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International Day of Older Persons

October 1st

MY HERO Celebrates Older Persons for their lifelong accomplishments and earned wisdom

Stories

Stetson Kennedy

By: Allen from Hellertown
Stetson Kennedy was a writer and human rights activist who endangered his life to stop racism.

Nelson Mandela

By: Jeff Trussell
Nelson Mandela was a peacemaker and a freedom hero.

Pope Francis

By: Wendy Jewell from The MY HERO Project
Pope Francis cares for the poor and works for peace.

Gao Yaojie

By: Jessica from San Diego
Gao Yaojie is a medical doctor, AIDS activist and exile from China.

Elie Wiesel

By: Madison from Alpine
Elie Wiesel wrote the famous Holocaust memoir Night.

Mother Teresa

By: Jeff Trussell
Mother Teresa devoted her life to the homeless and dying in India.

Frank Shankwitz

By: April from San Diego
Frank Shankwitz established the Make A Wish Foundation for terminally ill children.

Madeleine L'Engle

By: Karen Pritzker
Madeleine L'Engle was the award-winning author of A Wrinkle in Time inspired young people with her books.

Gerda Klein

Gerda and her husband established the Gerda and Kurt Klein Foundation to combat hunger and intolerance.
Marjory Stoneman Douglas
By: "Friends of the Everglades"<br><h5>Permission to use this material was grant...
Marjory Stoneman Douglas was instrumental in preserving the Florida Everglades.

Clara Hale

By: Jessica from Mississauga, Canada
Clara Hale was foster mother and founder of the Hale House.

John Muir

By: Harold W. Wood, Jr.
John Muir advocated preservation, feeling that natural areas promote mental health.

R. Buckminster Fuller

By: Nancy Nickerson
R. Buckminster Fuller designed the geodesic dome.
Studs Terkel
By: <h5>MY HERO STAFF</h5>
Studs Terkel The author who captured the stories of everyday people celebrates his 95th birthday.

Malick Seck

By: Seck from Dakar
Malick Seck is respected by his community and family for his humanitarian works, and his wisdom and dedication.

Dalai Lama

By: Jeff Trussell
Dalai Lama is the religious leader of Tibet and an emblem of Tibet's hopes for freedom.

Dr. Seuss

By: Allie and Kathryn from Michigan
Dr. Seuss Dr. Seuss was an artist who also wrote charming, absurd rhymes.

Vint Cerf

By: Jeanne Meyers
Vint Cerf is an Internet pioneer who passionately believes that all people should benefit from the information revolution.

Albert Einstein

By: Richard V. Duffy
Albert Einstein believed in the power of imagination.

Claire Patterson

By: Rohun from San Diego
Claire Patterson was a geochemist who calculated the age of the earth and helped ban the lead in gasoline and food cans.
Helen Suzman
By: Wyatt, Ryan, and Emily of North Eugene High School
Helen Suzman bravely stood up against apartheid and was the first female South African Minister of Parliament.

Mary McLeod Bethune

By: Audrey from Mount Joy
Mary McLeod Bethune used education to help in the fight for racial and gender equality.

Eunice Kennedy Shriver

By: Kathy Crockett
Eunice Kennedy Shriver dedicated her life to raising awareness and creating opportunities for the intellectually disabled.

Young@Heart

By: Amanda Molinaro from Irvine
Young@Heart is a chorus of senior citizens that sings classic rock and pop songs.

Dorothea Lange

By: Susannah Abbey
Dorothea Lange captured powerful moments in history with a keen eye for the human condition.

Jacques Cousteau

By: Jeff Trussell
Jacques Cousteau invented the Aqua-Lung, a predecessor to the SCUBA systems used by divers worldwide today.

Marian Wright Edelman

Marian Wright Edelman is one of the country's leading advocates for children.

Dame Cicely Saunders

By: Barbara Field
Dame Cicely Saunders founded the modern hospice to provide compassionate, holistic care to the dying.

Dr. Govindappa Venkataswamy

By: David Kemker
Dr. Govindappa Venkataswamy cares for the eyes of millions of people in India.

Abdul Sattar Edhi

Abdul Sattar Edhi founded Edhi International Foundation, and has been called the greatest living humanitarian in the world.

J.N. (Ding) Darling

By: Lauren from Charlotte
J.N. (Ding) Darling was a conservationist and cartoonist who used his art to raise awareness about the environment.

Henry Buhl

By: Luke Matthews
Henry Buhl started Project Comeback to help recovering homeless people find work.

Doris 'Granny D' Haddock

By: Clifford from Evergreen
Doris 'Granny D' Haddock was a political activist who walked across America in her ninetieth year.

Ed Grant

By: Jessie from New Haven
Ed Grant is passionate about helping others better their lives.

J.A. and Geraldine Reynolds

By: Claudia Hudson
J.A. and Geraldine Reynolds Founded 'Bruce's Garden' in NYC which honors Bruce, a victim of 9/11.

Katie Lee

Katie Lee is a passionate advocate for wilderness.

Dorothy (Mama Dot) Humbert

By: Courtney from Simpsonville
Dorothy (Mama Dot) Humbert inspired her family when she went back to college in her 70s.

Walter Mischel

By: Brooke from Mission Viejo
Walter Mischel is a respected psychologist who made important findings in the study of delayed gratification.

Helen Hayes

By: Francesca from Selden
Helen Hayes is considered the 'First Lady of American Theater.

Abbe Pierre

By: Benjamin from France
Abbe Pierre devoted his life to helping the poor and homeless in France.

Ernest Jones, Sr.

By: Lynai Barnes from New Haven, CT
Ernest Jones, Sr. is admired by his granddaughter for having ''birthed a generation of leaders.''

