Stories of Hope

  • Derek Richmond

    Derek Richmond was born in England in 1965 to parents of West Indian heritage. Growing up, he realized he had exceptional speed. At 20, he broke the British record for the 400 meters. He ran races as a solo performer and a member of a relay team. In 1986, his relay...

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  • Robert Garrett

    Robert Garrett was born in Maryland in 1875. He came from one of the wealthiest and most distinguished families in Maryland. At Princeton, he was a star athlete in track and field. He was competitive in both shot-put and jumping events. When Greece revived the...

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  • Girl Scout Troop 6000

    The year was 2016 and Giselle Burgess, a single mother of five children had just been evicted from the home they rented in Flushing, NY. The property was being converted into condominiums. She was employed, but her salary was not enough to afford an apartment for six....

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  • The Refugee Olympic Team

    The Parade of Nations was about to conclude at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. The stadium was abuzz as the host team, Brazil, was about to enter. But instead of the host team, ten athletes marched proudly in with a flag displaying the Olympic rings. This was the...

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  • Kindness and Bravery

    Cynthia Bissett was born in Wheeling, WV in 1954. She attended West Virginia University and earned a Master’s degree from George Washington University. She and her husband had two daughters: Stefani and Natali. When her daughter Stefani was in school, she was often...

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  • A Breath of Life

    Paul Alexander was born in 1946 in Texas. When he was six years old, he was stricken with polio. After several months in the hospital, he was sent home. His doctors didn’t feel that he could survive much longer but felt that his last days should be spent with his...

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  • The Right Stuff at Age 90

    Edward Dwight, Jr. was born in 1933 in Kansas. His father was a baseball player for the Kansas City Monarchs in the Negro leagues. As a child, he was an example of why the concept of left brain/right brain is not valid. He was fascinated with flight and mechanically...

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  • The Last 15 Meters

    All of us have had the experience of being challenged to do something we know we would fail at. How do you maintain hope in such cases? To answer that essential life question, imagine that you are Eric Moussambari from Equatorial Guinea. The year is 2000 and you are...

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  • Joseph Barrow

    Joseph (Joe) Barrow was born in 1914 in Alabama. His grandparents had been slaves. Joe had difficulty speaking and said very little until he was 6 years old. His father was institutionalized when Joe was 2, so he never really knew his biological father. When his...

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  • It Is Well With My Soul

    Horatio Spafford was born in 1828 in New York. He was a lawyer by profession and a real estate investor. He was married in 1861 and had four daughters. The first of many tragedies to strike Horatio was the Great Fire of Chicago. It destroyed properties that Horatio...

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