Empathy for Animals Brings Out the Best in All of Us.
Temple Grandin had to overcome prejudices, ignorance and bullying on her way to becoming a leader in the field of animal behavior. Her autism became her strength, not a barrier to her success.
EMPATHY
Fighting for Compassion in Our Communities.
Yolanda Ali, wife of boxing and humanitarian legend Muhammad Ali, continues to carry the light of compassion and kindness into communities around the world.
FIGHT FOR COMPASSION
The Bond of Friendship is What Takes us to the Top.
Sir Edward Hillary and Tenzing Norgay summited Everest together. For over 50 years, neither would say who stepped atop first, preferring to share the credit.
CLIMB HIGHER
Learning how to be a better human by connecting with Muppets
Jim Henson and Jane Nebel dedicated their lives to helping us all understand our emotions and learn to work together to build stronger communities. They used Muppets to give us a sometimes comical, yet always tender, perspective on relationships.
BE YOURSELF
Wanderers Turned Wonderers.
Tobie Spears and her husband wanted to see the world. But traveling together made them realize how big a difference the little things are. Like providing a sewing machine to a village, or teaching a new way to raise vegetables. So, she founded Be Humanitarian, and the impact has outgrown even their own expectations.
Tobie Spears has always had wanderlust. As soon as she graduated from high school, she left with a friend and trekked around Europe. Read Story
WANDER. WONDER. DO GOOD.
The Feel of Language.
Louis Braille invented a language you can touch. When the son of a saddlemaker created a tactile way for blind people to read, he opened up a whole new world for millions of people, turning the page on the Dark Ages.
With the revolution of printing presses and their ability to mass produce books, newspapers and religious texts, civilization blossomed into an age of enlightenment. Read Story
TOUCHING WORDS
It’s a Jungle Out There.
Rudyard Kipling, author of the timeless story about Mowgli and his animal friends, was more than a great storyteller and Nobel Prize laureate. He was a great humanitarian, caring for soldiers, mentoring young writers and donating his resources to alleviating poverty.
The enchanting stories of Rudyard Kipling owe their imaginative settings to the place he grew up: India. Read Story
WE CAN BE BETTER
Float Like a Butterfly, Sting Like a Bee.
The legacy of Muhammad Ali is alive in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky — and his presence is bigger than ever as the Muhammad Ali Index measures and encourages compassion across the country and around the world.
Muhammad Ali changed the sport of boxing with his deft moves, unconventional strategies, jackhammer punches and mouth that always seemed to be in gear. Read Story
BE A CHAMPION
For the Love of the Game.
Simon Keith was just 21 years old when he stood at the edge of life and death: He needed a heart transplant. Soon, though, the avid soccer player from Lewes, England, was determined to put his new heart to the test. Three years after the transplant, Keith became the first heart transplant recipient to play professional sports.
A gifted soccer player, born in Lewes, England, and raised on Vancouver Island, Simon Keith spent his youth chasing a ball and a dream. But that dream came to a shattering halt when doctors delivered a devastating diagnosis: cardiomyopathy, a degenerative heart disease. Read Story
HAVE A HEART
Beyond the Game.
Willis Ward was benched on the Michigan Football squad for being Black. His teammate, Gerald Ford, stuck up for him and became his lifelong friend.
In 1934, Willis Ward was the only Black player on the University of Michigan football team. He was a very good student and an exceptional athlete. But when an opposing coach for Georgia Tech refused to play Michigan if they didn’t bench Ward, the controversy engulfed the entire campus. Read Story
START SMALL AND KEEP GOING
Slopes and Wheels.
From the cold wilderness of Alaska to the inner workings of the heart, Preston Pollard is helping kids rethink the way they approach life.
Preston Pollard grew up in Alaska. Not exactly a mecca for skateboarders. But Preston isn’t one to follow in anyone else’s footsteps. Read Story
BE MORE OF YOURSELF
Tolstoy and the Power of Kindness.
“The more intelligent a person is, the more he discovers kindness in others,” Tolstoy once wrote. In all his great works that explore the indignity and misery brought upon the human race, this one truth stands out brightest in his writing.
Leo Tolstoy, the great Russian novelist, explored the deepest workings of the human spirit. His sprawling epic, War and Peace, depicts the Napoleonic invasion of Russia through five aristocratic families. Read Story
BE SMART. BE KIND.
Disagree Better. Have More Friends. Be Happier.
Marianne Viray worked for nonprofits for years. She saw what worked and what didn’t, but at heart, something was missing. What she discovered in her research is that opportunities for people to improve their lives naturally follow when they have the skills to understand another’s perspective and work together.
Learning how to get along seems elementary to most of us. Conflict is unnatural and unwanted, but it seems to be the default when we feel threatened. If not defused, the conflict can widen, and we all suffer the consequences. Read Story
DISAGREE BETTER
The Baseball Player you’ve Never Heard of is the Player we Should All Aspire to be.
David Ross played for three MLB teams, winning two World Series, hitting a home run to cinch the championship for the improbable Cubs, and solidifying his place in sports history as a great teammate.
Many of us dream of being the hero in a baseball game. Bottom of the ninth, bases loaded, the world championship on the line. The pitch. The swing. The hit … and it’s gone! Read Story
IN EVERYTHING YOU DO, BE A GREAT TEAMMATE
Surgery Without Anesthetic?!
Before the mid-1800s, surgery was performed without painkillers. That is, if you were brave enough to even opt for surgery. Then came along William T. Morton, a dentist who was troubled by the pain his patients felt and set out to do something about it. Read Story
