I first met Sal and his nonprofit business partner Julio Madrigal at an annual fundraiser I run for Storytellers for Good. “Hi, Ms. Cara,” he said with outstretched arms and a smile filling his face. He had me at hello.

In stark contrast to four polished presenters competing for our annual pro bono video prize, the two best friends from Oakland, wearing jeans and sweatshirts, had just two fuzzy slides to explain their work. Still, their story won the crowd’s near unanimous vote for the most inspiring story.

Sal was once 400 pounds. Four hundred pounds because he was raised on fast food and practically parentless.

At age 4, he was pulled out of his father’s arms by immigration agents. Ten years later his mother, who had worked two jobs to support Sal and his sisters, was also deported to Mexico.

When I showed up to interview Sal in his dark, sparsely furnished Oakland apartment, he told me how he came to live there. “This was the only place we could afford after my dad left,” he explained. The apartment was a murder scene until Sal, in high school at the time, cleaned up himself what the cops left behind.

Taking responsibility where others fall short is what the now 20-year-old has been doing most of his life.

Sal and Julio say that, growing up in Oakland, potato chips from the local liquor store and McDonald’s french fries were the only “vegetables” they were accustomed to eating. With the help of the nonprofit Planting Justice, they tuned their fast food addictions into a passion for organic food. They now help low-income people build vegetable gardens in their backyards through the youth branch of Planting Justice: EAT GRUB (Enhancing Access To Gardens Revolutionizing Urban Backyards).

Starting EAT GRUB was for Sal part of a personal revolution. He’s since learned to cook for himself, lost 120 pounds, won a scholarship to study agricultural design in Santa Barbara this summer and joins Julio at Merritt College in Oakland this fall.

While his personal story describes nothing of the details of EAT GRUB as an organization, my decision to focus on it in the video is based on my belief that the organizations we run are in fact reflections of the people we are. When we can help people resonate with our personal stories on an emotional level, the work we do virtually explains itself. Sal’s work turning backyard plots into vegetable gardens is really what he’s been doing his whole life: digging through the rocky experiences of his life, planting seeds of positivity and nurturing what grows.

He’s now recruiting young people from around the San Francisco Bay to work with EAT GRUB because, he says, “I don’t want anyone else to go though what I went through.”

Sal saw our video when he was in Mexico visiting his mom for the first time since she was deported. I could feel his beaming smile through the phone as he described a reaction that, for me, made all my efforts worthwhile. “It was awesome Ms. Cara,” he said. “She cried and told me how proud she was of me. She could see how far I’ve come. And, to be honest, I had a couple of tears roll down my cheeks too.”

Sal is still working on losing the weight. But the story that has weighed down his body seems to have only given birth to strength. And a passion to change the world, one backyard garden at a time.

Special thanks to Storytellers for Good supporters who made this video possible (credited at the end of the video):

EAT GRUB from Storytellers For Good on Vimeo.

If you have an inspirational story to tell about an individual or group doing good deeds in your community you can nominate them for http://www.randomactsofkindness.org/RAK-Week/ Hurry there’s only a few weeks left!

Do you have an inspirational story to tell about an individual or group doing good deeds in your kind community? To celebrate Random Acts of Kindness Week in February 2012, The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation will produce three videos featuring real-life random acts of kindness by everyday people.
If you wish to nominate someone please visit http://www.randomactsofkindness.org/RAK-Week/

For more details on how you can nominate someone in your community see the
contest page here:

http://www.randomactsofkindness.org/RAK-Week/

For the next six weeks we’ll be promoting a series of inspiring stories we’ve produced about ordinary people doing extraordinarily good things. From a pair of 6 year olds who’ve raised thousands of dollars for hungry people (see video below), to a woman who inspires others with her giant laminated smile,

to a Hulk Hogan look-a-like who serves the disabled,

to a mom who collects thousands of pounds of baby clothes in her basement to distribute to those in need, we hope these stories will move and inspire you as much as they did us. We look forward to hearing your stories!

Check out our first story here:

Friday, November 4 · 6:00pm - 9:30pm

Location: Oakland Marriott City Center, 1001 Broadway, Oakland, CA

You can RSVP at the Food Justice Film Festival Facebook Page.

This event is free, but donations are appreciated.

Last week I had the rare opportunity to hang out at the finish line of the 2011 Chicago Marathon … and witness some 45,000 runners cross. There’s no better place to see the human spirit determined and alive. Some tossed arms up in triumph, some fell into the arms of a loved one, others enjoyed their own silent victory party. But, for me, nothing compared to meeting Anthony Johnson, Wahid Rashad and Issac Denson there. They’re three men whose biggest challenges in life began long before these 26.2 miles.

