Today’s Google Doodle commemorates the 175th birthday of Ida Lewis, a lighthouse keeper known by the title of “Bravest Woman In America” and the first woman to receive a Congressional gold medal for saving lives. And how did she “save lives” in the 1800s?  By rescuing people from drowning around Lime Rock Lighthouse using her rowboat (her father was the lighthouse keeper, a position she took over in 1879). She is said to have done her first rescue at the age of 12.

Rob Scheer grew up in the foster care system and one of his unpleasant memories from that time was having all his belongings in a trash bag. When he and his husband, Reece, adopted their first two kids from the foster care system, he was shocked to see them carrying trash bags still, after all those years. So he started ComfortCases, a non-profit foundation that provides backpacks with necessities like toiletries, pajamas, toothpaste, books, etc. to foster kids. They donated 25,000 kits in the D.C., Maryland and Virginia foster care systems last year.

I have read countless such stories about ordinary individuals who have made a positive difference in others’ lives by their simple actions. They are everyday heroes. They show that you don’t need to be Melinda Gates or Mark Zuckerberg to impact this world. We can make a difference at whatever scale possible, regardless of who we are or what our financial status is – all that is needed is the desire, an initiative and the commitment to see it through.