Order of the Starfish

An older man was walking along the seashore just after a storm had passed.  He was marveling at all of the shells, kelp and other ocean debris that had been deposited on the sand.  Up ahead he saw a young girl repeatedly stooping to pick up something, run into the surf and throw whatever it was that she picked up as far out into the sea as she could.  As he came closer, she made many trips into the surf.

When he approached he asked, "Little girl, what are you doing?"

"I'm saving starfish," she said, not adding "obviously" to her reply.

"But," the man said, with the wisdom of his years, "there are so many of them washed up on the shore. How can you make a difference?"

"Well, the sun will be out soon. And one thing I know," she replied, picking up another and running and tossing it into the ocean, "is I made a difference to THAT one."

How often do we notice something we think should be changed but, in our resignation to it being "just the way it is", we don't stop to lend a hand, we don't contribute what we can to making the situation a bit better, no matter how insignificant that help or that change might be?  Below you will find the stories of people that have chosen to lend a hand, to make a difference, to help lift the lives of others in some, perhaps, "insignificant" way. If you know of someone that has made a difference in someone else's life, please submit their names and their stories to Starfish.