People Who Made a Difference

[Janice]

Can you name someone, who through tragedy or adversity in their lives or others, have championed a cause and brought about public awareness?

John Walsh, host of America's Most Wanted, is a perfect example. After his son Adam was murdered over 20 years ago, he turned his grief into a mission to bring criminals to justice.

Victoria Principle has been a spokesperson for the Arthritis Foundation for many years. Both her parents are afflicted with the disease.

Locally, Ted Williams, Red Sox legend, campaigned tirelessly for The Jimmy Fund, a children's cancer foundation.

[Penny Lane]

Shelley Fabares brought Alzheimer's to the forefront after experiencing it with her mother. I personally have lost 1 close friend and a relative to this terrible disease. Hopefully more research will be done to cure this. Especially since Ronald Reagan's death from it.

[Janice]

Before her death, Princess Diana was very involved with ridding countries of dangerous land mines.

Paul McCartney and his wife Heather have taken on the same cause.

Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (MADD) was formed in 1980 when Candy Lightner's daughter Cari was killed by a drunk driver. Her outrage sparked her activism which created MADD. Today, it is the largest crime victims' assistance organization in the world with more than 3 million members and supporters.

[Brad]

Michael J. Fox has done wonderful things with his time for people with Parkinson's Disease.

Michael was diagnosed with Parkinson's in 1991, but didn't go public with it until 1998.

http://www.michaeljfox.org

Montel Williams is doing similar things for people with Multiple Sclerosis.

Montel was diagnosed with MS in 1999.

http://www.montelms.org

[Hollow]

We've got to work for a better future, we've got to join hands for tomorrow
Take the first step and you will see the future begins with you and me
We can start to make a difference if we want it for our children
Recycle that can and plant that tree, 'cause the future begins with you and me

We've got to work for a better future, we've got to join hands for tomorrow
Take the first step and you will see the future-

Dude, wait hold on. Wait a second. This is gay. This is really gay. Yeah, this is even gayer than all the men getting in a big pile and having sex with each other. Okay, sorry, my bad, everyone back in the pile. Back in the pile everyone! We're going back to the pile. Jump in! Come on, everybody! Never mind, we're going back to the pile! Took ur jurb!

[PZelda]

Ryan White worked hard to raise awareness for AIDS after he was first diagnosed w/ AIDS in December of 1984. He was VERY active (and extremely famous for it too) in the awareness for AIDS up until he passed away on April 8, 1990.

I've read his biography a TON of times, and I ALWAYS cry every time I read it. What a brave guy. :crying: He was only my age - 18 - when he finally passed away. He'd just became a teen when he was diagnosed w/ AIDS in 1984.

I strongly suggest you guys read his biography.

[Janice]

Originally posted by Miss Vicki
Ryan White worked hard to raise awareness for AIDS after he was first diagnosed w/ AIDS in December of 1984. He was VERY active (and extremely famous for it too) in the awareness for AIDS up until he passed away on April 8, 1990.

Ryan's story was very tragic. I remember Elton John befriended him.

Paul Michael Glaser of Starsky and Hutch lost a lot to AIDS.... both his wife and daughter died from the disease. His late wife Elizabeth did a lot for the cause.

From imdb:
Mini biography
Wife Elizabeth received HIV-tainted blood in a 1981 transfusion and unwittingly passed it on to their two children. Elizabeth became a fervent AIDS activist and spoke on AIDS at the 1992 Democratic convention. Daughter, Ariel, died at age 7 of AIDS in 1988. Son, Jake, is HIV-positive.

Wife Elizabeth was the founder of the Pediatric AIDS Foundation.

[Skywalker]

I think the saddest movie I've ever seen was the Ryan White Story.

[Brad]

I read Ryan White's autobiography when I was about thirteen. It moved me quite a bit. It was the first biography I was ever enthralled by.

What that boy went through was awful. He was very brave, though. He helped America realize that anyone could get AIDS.

In his book, Ryan writes about how he befriended people like Elton John (mentioned above) and John Mellencamp, who, like Ryan, was from Indiana. Ryan was a big John Mellencamp fan.

If I remember right, one day John bought Ryan a CD player (which weren't cheap in the mid-'80s) and some CDs to keep him company in the hospital. That was very cool of him.

Elton was just beginning his outspoken activism for AIDS victims when he met Ryan. I was moved when I read how Elton played "Skyline Pidgeon" at Ryan's funeral.

Thanks for bringing him up, Allison. You don't hear his name tossed around too much anymore.

Here (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0451173228/qid=1088319318/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/102-0006620-8912119?v=glance&s=books) is a link to his autobiography. Highly recommended.

