Latest news with #HerooftheMonth
Associated Press
3 days ago
- General
- Associated Press
Teen Hooked on Crocheting Kindness is Awarded Kids Wish Network's Hero of the Year at Zebulon Police Department!
ZEBULON, NC / ACCESS Newswire / June 11, 2025 / Local teen Caden Hudson is an exceptional 14-year-old whose life is already profoundly filled with a sense of purpose. She has a meaningful connection with the Zebulon and Wake Forest Police Departments, helping to bring comfort to children by creating crafted with love crocheted stuffed animals for their first responders to gift to children facing traumatic and crisis situations. Caden has also taught other Girl Scout troops how to crochet, and recruited adult crocheters to help make even more animals to donate. She is dedicated to serving her community, and continues to be an exemplary role model of selflessness, inspiring Wish Network Hero of the Year It was now Caden's turn to receive an outpour of support for her acts of kindness, and it was all a big surprise. Caden thought she was going to the Zebulon Police Department to donate more of her crocheted stuffed animals for kids in her community, but it was all part of a top secret plan. After arriving at the police station with her family and grandparents, Kids Wish Network announced that Caden was chosen as its Hero of the Year 2024! First came a speech acknowledging Caden's accomplishments, followed by a jumbo check for $3,000! And it all went down surrounded by some of her biggest fans, officers of the Zebulon and Wake Forest Police Departments. It was a heartfelt gathering, embracing Caden and her deep connection with her community. The Zebulon PD had the room decorated with blue and silver balloons and a chocolate chip cookie cake, Caden's favorite! 'Kids Wish Network is so happy to reward Caden for her dedication to helping children, and teaching and inspiring others, creating a rippling effect of do-gooders in her community,' said Programs Manager Tambra Fulk. 'Her compassion and dedication touches so many hearts.' Caden was previously recognized in 2024 as a Kids Wish Network Hero of the Month, and once again thought of others when she was rewarded a retail gift card in her special Hero gift package. Caden could have gone on a shopping spree for herself, but chose to buy more yarn and materials to make more stuffed crochet animals to deliver to first responders. Caden also spent her entire spring break crocheting. She was later selected as a finalist among other extraordinary Hero of the Month nominees over the past year, and then selected as Kids Wish Network's Hero of the Year 2024. Heroes are recognized for their demonstrated acts of kindness, bravery, leadership, determination in overcoming challenges, and positivity, inspiring others. About Kids Wish Network Kids Wish Network has been making dreams come true for children since 1997. We started with the single purpose of granting wishes to children suffering from life-threatening conditions, but have since created additional programs to benefit kids nationwide, including Hero of the Month, Project Toy Drop, Holiday of Hope Gift Banks, and A Child Forever Funeral Assistance. For more information, visit Contact Information: Tambra Fulk Wish Department Manager [email protected] 727-789-0008 SOURCE: Kids Wish Network press release
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
‘American dream': Denver college grad joins exclusive Army cyberwarfare program
DENVER (KDVR) — It is a big week for Emanuel Walker. He's graduating from college at MSU Denver on Friday. The pomp and circumstance seemed impossible just a few years ago, considering what he's been through. 'I had to be real with myself and say, hey, if I don't make it in this world, no one's going to come save me,' Walked told FOX31. 59 veterans welcomed home on southern Colorado Honor Flight He immigrated to America with his mom when he was just four years old, fleeing their native Liberia in West Africa, a country torn apart by civil war in the 1990s. When they arrived in Colorado, it was just the two of them. 'Sadly, the majority of my family passed away due to the war crimes that happened,' Walker said. He grew up in Denver, and in high school, he hit some rough patches. 'I failed out of high school. I graduated high school with a 1.6 GPA,' he said. But he met an army recruiter, joined the military, and found purpose in life. 'Went to community college in Denver, where I was a distinguished student, valedictorian and they got offered a full ride to MSU Denver. When COVID happened and my family was going through a lot of financial struggles and emotional struggles at the time, I decided to leave MSU. I joined the military, and I served in South Korea as an intelligence analyst. And I was selected about a year in for this program called 'Green to Gold.' It's a competitive program that turns enlisted soldiers into officers. The only requirement was that I had to get my degree,' he said. New service dog helps one Colorado veteran while honoring the legacy of another Which brings us to now. Upon graduation, he's going to be a commissioned officer in the Army's ultra-exclusive cyberwarfare branch. Truly, one of the best of the best. 'It's a representation of the American dream,' he said. And it's a big step toward the better life his mother imagined when they arrived in America all those years ago. 'I don't have no mom. I don't have a dad. I don't have a brother. I don't have a sister. Just me and my kid. I'm so happy. Thank God,' Oretha Zaybay said through tears and she hugged her son before Monday's ceremony. Because of his tireless service to his country and community, Walker has been named the FOX31 Serving Those Who Serve Hero of the Month for May. The program is sponsored by American Furniture Warehouse, Plumbline Services and the Leo Hill Charitable Trust. The nominate a veteran or active-duty service member for our Hero of the Month honors, visit the nomination page. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Decades later, Colorado nurse who served in Vietnam continues helping those in need
BROOMFIELD, Colo. (KDVR) — Pat Hammon shares a common bond with nearly 10,000 women who donned the uniform and served their country in a warzone as nurses in Vietnam. 'It was a very, it was a really tough duty,' Hammon told a crowd of attendees Saturday in Broomfield, where she took the stage as a guest speaker at a symposium marking 60 years since the start of the Vietnam war. Loveland Navy veteran who served when few other women did named Hero of the Month 'I learned more in the first two weeks (in Vietnam) than you can learn in four years of school,' Hammon told FOX31. Recruited from nursing school, she signed up with the Army Nurse Corps and was assigned to Vietnam, spending a year at the 24th EVAC Hospital in Long Binh, just outside Saigon, helping treat some of the most severely injured in battle. 'We had horrendous mortar type, multiple injuries. So when these guys went to the OR (operating room), they'd have four surgeons working on them at the same time,' she said. Hammon was in Vietnam for exactly 365 and a half days before returning home from war where she was met by war protesters at the San Francisco airport. 'Yeah, I got spit on in the airport and called names. Went in the ladies' room, took my uniform off and that was the end of that,' Hammon said. Colorado WWII Navy veteran remembers heroes he helped on Iwo Jima 80 years ago She moved to the Colorado mountains a few years ago where she works as Eagle County Veterans Service Officer, helping those who proudly wore the uniform, just as she did a half-century ago. Hammon is one of thousands of women who served in Vietnam but have never been given their due. That's why she's being honored as the FOX31 Serving Those Who Serve Hero of the Month. The program is sponsored by American Furniture Warehouse, Plumbline Services and the Leo Hill Charitable Trust. To nominate a veteran or active-duty service member for Hero of the Month, visit the nomination page. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
