Canadian schoolgirl Cheryl Perera has spearheaded a national young people’s movement to stop international sex-tourism. Perera has even gone undercover to help arrest sexual predators. Her nonprofit, One Child, helps rally people of all ages against the sexual exploitation of kids.
Home when commended: North America, Canada, Ontario Home now: North America, Canada, Ontario Gender: F (female) For more information, click on the Giraffe's name.
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Joe Perez and Rocky Robinson of New York NY, both emergency medical technicians, were concerned that their neighborhood didn't have an emergency response system. They set up operations on a dangerous vacant lot, using their own cars and money, and trained neighborhood teens as EMT assistants. They now have three ambulances that respond immediately to over 300 calls a month. More than 30 of the kids they've trained have gone on to paying jobs as EMTs.
Home when commended: North America, US, New York Home now: North America, US, New York Gender: M (male) For more information, click on the Giraffe's name.
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Marcey Perry of Atlanta GA reaches out to other victims of sexual abuse with a stage presentation about her own devastating experience. Marcey has also been a leader of Atlanta's Cities In Schools program for at-risk youth.
Home when commended: North America, US, Georgia Home now: North America, US, Georgia Gender: F (female) For more information, click on the Giraffe's name.
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Tyler Peterson works hard. Whether it's running errands, collecting recyclables, performing chores for senior citizens, pet sitting or shoveling snow, the diligent teenager serves his Grand Forks BC community by practicing a literal form of "free" enterprise—he does it all without charging a penny.
Home when commended: North America, Canada, British Columbia Home now: North America, Canada, British Columbia Gender: M (male) For more information, click on the Giraffe's name.
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Judy Petrucci of Lyons IL brought down the corrupt leaders of her town. Running five times for public office before she finally won a council seat, Petrucci's hard-won access to public records helped indict 76 people. When she was elected mayor, Petrucci continued the clean-up.
Home when commended: North America, US, Illinois Home now: North America, US, Illinois Gender: F (female) For more information, click on the Giraffe's name.
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Husband and wife Bud Philbrook and Michele Gran of St. Paul MN created and direct Global Volunteers, which sends North Americans all over the world to assist on community development projects during their vacations. In the program's early years, Gran and Philbrook used their home as collateral to keep the project funded.
Home when commended: North America, US, Minnesota Home now: North America, US, Minnesota Gender: M (male) For more information, click on the Giraffe's name.
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Virgil Phillips of Detroit MI started REACH (Religion, Education, Athletics, Character and Hope) to help that city's at-risk kids. Phillips puts in over 40 volunteer hours a week, tutoring and counselling after his regular job, and covers most of the program's costs from his own pocket. (See also Marcus Webster.)
Home when commended: North America, US, Michigan Home now: North America, US, Michigan Gender: M (male) For more information, click on the Giraffe's name.
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Joell Pick is one of a group of teenaged single mothers who give speeches to their peers, urging them not to make "untimely choices" about sex. Describing their own lives to show how difficult it is to be a teen raising a child, the girls of the School-Age Parent Speakers Bureau remind their peers that sex can have serious consequences. (See also Liz Beal, Tara Boomsma, Debbie Brewer, Amy Conrad, Sherry Gradel, Heather Lee, June Loomis, Kim Posthuma, Amanda Pritchard, and Becky Winker)
Home when commended: North America, US, Wisconsin Home now: North America, US, Wisconsin Gender: F (female) For more information, click on the Giraffe's name.
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Occupational therapist Cindy Pickard of Austin TX gave up her regular work to start AIDS-CARE, a program that trains and places caregivers for people with AIDS so they can continue to live at home.
Home when commended: North America, US, Texas Home now: North America, US, Texas Gender: F (female) For more information, click on the Giraffe's name.
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John Andrew Pickens of Atlanta GA set up a full time law practice whose clients are all homeless, leaving behind his lucrative career in corporate law.
Home when commended: North America, US, Georgia Home now: North America, US, Georgia Gender: M (male) For more information, click on the Giraffe's name.
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Eleanor Jackson Piel of New York City earned her law degree when women's employment opportunities were largely limited to teaching or nursing. In more than 50 years as an attorney, she defended civil rights activists and pioneered in sex-discrimination lawsuits, repeatedly taking cases she believed in, whether or not the clients could pay her.
Home when commended: North America, US, New York Home now: North America, US, New York Gender: F (female) For more information, click on the Giraffe's name.
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When she was 7, Calista Pierce began making and selling beaded bracelets, bear magnets, and frog “shelf sitters” so that people like her older brother, people with disabilities, could participate in the Special Olympics. Her classmates made fun of her, but she kept on selling her crafts, and within a few years she’d donated more than $11,400.
Home when commended: North America, US, Pennsylvania Home now: North America, US, Pennsylvania Gender: F (female) For more information, click on the Giraffe's name.
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Pima County Victim Witness Program The volunteers of the Pima County Victim Witness Program reach out to aid and comfort victims of serious crimes. The more than 50 volunteers are trained by local law enforcement agencies; each commits to be on call for at least a year.
Home when commended: North America, US, Arizona Home now: North America, US, Arizona Gender: G (group) For more information, click on the Giraffe's name.
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Truck driver Dusty Pinkerton of Flagstaff AZ has pulled the injured from precariously overturned cars, provided lifesaving emergency first aid, and twice rescued people from flaming vehicles seconds before they exploded. Pinkerton also counsels young drivers and brings anti-drug messages to truckers and to students.
Home when commended: North America, US, Arizona Home now: North America, US, California Gender: M (male) For more information, click on the Giraffe's name.
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Nancy Pocock of Toronto, Ontario, has devoted her life to peace and to aiding victims of warfare and torture. Pocock takes in refugees who arrive in Toronto with only the name "Mama Nancy" and her address on a slip of paper.
Home when commended: North America, Canada, Ontario Home now: North America, Canada, Ontario Gender: F (female) For more information, click on the Giraffe's name.
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Melissa Poe of Nashville TN spends all her afterschool time teaching people about environmental pollution. At age 10 Melissa started an environmental club at school called Kids FACE (Kids For A Clean Environment), which grew to have branches across the US and in many other countries.
Home when commended: North America, US, Tennesse Home now: North America, US, Tennesse Gender: F (female) For more information, click on the Giraffe's name.
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1 Way 2 Help
FIND GIRAFFES
Please note
We're adding stories and photos to the Giraffe Heroes database everyday. If information isn't visible yet, know that we're working on it.
YOU & THE FOUNDER
From time to time, Ann Medlock, this Project's founder, does a brief but inspiring email called Heads Up. You can check out past copies here. They're so good (and so free) we bet you'll join the Heads Up circle and send them on to friends & family.
For further wit & wisdom from Ann, check out her speeches, radio commentaries and OpEds.