[PZelda]

Originally posted by Janice
Ryan's story was very tragic. I remember Elton John befriended him.

Paul Michael Glaser of Starsky and Hutch lost a lot to AIDS.... both his wife and daughter died from the disease. His late wife Elizabeth did a lot for the cause.

From imdb:
Mini biography
Wife Elizabeth received HIV-tainted blood in a 1981 transfusion and unwittingly passed it on to their two children. Elizabeth became a fervent AIDS activist and spoke on AIDS at the 1992 Democratic convention. Daughter, Ariel, died at age 7 of AIDS in 1988. Son, Jake, is HIV-positive.

Wife Elizabeth was the founder of the Pediatric AIDS Foundation.

I remember that. I remember Ryan never wanted to be famous because he was sick...but it happened anyway. And he got AIDS from a tainted blood transfusion as well. :(

Originally posted by jpnoyes
I think the saddest movie I've ever seen was the Ryan White Story.

I never saw it -- I want to see it so I can see how they described his life...

Originally posted by AKA
I read Ryan White's autobiography when I was about thirteen. It moved me quite a bit. It was the first biography I was ever enthralled by.

What that boy went through was awful. He was very brave, though. He helped America realize that anyone could get AIDS.

In his book, Ryan writes about how he befriended people like Elton John (mentioned above) and John Mellencamp, who, like Ryan, was from Indiana. Ryan was a big John Mellencamp fan.

If I remember right, one day John bought Ryan a CD player (which weren't cheap in the mid-'80s) and some CDs to keep him company in the hospital. That was very cool of him.

Elton was just beginning his outspoken activism for AIDS victims when he met Ryan. I was moved when I read how Elton played "Skyline Pidgeon" at Ryan's funeral.

Thanks for bringing him up, Allison. You don't hear his name tossed around too much anymore.

Here (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0451173228/qid=1088319318/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/102-0006620-8912119?v=glance&s=books) is a link to his autobiography. Highly recommended.

I was the same age as you when I first began to read Ryan's autobiography. He went through soooo much hard times...Nobody would accept him after he got diagnosed w/ AIDS. They were all afraid he would give them AIDS too and they kicked him out of public school, so he had no choice but to be homeschooled. It finally got so bad that his family had to leave Kokomo (where they lived) and live in Cierco, where he was finally accepted there.

I just could NOT imagine living through what he lived through. I said it before, I'll say it again....What an extremely brave guy. :(

I've always been very fascinated by Ryan since I first began to read his book - his legacy deserves to live on and he is one of the major reasons we know so much about AIDS today.

[Janice]

A few years old, but I think this thread has potential.

:bump

[Janice]

http://i.imdb.com/Photos/Events/3903/CurtSchill_Grani_6583672_400.jpg

Shonda Schilling, wife of Red Sox pitcher, Curt Schilling, is a skin cancer and melanoma survivor. She founded SHADE in 2002 after her successful battle against malignant melanoma.

The SHADE Foundation’s mission is to Protect, Educate, Encourage, and Implement appropriate sun safety policies to assist schools in developing and implementing a program to ensure all children spend their days in a SunWise environment.


http://www.shadefoundation.org/ (http://www.shadefoundation.org/)

[coffield3]

Michael J. Fox has done wonderful things with his time for people with Parkinson's Disease.

Michael was diagnosed with Parkinson's in 1991, but didn't go public with it until 1998.

http://www.michaeljfox.org

Montel Williams is doing similar things for people with Multiple Sclerosis.

Montel was diagnosed with MS in 1999.

http://www.montelms.org

I agree there!!

[catlover79]

I totally agree with John Walsh. I always think that whenever I see AMW.

Lou Gehrig brought awareness to the horrible disease he suffered, ALS. Another man decades later brought his own battle to the forefront, Michael Zaslow of the soap opera Guiding Light. He was fired (despite being very popular AND an Emmy-winner), but he and his wife worked tirelessly with various charities and fund-raisers. I HIGHLY recommend their book, Not That Man Anymore.

ALS research has been a cause close to my heart since my grandfather was diagnosed in March 2001 and passed away in November 2002. :( I have no words to describe how awful that disease is. Anything I can do to contribute to finding a cure, I will gladly do so.

[Janice]

I totally agree with
Monika, why don't you tell us about the late Dick York's passionate cause. He was a wonderful man, worrying about others, while dealing with his own poor health. :(

[catlover79]

Monika, why don't you tell us about the late Dick York's passionate cause. He was a wonderful man, worrying about others, while dealing with his own poor health. :(
Oh yes! Despite financial collapse and the failure of his own health, Dick York still remained kind, upbeat and always willing to help the homeless and hungry. I can't do him justice - I recommend his memoir which can be found at this website: http://newpathpress.com! It's unlike any other celebrity autobiography you will ever read. :nod:

[Janice]

Oh yes! Despite financial collapse and the failure of his own health, Dick York still remained kind, upbeat and always willing to help the homeless and hungry. I can't do him justice - I recommend his memoir which can be found at this website: http://newpathpress.com! It's unlike any other celebrity autobiography you will ever read. :nod:
A wonderful, selfless man. Here are a couple of Dick York's quotes.

"You know, three whales get in trouble and people from all over volunteer to help. Wouldn't it be wonderful if one old has-been actor with a hose up his nose could help millions?"

"I have done more in this chair here then I could have ever done in Hollywood."

[catlover79]

A wonderful, selfless man. Here are a couple of Dick York's quotes.

"You know, three whales get in trouble and people from all over volunteer to help. Wouldn't it be wonderful if one old has-been actor with a hose up his nose could help millions?"

"I have done more in this chair here then I could have ever done in Hollywood."
Through it all, he was married to the same woman for over 40 years. He and Joan (or Joey, as he called her) were the epitome of the wedding vows: through good times and bad, sickness and health, richer and poorer, they were happy and in love through it all. :love:

[Janice]

Gotta give major props to Bono for his humanitarian work.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/e0/TIME_cover_Persons_of_the_Year_2005.jpg/140px-TIME_cover_Persons_of_the_Year_2005.jpg (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:TIME_cover_Persons_of_the_Year_2005.jpg)

Humanitarian work

In a 1986 interview with Rolling Stone magazine Bono explained that he was motivated to become involved in social and political causes by seeing one of the benefit shows staged by Monty Python's John Cleese and producer Martin Lewis for human rights organization Amnesty International in 1979. "I saw 'The Secret Policeman's Ball' and it became a part of me. It sowed a seed..." In 2001 Bono arranged for U2 to videotape a special live performance for that year's Amnesty benefit show. Introducing the performance, Bono referred to The Secret Policeman's Ball as "a mysterious and extraordinary event that certainly changed my life..."

Bono and U2 performed on Amnesty's Conspiracy Of Hope tour of the United States in 1986 alongside Sting. U2 also performed in the Band Aid and Live Aid projects organised by Bob Geldof. In 1984, Bono sang on the Band Aid single "Do They Know it's Christmas?/Feed the World" (a role that was reprised on the 2004 Band Aid 20 single of the same name). Geldof and Bono later collaborated to organise the 2005 Live 8 project where U2 also performed.

Since 1999, Bono has become increasingly involved in campaigning for third-world debt relief and raising awareness of the plight of Africa including the AIDS pandemic. In the past decade Bono has met with several influential politicians including United States President George W. Bush and Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin.[28] During a March 2002 visit to the White House, after President Bush unveiled a $5 billion aid package, he accompanied the President for a speech on the White House lawn. He stated, "This is an important first step, and a serious and impressive new level of commitment. ... This must happen urgently, because this is a crisis." In May of that year, Bono took US Treasury Secretary Paul H. O'Neill on a four-country tour of Africa. In 2005 Bono spoke on CBC Radio alleging Prime Minister Martin was being slow about increasing Canada's foreign aid.

Bono spoke in advance of President Bush at the 54th Annual National Prayer Breakfast, held at the Hilton Washington Hotel on 2 February 2006. In a speech peppered with biblical references, Bono encouraged the care of the socially and economically depressed. His comments included a call for an extra 1% "tithe" of the United States' national budget. He brought his Christian views into harmony with other faiths by noting that Christian, Jewish, and Muslim writings all call for the care of the widow, orphan, and stranger. Bono continued by saying much work is left to be done to be a part of God's ongoing purposes.

Debt, AIDS, Trade, Africa was established in 2002 by Bono and Bobby Shriver, along with activists from the Jubilee 2000 Drop the Debt Campaign. Some of DATA's goals are to eradicate poverty and HIV/AIDS in Africa. DATA encourages Americans to contact senators and other legislators and elected officials to voice their opinions.

In early 2005, Bono, his wife Ali Hewson, and New York-based Irish fashion designer Rogan Gregory launched the socially conscious line EDUN in an attempt to shift the focus in Africa from aid to trade. EDUN's goal is to use factories in Africa, South America, and India that provide fair wages to workers and practice good business ethics to create a business model that will encourage investment in developing nations.