Chief Oren Lyons

By: Aibanrihun Lyngdoh
Chief Oren Lyons is an internationally venerated advocate for preserving biodiversity.

Sadie Dunn

By: Jemirio from Roxboro
Sadie Dunn is an inspiring role model as a teacher and great-grandmother.

Forrest Bird

By: Kiefer from Mission Viejo
Forrest Bird was a biomedical engineer who developed the respirator that extends life.

Grace Lee Boggs

By: Jane Wallace from New York
Grace Lee Boggs has advocated for marginalized people for over 70 years

Dr. Benjamin Elijah Mays

By: Rev. Calvin O. Butts
Dr. Benjamin Elijah Mays mentored Reverend Calvin O. Butts, who is now pastor of the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem, NY.

Winston Churchill

By: Riley McMahon
Winston Churchill was one of the first to recognize and warn others of Hitler's danger to freedom and human rights.

Alexander Solzhenitsyn

By: Artyom from Tselina, Russia
Alexander Solzhenitsyn was a Russian novelist and dissident who won the Nobel Prize for Literature.

Wladyslaw Szpilman

By: Adrian from Pleasant Hill
Wladyslaw Szpilman was a survivor of the holocaust but went on to perform beautiful music.

Maya Angelou

By: Susannah Abbey
Maya Angelou is a beloved female author and poet.

Dr. Hawa Abdi

By: Jane Wallace
Dr. Hawa Abdi is a Somali doctor, human rights activist and nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Duke Kahanamoku

By: Kainoa from Pukalani, Hawaii

Hadraawi (Mohamed Ibrahim Warsame)

By: Rebecca Miller
Hadraawi (Mohamed Ibrahim Warsame) is a powerful voice for peace in his country.

Ansel Adams

By: Donita from Billings, Montana
Ansel Adams was an 'artist-activist' whose photographs of nature inspired conservation.

Peter Copen

By: David Kemker
Peter Copen is the founder of iEARN (International Education and Resource Network).

Rosario Iglesias

By: Sonia Andrea from Tampico
Rosario Iglesias was 80 years old when she became a runner and started to win medals.

Oseola McCarty

By: Molly
Oseola McCarty donated her life savings so others could go to college.

Robert Moses

By: Margaret Dean
Robert Moses founded The Algebra Project, which is committed to teaching math literacy.

Her Majesty Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands

By: Wendy Jewell
Her Majesty Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands honors the bond formed between Canada and Holland during WWII with tulips.

Corrie Ten Boom

By: Maddi--14, Maine USA
Corrie Ten Boom risked her life to help hundreds of Jews escape during WWII.

Dr. Michael DeBakey

By: David Kemker
Dr. Michael DeBakey is the father of modern open-heart surgery.

Art

Granny Doris Haddock by Robert Shetterly, AWTT

By: Robert Shetterly

With age, comes wisdom

By: Nathan Smith

Mandela at Large

By: Michael Mahue Moore

Portrait of Eunice Kennedy Shriver

By: David Lenz | The National Portrait Gallery - Smithsonian Institution

Self Portrait

By: Ilse Bing

Sister Soeur Emmanuelle

By: Ben Heine

B. B. King

By: Gail G. Slockett

Mahatma Gandhi

By: Tom Block

Harriet Tubman

By: Robert Shetterly

Sojourner Truth

By: Robert Shetterly

The Road Was Paved By Us

By: Michael Mahue Moore

Film

Nobelity: Desmond Tutu

Producer: Turk Pipkin
Nobel Laureate Desmond Tutu, who won the Peace Prize in 1984, shares his inspiration with us.

Telling Jokes in Auschwitz

Producer: Sandi Bachom and Mikal Reich
Werner Reich talks about his unique outlook on life after time in a concentration camp.

i Luv Laughing Yoga

Producer: Wendy Milette & Jeanne Meyers
Dorothy finds healing and joy
with the Laguna Laughter Yoga club!
Tribute to Eunice Kennedy Shriver
Producer: The MY HERO Project
Eunice Kennedy Shriver is the founder and honorary chairperson of Special Olympics.

Feather Flowers

Producer: Meg and Lacey
A young woman talks to her hero, her grandmother, who tells her stories of her early life in Australia.

Billie Remembers

Producer: Maddie Cox
Billie remembers inspiring moments with legendary ballerina Anna Pavlova.
Our Hero Mileva
Producer: Nevenka Vuksanovic and Jelena Joksimovic
Ana Bodganovic interviews her hero, her grandmother Mileva.

The Call of the Drums

Producer: Judith Ekwalla
Doudou Ndiaye Rose is a Senegalese drummer who is committed to his culture and music.

Granny's Got Game

Producer: Angela Alford
A 70+ women's basketball team proves we are never too old to do what we love.

Through the Eye of the Needle - The Art of Esther Nisenthal Krinitz

Producer: Bruce Steinhardt
More than 40 years after the Holocaust, Esther Nisenthal Krinitz depicted her remarkable story of survival through a series of fabric collage and embroidery panels.

Father Malick

Produced by:Cheikh Seck from SENEGAL
Father Malick spent the best years of his life dedicating himself to helping people of all kinds.

Dr. Janice Clark, A Hero

Nancy Poss-Hatchl
Dr. Clark exhibits strength and creativity in the face of her disease and regains her love of life.

The Arctic Garden

Producer: Will Parinello/Tom Dusenberry
Caroline Cannon, an Inupiat indigenous leader, takes aim at offshore oil drilling that threatens her people and the biodiversity in the Arctic Sea.

Links


Organizer created on 7/21/2012 9:26:18 AM by Becky Miller

Last edited 12/26/2018 12:19:53 PM by Anthony Pouw

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