Before this day, Anthony had slept on streets and park benches for 13 years. Wahid went from making more than 80K a year as a mortgage broker to next to nothing. Isaac spent nearly 20 years in an Illinois correctional institution where he was sentenced at the age of 18. All had experienced some form of homelessness but got a second chance in life through a nonprofit called Back on My Feet Chicago. Back on My Feet is a 6-9 month program that teaches individuals in homeless facilities to run and also supports them with educational and job training opportunities.

As is often the case in my job as an interviewer/storyteller, these men had much to teach me. From Anthony, who recently completed his certification as an unarmed security officer, I learned what he calls his “one block at a time” approach to anything in life. “That’s what they taught us,” he said. “You start running just one block, then walking a block, then you run 2 blocks, walk two…then three.” Before he knew it he was running 5, 10, 20 miles and earned the nick name: “The Running Man.” “That’s what they call me,” he’ll tell you, “Anthony Running Man Johnson.”

Wahid is now studying to renew his mortgage broker license and leading a running team at his transitional housing facility. He didn’t let his 63 years stop him from tackling this race and says it was his tribute to Back on My Feet. “I was down and out,” says Wahid. “Back on My Feet turned all that negativity around. Just by putting one foot in front of the other my whole outlook changed.” Wahid says he’ll continue to give back through public speaking and waking up at 5am to run through rain, snow and sleet to lead his team.

On the day of our interview Issac was celebrating one year since he had been released from prison and a new job at a bank. He’s also working towards getting his Bachelor’s degree in Human Services. Hearing of his early life sleeping on floors and in bathtubs with no family support was enough to put most anyone’s life challenges in perspective. Certainly my own. When Isaac talked about running this race in honor of all the homeless and two babies he and fiancé lost just before birth a few months ago, his watery eyes met mine… and, before we knew it, we both had tears streaming down our faces. All of the sudden the line between homeless man and film producer were blurred. We were just two human being sharing a very human moment.

“I know today I’m going forward, and not back,” he said through tears. “If you don’t open your horizons you just stay in a box and won’t be anything but the size of that box. I choose to get out of the box. It won’t define me.”

Thank you Issac, Wahid and Anthony for your amazing stories… and insights that remind me of how we are all so very much the same … and how very fortunate I am to be doing this work. For more on their stories and how they fared in the big race stay tuned for the Back on My Feet film next month!

[Note: If you are interested in getting an on-film credit for this film there is still time to donate - http://spot.us/pitches/959-a-film-to-help-homeless-runners-go-the-distance]

Back in 1985 co-founder Irene van der Zande was leading a group of her two children and six of their friends on a museum trip when as stranger started following them. The man later charged at the group and threatened to take one of the girls. Irene put herself between the man and the children and, after a shouting match, he eventually ran away. The experience, which terrified both Irene and the children, motivated her to take a self defense class and think about ways she could empower others to protect themselves. Kidpower started with a few classes in 1989 and has now educated more than 2 million people. The effort to keep kids safe is now been expanded to keep everyone safe, says Irene. Kidpower programs also work with adults and people with disabilities. Their latest “One Million Safer Kids” campaign will only continue to expand their reach.

Looking back Irene, a former author, says she never imagined she’d be doing this work but the rewards have made it so worth it. Irene sees those rewards in the form of empowered kids and adults who still approach her to tell her how the skills they learned through Kidpower changed their lives.

Irene van der Zande, cofounder of Kidpower International, teaching a child safety class

For more information on the Kidpower stories we’ll be profiling and how you can contribute to Kidpower’s video campaign on Causes visit:

http://www.causes.com/campaigns/176308

Now it might seem a lot of trouble to go through to earn a mere $5 for your favorite story but, for example, if just our thirteen hundred or so Facebook supporters were to each do so that would fund one of our films and more. And it wouldn’t have cost anyone a penny. Now that’s what I call crowdfunding! This is especially great for stories like our latest Story of the Month: Help Lawrence Teens Promote What’s Good in their Hood! because the Lawrence, Massachusetts based nonprofit is youth based and most of their supporters probably can’t afford to contribute actual dollars. But what they can do is tap into a wide body of friends, acquaintances and relatives and get them to take a 5 minute survey. Get enough people to do that and those five dollars can quickly add up. And having a Storytellers For Good film to use as a promotional and fundraising tool for the future is a very nice thing to get for taking a five minute survey.

So S4G supporters, if you haven’t done so already, take 5 minutes out of your day to earn a free $5 for your favorite Storytellers For Good Story of the Month – there’s some great one’s to choose from:

September: Help Lawrence Teens Promote What’s Good in their Hood!

