In this section we highlight people across our world for their faith and good works. We encourage you to keep this section updated! Send us your recommendations. From stay-at-home moms, professional athletes, or even politicians (good luck with that!). Give us heroes in your life and we will post it here.

Kershaw’s mission work allows pitcher to offer Hope
Like any good mission, the Kershaws’ began with Hope. Theirs was 9 years old then, a little girl from the streets of Lusaka, the capital city of Zambia. Hope had deep brown eyes and a warm smile. That’s her right there,” Clayton Kershaw said, pointing to her picture on the cover of the book he wrote with his wife, Ellen, “Arise: Live Out Your Faith and Dreams on Whatever Field You Find Yourself from the Major Leagues to Africa.” Hope is in a sleeveless red top and lime green pants. Her head is wrapped gently, like a scarf, in a playmate’s arm. In name and spirit, Hope defied her condition. She had no parents. She had nowhere to go. She had HIV. “She just captured my heart,” Ellen said. “She was so sick. All she knew was survival.”…Read More

Italy enthralled by ship’s tale of two captains
The Coast Guard officer who ordered the captain of the capsized Italian cruise ship to go back aboard unwittingly became an instant hero on Wednesday, credited with saving the national honor on one of its darkest nights. Italy has become enthralled with the tale of two captains. One is Coast Guard Captain Gregorio De Falco, who furiously ordered the skipper of the Costa Concordia to return to his ship and oversee the rescue operations. The other is Captain Francesco Schettino – whom newspapers have branded a coward for fleeing in the face of adversity and who is now under house arrest, accused of multiple manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning ship. “Listen Schettino, perhaps you have saved yourself from the sea but I will make you look very bad. I will make you pay for this…Read More

Izenberg: With Santa Claus spirit, former Oakland Raiders star Phil Villapiano learns that miracles sometimes ring true
This is a Christmas Story … no Rudolph … no chestnuts roasting on an open fire … just the toughest Santa Claus this side of The Grinch. You don’t think so? Well, there’s a school teacher out in Bakersfield, Calif., named Brent McClanahan who is probably still walking around with Santa’s fingerprints deep within his sternum. Back in Super Bowl XI, Santa, disguised as a Jersey-born and -bred linebacker…Read More

Saddleback Church Fights Bad Economy With Free Community Services
Prompted by the nation’s economic recession reflected in its own backyard, Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., opened a center with free community services aimed at providing Orange County residents with much needed relief on Tuesday. Bestselling author and pastor Rick Warren said that in the process of his church’s food pantry serving more than 72,000 people with free groceries during the last year-and-a-half, staff members discovered that people needed help in several other areas as well. While some financial analysts have been downplaying the severity and length of the nation’s economic downturn…Read More

Braylon Edwards gave 79 students $10,000 for college
At 22 college campuses across the country, there are 79 students who may not otherwise be there if not for the generosity of Braylon Edwards. As a Cleveland Browns rookie in 2005, Edwards announced he’d give $10,000 in scholarships to 100 area eighth-graders if they could graduate high school with over a 2.5 GPA and 15 hours community service. Of the 100 who were afforded the opportunity, 79 met the criteria and have begun their first year of college…Read More

Mystery donors paying off layaway accounts for needy
Anonymous “layaway angels” are rescuing Christmas for needy families across the nation. Mystery donors are visiting stores and paying the balance on accounts that allow customers to pay for purchases over several months. Some donors ask the store to apply the money to children’s toys or clothing; they aren’t told recipients’ names. Nor do recipients learn the identities of the donors. More than 15 layaway accounts totaling almost $4,000 have been paid by strangers at a Kmart, says store manager Vic Sutherland. “It’s pretty awesome,” he says. “With the economy the way it is, you wouldn’t expect it.”…Read More

God and Robert Griffin III
Griffin was born in Japan, where his parents, U.S. Army sergeants, were stationed. The family moved to Washington state and New Orleans before settling in Copperas Cove, a small town in central Texas. Their son soon demonstrated astounding athletic skills as a track star and football player. When Art Briles became head football coach at Baylor, he persuaded Griffin to play for him. He excelled as a freshman, but his team finished 4-8. He tore up his knee early in his sophomore season, as the team again finished 4-8. Last year he led Baylor to a 7-6 record, their first winning season in years. Sometimes good guys finish first…Read More