, time management, money management and a lot more. It is truly amazing how a 9 year old boy's simple heartfelt idea could have turned into so much. Pure intentions and team work have certainly paid off!!

County: Contra Costa CA, USA 

School: Adams Middle School

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Brandon and Jake Johnston are leading their classes in a humanitarian project to make sleeping bags/mats for kids in Haiti who lost homes in last spring's Hurricane. Their goal is to make 300 sleeping bags and to do that, they need 1000 milk bags/sleeping bag (see website for details on what they do with the milk bags). So that's 300,000 milk bags they have to collect and crochet into mats. Brandon & Jake along with their cousins Ethan & Collin at another school have challenged each other to collect the most bags. They are approaching 2000 so far since starting in January. Two containers will be sent to Haiti in the Fall of 2009 and it costs about $8000 to send one so they are also accepting donations through a 'Chipin' widget form on their website. Brandon has also made his very own website/blog for everyone to update with progress. He and Jake have recorded some videos on why they are doing this and how to make wool plus a donation widget.

City: Brampton ON, Canada 

School: St. Rita Elementary

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Ismaelpeter is taking care of a wild baby starling bird. He fell into a hole in the roof of our apartment and then was stuck in the wall for a day in a half until he came out from under our kitchen sink. Sounds crazy but that's what happened! My son decided that we needed to give God a helping hand in taking care of this wild bird. He feeds him, bathes him and gives him a lot of love. Also, he named him JJ. He went online to find out what gender he was so that the name would be right.

County: Kings NY, USA 

School: A Beka Academy

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Bailey Reese was 7 when she founded Hero Hugs in 2004. After a hurricane hit the area where she lives, Bailey noticed people were not thanking soldiers passing out ice and water, but instead complaining about long lines and not getting enough. The soldiers had left the comforts of their homes and families to come help and should have been being thanked! Bailey gathered some friends to make thank-you cards for the soldiers and since has made it her passion to be sure the men and women who serve our country know someone is thinking of them even when we don't like what they are doing or how they are doing it.

Now thirteen, Bailey has inspired thousands of kids from all over the country to help send out more than 40,000 appreciation packages valued at over $350,000 to soldiers! Packages from Hero Hugs stand out from all the others because each one is homemade by a child…..school milk cartons become holiday baskets and Chinese takeout boxes are decorated and filled with treats. Bailey’s program does more than lift the spirits of soldiers far away from home; Hero Hugs teaches kids to appreciate their freedoms and the men and women who work to protect them while making the world a better place for us all. It is also helping kids who often are left feeling helpless that they can do something to make a difference and help their loved ones right here at home.

County: Okaloosa FL, USA 

School: Okaloosa County Blended School

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Braced with the simple truth “everybody should have a home”, Hannah is a child whose dedication to helping the homeless is creating awareness of their plight and raising funds for their needs around the world. Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1996, Hannah is by all accounts a regular little girl. Her zest for life extends to her love of people, nature, writing and drawing. She is the published author of Ruby’s Hope, a beautifully written and illustrated children’s story that inspires hope and caring, and empowers its readers to get involved and “make change” at any age. When Hannah was 5, she saw a man eating out of a garbage can on a frozen winter day. Hannah was immediately filled with sadness and questions. “Why, why, why?” she asked. “If everyone shared what they had, could that cure homelessness?” Since that defining moment, Hannah has learned about hunger and homelessness. Where society sees a problem, Hannah sees a person.

City: Winnipeg MB, Canada 

School: Unspecified

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I came across this wonderful (Kids Are Heroes) website and story a few weeks ago from a link that was sent to me. My daughter Mia who is 5 years old overheard the news cast that was playing and she had a lot of questions. I explained to her what the website was, and what a good deed meant. On her own she thought of helping a man on our street who had a brain bleed and has been left paralyzed. She said "Mamma, we could help Mr. Doug!" We thought together we could plant flowers for him, so we did. Since that day she thinks of something every week that we could do to help him. This week it's washing his windows. So I just wanted to say thank you for this great thing you've passed on to her. It has been a great opportunity to teach her compassion and doing on to others.

City: Burlington ON, Canada 

School: Pauline Johnson Preschool

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Emily has set up a program where she donates boxes full of items to cheer children up that are in the hospital. Her brother suffered a stroke before he was born, and she knows how sad hospitals can be. She also insisted that if the hospitalized child has any siblings they should get a box too. Please see her web site. You can read more about her brother here.

County: Denton TX, USA 

School: Roanoke Elementary

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Alana Ethridge, a 12-year-old student, actress and philanthropist, is best known from season one of "Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader." What makes her a Hero is that she has taken her celebrity and created a foundation called Alana’s Achievers, to help young kids between the ages of 4 and 16 develop positive goals in life and more importantly, help them work towards achieving their dreams.

Alana's Achievers focuses on the importance of a good education and healthy lifestyle by promoting the benefits of a solid education, healthy eating habits and an active life that includes fitness. Kids will be rewarded for keeping their grades up, having perfect attendance, and good citizenship. Alana speaks from the heart when she shares the importance of Alana’s Achievers with others, “Whatever is in our power to make their journey a little bit easier, whether it monetary or mentorship we hope to play a big part in their road to their personal stardom. I have been very fortunate to be able to pursue my dream to be an actress, my career has provided me the opportunity to have been cast a hit TV show, and meet many famous people, gone to really cool events, and given back to my community. None of this would have ever been possible without the support and love from my family and friends.”

County: San Diego CA, USA 

School: Unspecified

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After learning about the human rights violations that were happening to girls in Afghanistan, Alaina Podmorow decided to make a difference. Alaina, nine years old at the time, started an organization called Little Women for Little Women in Afghanistan. Since then, she has been fundraising to educate Afghan girls. Alaina's dream was to band together with other youth to raise awareness and raise money. Today Little Women have raised over $100,000 and are busy spreading the word that education=peace.

City: Winfield BC, Canada 

School: Unspecified

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