Community Corner

Feeling a Bit Down? Here Are Local Folks to Help Inspire You

Yes, everyday life can be a challenge. Need some inspiration from those who "climbed a mountain?"

Is daily life really so tough? 

Well, yes, it can be. 

Here, though, is to keeping things in perspective. For more than a month now, Patch and Grape-Nuts have teamed up to present stories about your neighbors - neighbors who have faced challenges that would seem insurmountable to many of us.  

But not to the people we've featured in this series, Journeys. 

And, so, here they are again. Great stories shared to inspire. Take a look at what these people have faced. Then click on the story to see their responses. And, feel better about things.     

• Busy Red Cross Communications Director Focuses On Family

Red Cross Regional Communications Director Sam Kille has his hands full. In this responsibility-filled position, Kille oversees the organization's media relations and serves as a spokesperson for various events and in times of crisis, and also handles their social media efforts. But for Kille, setting the right example for his children is equally as important.

• A Voice For the Community

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Claudia Borecky has done a lot for the town of Hempstead and the Long Island community in general. Most recently, Borecky spoke out against Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano's plan to privatize the sewage system. But as president of the North and Central Merrick Civic Association, such actions often come with the job. Borecky works nonstop to tackle anything that she feels would be detrimental to her community, and she doesn't give up easily. 

• Turning A Near Tragedy Into A Positive For Others

Find out what's happening in Patchoguewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

When Clint Greenbaum’s son Jake was only 3 months old, he and his wife, Elisa, got the news that no parents should ever have to hear — their baby had a malignant brain tumor. In the years that passed, Jake, now 21 years old and unable to speak, developed a love of baseball games — something that inspired Greenbaum to pay his good fortune forward by co-founding of Seats of Dreams, a national nonprofit launched in 2012 that gives donated sports and entertainment tickets to disadvantaged, disabled or sick children.

A Gutsy Nun Spends A Lifetime Giving Back To Others

Sister Margaret Smyth is a diminutive, white haired woman with dancing eyes who looks every inch a beloved nun who’s revered by scores whose lives she’s touched with her dedication to the downtrodden. But the stories she tells are conveyed with the strength of a gutsy woman fearless in her conviction to do whatever it takes to help the unfortunate overcome obstacles and challenges.


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