Need Some Inspiration? 5 Stories You'll Love

Life sure has a way of heaping hardships in our path.

Sometimes harnessing the success stories of others can help us accomplish great things in the face of seemingly insurmountable adversity — from the second flat tire in a week to a persistent cold to an ailing pet or a loved one lost.

Here are five stories brought to you through a partnership between Patch and Grape-Nuts in honor of the 60th anniversary of Sir Edmund Hillary’s historic ascent of Mount Everest.

Think of these stories as attempts to inspire those fighting their way up their own mountains. 

Girl Scout Builds Bathroom for Dominican Village

“When I came home, for a week, I would cry when I saw my mattress,” said Elizabeth Rosa, 15, holding back tears while talking about returning to West Caldwell from a remote village in the Dominican Republic. 

Elizabeth's compassion didn't end with her tears, however, two hundred residents from that Dominican village now have a communal bathroom thanks to the efforts of a local teenage girl seeking her Girl Scout Gold Award.

Family's Cancer Fight a Gift to Those Searching for a Cure

Linda Gannon got an unusual gift for Christmas last year: a certificate and a promise that her family would start a foundation in her name to fund research for curing the rare form of cancer that she has.

The 52-year-old has adrenal cancer, an aggressive disease that affects her adrenal glands. Only about one person in a million suffers from adrenal cancer, according to Michele Gannon, Linda Gannon's daughter and the 25-year-old president of the ACC C.U.R.E. Foundation, which was formed in Gannon's name.

Live Rock Concerts Help Feed the Hungry

For Chris Dickson and David Wagner it wasn’t enough to start a program to help increase the supplies at local food banks. Recognizing that local students might go hungry once schools were out for the weekend, their passion to help the less fortunate expanded with help from the South Orange Elks Lodge and some local rock bands.

Teen Launches Global Initiative in Memory of Caregiver

Although Matt Thekkethala may not be old enough to vote, he has already made an impact on the global community. 

Thekkethala established the Learn For Life Foundation to help educate less fortunate children in under-developed regions around the world. In memory of Katelyn “Katie” Ackerman of Lake Parsippany, a beloved caregiver who killed in an automobile accident last year, Thekkethala created a scholarship fund to honor her love for children and education.

Three-Time U.S. Soccer Olympian Continues to Expand Her Goals

At 19, Heather A. O’Reilly, was the youngest player on the Olympic roster, but she scored one of the most dramatic goals in U.S. history.  

O’Reilly, of New Brunswick, had to overcome not just her youth, but a broken fibula suffered the year before she made her first Olympic team as a midfielder.