odw-One Person Can Make a Difference

Pictures by Bettmann/Corbis, Hulton-Deutsch collection/Corbis, Peter Turnley/Corbis

The Power Of Love

We can do no great things; only small things with great love.
~ Mother Teresa

Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.
~Nelson Mandela

It is easy to be friendly to ones friends. But to befriend the one who regards himself as your enemy is the quintessence of true religion.
~Mahatma Gandhi

Each person must live their life as a model for others.
~Rosa Parks

Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and cheer and give strength to body and soul alike.
~John Muir

Power is only important as an instrument for service to the powerless.
~Lech Walesa

Oh; if I could but live another century and see the fruition of all the work for women! There is so much yet to be done.
~Susan B. Anthony

This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness.
~Dalai Lama

It is part of the unceasing human endeavor to prove that the spirit of man can transcend the flaws of his own nature.
~Aung San Su Kyi

To make a great dream come true, the first requirement is a great capacity to dream; the second is persistence.
~Cesar Chavez

Source: Portal Publications Ltd. www.portalpub.com

History, Heroes, and Whistle Blowers. It sometimes takes a while to be recognized.

After reading this bio, you may want to search for other heroes, recognized or not, who were whistle blowers or dissenters who acted as their conscience told them to.

A sophomore at San Ramon Valley High School helps others appreciate a disabled can lead a rich life!

Christine Burke, sophomore at San Ramon Valley High School, 16-year-old lives an active life. She loves to ski, swim, play tennis and basketball as well as drive around in her Toyota Matrix and hang out at the mall with friends.

The student, born with spina bifida, relies on specialized wheelchairs and other adaptive equipment to get around. Burke and her mother, Dawn Graeme, were among about two dozen people who participated in the Piedmont Middle School Diversity Day on April 7. Other speakers included Sarah Rush, the great-granddaughter of Booker T. Washington, who was born a slave and became an educator and activist in the 19th century; Guatemalan immigrant and artist Evelyn Orantes; Jon Bernstein, the regional director for the Anti-Defamation League; and Steve Toby, a marriage and family therapist who talked about gender identity and transgender issues.

Diversity Day was designed so that students could celebrate the diversity of experiences in society. "I hope that they´re able to see their own uniqueness and their own differences, but at the same time in hearing peoples´different experiences realize our own sameness, and then carry that with them all the time -- not just in celebration of diversity here today," said Anne Smith, event organizer and middle-school teacher.

Students in Penny Sullivan´s sixth-grade class listened intently to Burke´s speech and asked several questions. Each had an opportunity to test out one of two heelchairs. Sixth grader Peter Watson, 12, said he enjoyed the Diversity Day activities. "I think it´s kind of cool because we get to see people that we usually don´t see every day, and we get to learn lots of new things," he said. Classmate Austin Myers, 11, agreed. "We get to understand how everybody´s different, but everybody´s the same inside," he said.

Burke was pleased to hear she was making an impact in helping students realize disabled people lead full and normal lives. "I want them to feel comfortable around people in chairs and realize we are approachable," she said. Graeme said her daughter benefits from participating in such educational events just as much as the students. "It reminds her that she´s much more like other kids than different from them," she said. "She is just really hoping to demystify disability so people won´t be afraid to walk up to someone and talk to them or invite them to play a game," Graeme said of her daughter. "She is learning that she can have an impact and make a difference in other peoples´ lives."