August: A Film to Help Homeless Runners Go the Distance!

July: A Home for Haiti’s Orphans, a Film to Help it Grow

Don’t forget to tell your friends! We’ve plenty more great stories that need telling – watch this space!

The nonprofits may have only had 3 minutes to pitch their stories, but it was the audience at the Storytellers for Good Boston Launch/Fundraiser that had the toughest job … deciding between four amazing organizations. One inspires people to give up to 90% of their income to charity, another is headed by a father whose quest to save his son from a rare disease also saved his own life. Then there was the passionate group of teens who started their own newspaper to inspire their city with stories of young people making a difference … and a yoga program that works with homeless women and victims of domestic violence.

And the winner is …

What’s Good in the Hood! WGITH (www.whatsgoodinthehood.tumblr.com) is a youth movement that aims to give the city of Lawrence an image makeover. The group of passionate and articulate teens showed up in full force and inspired the crowd with how they, through their own newspaper, blog and positive attitudes, are uplifting their city’s otherwise tarnished reputation in the media with stories of young people making a difference.

They are our next Story of the Month. Click here to see how you, along with many of our wonderful event donors, can be a part of this great story:

http://spot.us/pitches/1043-help-lawrence-teens-promote-what-s-good-in-their-
hood

The SFG Boston Launch was a great success and, for me, such a wonderful opportunity to re-united with dear friends in the city I once called home. Boston is also where the idea for Storytellers for Good was first born (See ‘Why Stories For Good?‘ ). It was there, during the last 6 months of my news contract, that I initiated a series of news stories about inspiring people that convinced me I had found my calling.

What a treat is was, 5 years later, to have the subject of the first story in that series perform at the event.
Tony DeBlois (www.tonydeblois.com) may be blind and autistic, but can play a total of 23 instruments and, as one fan described, is “a musical gift to the world.”  Thank you Tony and all my dear friends for making the event such an inspiring experience. Special thanks go to Susan Tran, Joseph Romanellli, Scott Ripley, Cara Obrien, Matt Tomlim, Allison Wilkinson and Jessica Fefferman for being a part of Team SFG and making it all flow so smoothly. We also thank our sponsors: 28 Degrees, Prana Power Yoga, Michael Moore Massage, Yoga Mandala, Life is Good, The South End Athletic Company, ZipCar, and Salon Marc Harris.

Until next time, Boston!

The art company, founded along with Hannah’s life long friends Chris Moffatt and Amir Khalil, turns personal pictures into amazing works of art. It’s what you might call inspiring storytelling in wall art form. They held a launch event last year and donated all the proceeds to Storytellers for Good and the winner of our non-profit pitch contest: Back on My Feet Chicago. So now we are FOUR friends joining forces to raise the remaining funds to tell the amazing story of six formerly homeless members of Back on My Feet Chicago who will run the Chicago Marathon October 9th!

Thank you Hannah, Chris, Amir and Back on My Feet for bringing us all together for this inspiring story.

Back on My Feet is a nonprofit organization that promotes the self-sufficiency of those experiencing homelessness by engaging them in running as a means to build confidence, strength and self-esteem. The program works with individuals living in homeless facilities and also provides unique educational and job training opportunities. And the runners are:

Domingo Perez: a member for ten months who has logged more than 600 miles. Domingo was recently hired at a non-profit agriculture business that provides paid transitional employment and job training.

Issac Denson: a member for seven months who has logged a total of 369 miles. This past spring, Issac obtained his bachelor’s degree in Human Resources from Northwestern College. Issac is running the Marathon because he wants to “show people that you can make a mistake in your life and still enjoy life doing the right thing!”

Anthony Johnson: a member for ten months and has logged over 600 miles, earning him the nickname “Running Man.” Anthony hopes to help other runners “put a pep in their step,” and recently completed his certification as an unarmed security officer.

Andy Allen: a member for six months who has logged over 250 miles. This month Andy is planning to start computer classes at Howard Area Resource Center. Andy is running the marathon to celebrate 2 years of sobriety.

Wahid Rashad: a member for ten months who has logged a total of 433 miles. Wahid is currently studying to renew his Mortgage Broker’s license and applying for full-time employment.

Javier Rodriguez: a member for eight months who has logged a total of 172 miles. Javier obtained employment at a publishing warehouse where he was referred through Back on My Feet.

Storytellers for Good and Skattered Moments hope to raise funds by early October to travel to Chicago and catch up with the runners before and after the race. We will create the film and hand the invaluable fundraising tool over to Back on My Feet to share at events, on their website, YouTube and countless other social media channels online. Click here for your opportunity to donate and be a part of this inspiring story: