Hometown Everyday Heroes
What is a hero? Is it someone blessed with incredible talents who saves the world in fantastic ways? Certainly. Can it also be a neighbor, friend or family member that changed the life of one or two individuals in ways that the rest of the world knows nothing about? Absolutely! Those heroic acts of everyday folks are the inspiration behind the Hometown Everyday Heroes Project. This book(s) contains short stories of single acts of heroism. We hope to inspire others to act in heroic ways to impact the lives of their friends and neighbors for good. Please consider contributing to the Hometown Everyday Heroes Project. An introduction and submission guidelines are below.
Authors Carol Green and Ryan Hulbert, Ph.D. have contracted with [Name of Publisher] to be the editors and partner with communities to produce uplifting books for each community entitled “Hometown Everyday Heroes.” Your community is invited to be part of this book series. The purposes of these books are to: • Increase awareness of the frequent small acts of kindness and service done in your community area • Give recognition to the unsung individuals performing those acts • Raise awareness of positivity in a world where negativity is mostly highlighted • Instilling hope in young people and enhancing their vision of also being contributors to their families and communities These stories are not life stories, but short descriptions of a specific good deed that a community member did which made the community a better and more caring place to live.
Hometown Everyday Heroes Sample Story
Warmth from a Hero
By Janet Newman
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The owner of Capitol City Heating and Cooling, Michael Murphy Sweet. In 2014, in the middle of winter, our heater went out in the middle of the night. We had no money set aside for any emergencies. I borrowed $100.00 from a friend to get someone to come look at it, hoping it would be something simple. Michael sent out his repair man and they fixed it right away. It cost $600.00 and he wouldn't take the $100.00 that night. He allowed me to make small payments until my student loans came in, when I immediately paid the bill in full.
I did start up a small emergency fund but not large enough. We have since moved to Caldwell. And wouldn't you know it. The heater here went out too, just today. We called Capitol City once again; this time Michael came to do the work himself. It turns out that it was a minor issue, but the story doesn't end there. My daughter's bathroom sink needed fixed. Michael repaired that, as well. The price of a service call was $65.00. I wanted to pay him that and more because, in my opinion, he is such an amazing person. He wouldn't take a dime! Now that, to me, is a real hero. He said he enjoyed our company and that making new friends was payment enough.
This lets me know that there is so much good out in the world. Sometimes it finds you when you least expect it too.
Hometown Everyday Heroes Application
If interested to apply for such a book in your community, the first step is to select a person to serve as a project coordinator. This person will work closely with the editors to accomplish the process of producing the book. Logical potential candidates for a project coordinator are enthusiastic persons who are part of such local organizations as a library, historical society, school, faith-based group, local government, or helping organization. The main criteria for such a coordinator is a person with a passion for helping the community and organizational skills for the task. Once a coordinator is selected and is interested, she or he submits the following simple application.
1. Community Name: ____________________________________
2. Approximate number of community members:______________
3. Coordinator Name and contact information:____________________________
4. Potential Plan for inviting community members to contribute stories (e.g., Middle School and High School English class assignments, advertisement in local newspaper, etc.)
5. Potential Sponsors of the project ($1,000 for the coordinator to accomplish the task) from one of more sponsor organizations or individuals):_____________________________________
This is the only cost to the community for the production of the book. The editor will be reimbursed by the publisher for any book sales. The coordinator will receive 20 copies of the published book to strategically distribute in the community. Sponsors and the coordinator will be acknowledged in the book.
Book format
Cover Picture (Something representative of the community. Some may want to have a contest for the cover design)
Back Cover with the following standard statement[Include that statement here] Introduction and purposes of the book
Brief history of the community
Any community traditions or annual events which help to pass on healthy values or help unify the community members
Stories for Hometown Everyday Heroes Can be living or deceased (presented in the order of their birthdates
Submissions are done electronically for ease of gathering the stories
Format of submissions
Name:_______________
Date of Birth:___________(approximate if needed)
Brief background of the person (word count limit)
Story of the specific act of kindness/service by the person(word count limit)
Picture of the person (if available)
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