I'm a firm believer that we can't depend only on our politicians and heads of state to improve our world. It's up to civilians -- you and me -- and the businesses we create and buy from, to actually advance the public good in the world that we all share.

I realized, I can make a difference! I may not be able to do something grand, big, important by the worlds standards but I can react, behave and, most importantly, share, in a way that creates a positive outcome for someone else.

In consciously working to make my school a more accepting and inclusive place, I finally understood the power that even the smallest acts of compassion have to change an entire school and community.

I believe that the truest giving is completely anonymous. When you keep your identity a secret you make the gift that much more special and protect the recipient's dignity.

If Centre County, Pennsylvania had a child advocacy center in 1998, Jerry Sandusky's crimes would have been brought to light a decade earlier, sparing years of agony for his victims.

There is great value in our nation's discards. Not only can they be redistributed to people who couldn't otherwise afford them, but it turns out that reuse is anywhere from 4-10 times more energy efficient than recycling: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, right?

I try to help those children and their families so their poverty doesn't destroy them. I know I must do everything in my power to make sure that doesn't happen.

Frankie has trouble focusing on his homework and paying attention in school; he has fights in the schoolyard; he has serious mood swings; he has no friends. He lives with his mother and two sisters in one room in a homeless shelter. Frankie is one of our students.