“Celebration of Heroes” was started a little over a year ago to recognize people making a positive difference across the 9 counties covered by Far Northern Regional Center. Over the course of this past year, you might ask, what truly defines a Hero; who can we nominate and how can the nominations be sent?
Because there are so many different ways a Hero makes a difference, we came up with six categories to recognize those people in our communities:
“Everyday Hero” is someone who exemplifies inclusion each day; making their family, their workspace, and their community a better place.
“Team Hero” can be as small as a pair of individuals dedicated to making better the lives of those they help. Or it can be an entire program of dedicated staff who are helping raise the bar of inclusion and fairness for all.
“Advocacy Hero” is an individual who helps others find their voice and speaks on behalf of the rights of others.
“Barrier Buster Hero” is similar to that of an Advocacy Hero as they help break down barriers and walls that interfere with proper care, correct information and righting wrongs.
“Cultural Hero” speaks on behalf of a person’s cultural and ethnic needs. Someone who provides translation services or helps someone who feels alienated as a minority, to feel like they have a place, and belong to their wider community.
“Super Hero” is someone who goes above and beyond the everyday task, making a significant difference in the lives of others.
As we come to the end of another year we have recognized 40 amazing Heroes. We can’t wait to see what this next year will bring. Our hope is that word of this program reaches our outlying areas and that we can start to recognize heroic individuals in counties we haven’t heard much from, like Modoc, Siskiyou and Glenn counties.
One uniting factor in all of our heroes we have recognized has been their influence and focus on inclusion. Our Heroes find ways to treat all people as equals, with rights and opportunities. A true Hero does that not just for one, not just for a few, but for everyone they have the opportunity to lift up.
This has been an amazing journey recognizing Heroes in my own community and throughout the Far Northern service area. Each recipient has been grateful and has gone on to do even more heroic tasks. Gratitude is at the heart of the message. I’m so grateful for the positive difference honoring these heroic individuals and teams has made upon my memory and heart. If you would like to join us in our second year of Celebrating Heroes, nominations are taken once each quarter. Nominations can be sent online on the Far Northern Regional Center website https://www.farnorthernrc.org/celebration-of-heroes or by delivering nominations in-person to your local Regional Center office, addressing them to “Celebration of Heroes”