Recent Past Winners

• Paula Goldberg

  

  Aired the week of 5/16/2012 - Show #1220

  Paula Goldberg has spent her life helping children with special needs through teaching and PACER, a nonprofit she co-founded. Then, in 2006 it became clear to her that the bullying in schools was out of control. She expanded her organization's programs to include a center to… More

• Blake Couvillion

  

  Aired the week of 5/9/2012 - Show #1219

  Blake Couvillion feels a deep connection to his Cajun heritage and the ways in which it ties him to the land and people in Louisiana. Then he built a home on the banks of the Bayou Teche, a winding river that stretches over 124 miles and is seeped in Cajun history. Blake saw… More

• Brad Ludden

  

  Aired the week of 5/2/2012 - Show #1218

  Brad Ludden has always had a strong connection to the outdoors. He began touring as a professional kayaker when he was 12 years old. Then, his aunt was diagnosed with cancer and after spending time teaching her how to kayak, he realized there was a real benefit and need for… More

• Sharon Straus

  

  Aired the week of 4/25/2012 - Show #1217

  After she ran a holiday food drive for her eldest son's Cub Scouts troop, Sharon became concerned about hunger in her area. She decided she wouldn’t let any kids go to bed hungry if she could help it. In 1983 Sharon started a year round food pantry out of her garage with the… More

• Carolee Hazard

  

  Aired the week of 4/18/2012 - Show #1216

  Carolee Hazard began a social network movement that started with a random act of kindness and inspired countless others. The movement started when Carolee noticed a distressed woman in the grocery store who had lost her wallet. She offered to loan the woman 207 to pay for her… More

• Sabra Wood

  

  Aired the week of 4/11/2012 - Show #1215

  Sabra was an executive who traveled extensively for business, and stayed in a lot of hotels along the way. She started this all-volunteer nonprofit in 1990 which engages her fellow business travelers and others to collect and distribute personal care items, such as hotel… More

• Floss Blackburn

  

  Aired the week of 4/4/2012 - Show #1214

  Floss Blackburn has always been drawn to animals in need. After working for a while in a no-kill shelter and seeing a truly desperate need for larger animals as well as dogs and cats, she decided to start her own program and facility to care for some of the worst cases of… More

• Dave Talbot

  

  Aired the week of 3/21/2012 - Show #1212

  When Dave Talbot was young he contracted Polio and like many who did, the disease permanently impaired his legs. So, he knows first-hand how valuable and essential mobility is. While traveling in Africa to film a documentary, Dave was deeply impacted by the countless people he… More