Raoul Wallenberg: Saviour of Hungary's Jews
by Jonathon Van MarenI first heard of Raoul Wallenberg when I was visiting Israel in the summer of 2008. I had just spent a gut-wrenching morning inside Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust memorial. It was...
View ArticleEdith Cavell: The Nurse Who Gave It All
by Jonathon Van Maren“I can’t stop while there are lives to be saved.”This statement has been uttered from the lips of countless heroes throughout history, heroes who realized that their fellow human...
View ArticleArland Williams: The Man In The Water
by Alanna GomezSometimes we have the idea, perhaps subconsciously, that heroes are a rare sort of breed. We mistakenly think that only truly exceptional people can be a hero. We think of someone like...
View ArticleMinnie Vautrin: The Woman Who Would Not Leave Nanking
by Jonathon Van MarenIn the history of the 20th Century, there are few events quite as infamous as the 1937 Rape of Nanking. Iris Chang’s 1997 book The Rape of the Nanking exposed and immortalized the...
View ArticleBetty Anne Waters: A Conviction Like No Other
by Stephanie GrayShe became a lawyer to fight only one case. And after she won it, she returned to her job at a pub.Betty Anne Waters’ impetus for becoming a lawyer was anything but ordinary. Her...
View ArticleWilliam Proxmire: The Man Who Fought Genocide
by Alanna Gomez“Perseverance is a great element of success. If you only knock long enough and loud enough at the gate, you are sure to wake up somebody.” Henry Wadsworth LongfellowIt may come as a...
View ArticleImmaculee Ilibagiza: The Woman Who Forgave
by Stephanie GrayMark Twain once said, "Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it."Those words aptly capture the spirit of Rwandan-genocide survivor Immaculee...
View ArticleA Tribute to Jojo Ruba
By Stephanie Gray2001 was the year Jojo Ruba and I met. It was also the year we started CCBR. And it just so happened that “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring” was released in theatres...
View ArticleLiz Murray: An Addict's Daughter
by Alanna GomezFor those who live in a big city, seeing homelessness is almost a daily occurrence. A person’s response to this tragedy is often an internal struggle-- if I give this person my change,...
View ArticleRwandbruindi Enoch: Rwandan Hero
by Jonathon Van MarenThere is often the tendency when writing about heroes of the past and present to focus on men and women of such stature that the greatness of their deeds seems out of reach to...
View ArticleKim Carpenter: A Man Of His Word
By Stephanie GrayHow far would you go to be at the bedside of a loved one who's in critical condition—dying, really, from a brutal car accident? How far would you go—or could you go—if you yourself had...
View ArticleSt. Maximilian Kolbe: He Gave His Life So Another Might Live
by Stephanie GrayHe was 47. The other man was 41. The latter man would go on to live for 53 more years, because of the former man who went on to live for only a couple more weeks.Maximilian and...
View ArticleThea Jarvis: Mother To Many
by Alanna Gomez"I am only one; but still I am one. I cannot do everything; but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that I can do."...
View ArticleRazia Jan: A Ray of Hope
by Alanna GomezIt isn't easy being an advocate for a girl's right to education when the Taliban are around. Just a few short months ago Malala Yousafzai, a 14-year-old girl from Pakistan was attacked...
View ArticleNarayanan Krishnan: The Chef of India's Destitute
In 2002, Narayanan Krishnan was at the top his career as a chef. Cooking for the Taj Group of Hotels in Bangalore, Krishnan made a healthy salary, won multiple awards, and was in the running for elite...
View ArticleAlbert Goering: The Brother Who Fought the Nazis
by Jonathon Van MarenThe name “Goering” instantly brings to mind the unarguably evil and grotesquely overweight Hermann Goering, founder of the Gestapo, leader of the Luftwaffe, and arguably second in...
View ArticleSomaly Mam: Fighting Sex Trafficking in Cambodia
by Alanna GomezSomaly Mam is a dedicated, courageous, beautiful woman. She is invited to speak on television, at conferences, has been featured in documentaries and receives awards from around the...
View ArticlePhilly Mayer: An Ordinary Child with an Extraordinary Attitude
by Alanna GomezPhilly Mayer loves to swim. If he had his druthers, he’d probably be in the pool all day. Now, many kids love to swim but for Philly, being in the water gives him the rare opportunity to...
View ArticleA Review of 42
by Alanna Gomez“You want a player who doesn't have the guts to fight back?”“No. I want a player who's got the guts not to fight back.”(Warning: Plot Spoilers Ahead)I've never been very interested in...
View ArticleEdna Adan: Maternal Health Activist
by Alanna GomezOne of the most dangerous places to be pregnant is the small, unrecognized country of Somaliland in South East Africa. Women there have a 1/12 chance of dying in childbirth during their...
View ArticleZach Sobiech: The kid who went down fighting...and didn't really lose
by Alanna GomezZach Sobiech passed away on Monday. He was 18 years old. Before he died, he set off on a mission to let everyone know that “you don't have to find out you are dying to start living.” In...
View ArticleDon Pino: "What if someone did something?"
by Alanna GomezIn Palmero, Sicily, the question, “And what if somebody did something?” is spray painted all over the city.It was a question posed often by Don Giuseppe “Pino” Puglisi, who never tired...
View ArticleJack Twyman: Teammate of the Year
by Alanna GomezHall-of-Famer and six-time NBA All Star Jack Twyman left an impressive on the court record, and a remarkable personal legacy, when he passed away last month. A graduate of the University...
View ArticleDanielle Gletow: Fairy Godmother to America’s Foster Children
by Alanna GomezWhile many lament the state of the foster care system, few do anything about it. Few believe they can do anything about it. Danielle Gletow and her foundation, One Simple Wish, prove...
View ArticleGladys Alyward: The Virtuous One
by Alanna GomezA person should consider their life well spent if they have made some substantial contribution to helping others. We consider people to be heroic when they have done something...
View ArticleInspiration from Atticus Finch
by Catherine Shenton“I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It’s when you know you’re licked before you begin but you begin...
View ArticleThe Banality of Heroism: Le Chambon-sur-Lignon
by Alanna GomezOne of two entire communities to be named to as Righteous Among the Nations by the State of Israel, the French village of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon, has been honored with the title to...
View ArticleHow Amy Carmichael changed the world
by Justina Van Maren“If I am afraid to speak the truth lest I lose affection, or lest the one concerned should say, ‘You do not understand’, or because I fear to lose my reputation for kindness; if I...
View ArticleGianna Beretta Molla: Loving to the End
By Emily RyznarLiving in a world where women are much too used to looking for love in all the wrong places, Saint Gianna Beretta Molla offers women an example of genuine love that can only be found in...
View ArticlebeINSPIRED: Stanislawa Lesczynska
By: Alanna GomezIn the late stages of my current pregnancy, I’ve been spending more and more time with my midwives. They are supportive, encouraging and I always appreciate their advice and expertise....
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