Product Red is an initiative begun by Bono and Bobby Shriver to raise money for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Bobby Shriver has been announced as the CEO of Product Red, whilst Bono is currently an active public spokesperson for the brand. Product Red is a brand which is licensed to partner companies such as American Express, Apple Computer, Converse, Motorola, The Gap and Giorgio Armani. Each company will create a product with the Product Red logo and a percentage of the profits from the sale of these labelled products will go to the Global Fund.

In December 2006, Bono was awarded an honorary knighthood by the Queen of Britain, at the British Embassy in Dublin for "his services to the music industry and for his humanitarian work", KBE

Bill Gates, Bono, and Melinda Gates on the cover of TIME Magazine.In 2004 Bono was awarded the Pablo Neruda International Presidential Medal of Honour from the Government of Chile.

Bono was a nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003, 2005 and 2006.

Bono is the only person in history to be nominated for an Academy Award, Golden Globe, Grammy, and Nobel Peace Prize.

Time named Bono one of the "100 Most Influential People" in their May 2004 special issue, and again in the 2006 Time 100 special issue.

In 2005 Bono was named by Time as a Person of the Year along with Bill and Melinda Gates."The Good Samaritans", Time Magazine, 26 December.

In 2005 he received the Portuguese Order of Liberty for his humanitarian work.

Bono was named in the United Kingdom's 2007 New Years Honours List as an honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire. He was formally granted knighthood on 29 March 2007 in a ceremony at the residence of British Ambassador David Reddaway in Dublin, Ireland.

He is listed at #86 on 100 Greatest Britons, a poll conducted by the general public. Bono was one of four Irish people on the list; the others being Bob Geldof, Ernest Shackleton and The Duke of Wellington.

Bono received the NAACP Image Award's Chairman's Award in 2007.

On May 24, 2007, the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia announced that Bono will receive the Philadelphia Liberty Medal on September 27, 2007 for his work to end world poverty and hunger.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bono

[Janice]

Through it all, he was married to the same woman for over 40 years. He and Joan (or Joey, as he called her) were the epitome of the wedding vows: through good times and bad, sickness and health, richer and poorer, they were happy and in love through it all. :love:
Here's an early movie shot of Joey. They had five kids. A very devoted couple, you're right.

http://www.bewitched.net/flmfaxs.jpg

[catlover79]

^ I actually wrote to Mrs. York a couple of years ago and got her autograph!!! :lol: Not too long after, I wrote Bill Asher and got his autograph too. They are now side by side in my autograph album - the real-life spouses of Samantha and Darrin!! :D

[Shine]

I don't think that someone has to be famous to make a difference. Nor does someone have to do groundbreaking things to make a difference in the world.

During World War II, Oskar Schindler saved many, many Jewish lives just by doing little things like providing them with work, food and water. There are millions of Jewish people now alive thanks to the kind acts of Mr. Schindler.

I think that we all can make a difference in this word by being good people, good sons and daughters, good brothers and sisters and good friends. :)

[Lex Luthor]

Princess Diana

http://www.greatdreams.com/dicomb.gif

Diana's philanthropic legacy has inspired many to give to charitable causes. At the time of her death, thousands of Americans responded to raise more than two million dollars in charitable gifts. The Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund (U.S.) was created as a way of continuing Diana's work in the United States. To date the fund has contributed $4 million to forty-two youth driven groups (The Diana, Princess U.S. 2003). Diana made philanthropic work glamorous again, especially among the rich and famous.

Not only did she raise millions of dollars for many causes benefiting the sick and the poor, but she also gave of her time and herself. Many examples exist of Diana's personal visits to homeless shelters and leprosy wards, of her physically touching those with HIV/AIDS or sitting with children dying of cancer. She was known to take her sons, Princes William and Harry, with her to poverty-stricken areas of South London to meet homeless people camped in cardboard shelters. She ministered to the children and adult victims of unretrieved landmines. To outsiders, her life began in a fairytale fashion; yet, she rose to demonstrate to the world that one can overcome adversity and leave a meaningful legacy. She restored a sense of mission and humanity in a stodgy institution, the monarchy of England.

[Lex Luthor]

Michael J. Fox has done wonderful things with his time for people with Parkinson's Disease.

Michael was diagnosed with Parkinson's in 1991, but didn't go public with it until 1998.

http://www.michaeljfox.org

Montel Williams is doing similar things for people with Multiple Sclerosis.

Montel was diagnosed with MS in 1999.

http://www.montelms.org

2 of the best

[Sharop]

Steve Irwin - conservation, rescuing/preserving animals.

[dawsongirl]

I know people may not like them, but Brad and Angelina do a lot of charitable work.

I was thinking Joanne Woodward did to...earth conservation. And her husband has his food line for charity.