Dick Hoyt’s son Rick was born with cerebral palsy and couldn’t walk or talk. Starting in 1980, Dick began pushing Rick in a custom racing chair in the Boston Marathon. Together they finished 32 Boston Marathons, their last in 2014, and their 1,000th race together came at Boston in 2009. Dick passed away in March 2021, and the Boston Athletic Association remembered him for his determination, passion, and love.
Oseola McCarty spent her life washing and ironing other people’s clothes in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. In 1995 she gave $150,000, most of her life savings, to the University of Southern Mississippi to help students who needed scholarships. People all over the country were so moved that gifts poured in to add to it. She hoped the scholarship would one day reach a million dollars, and in 2025 the university announced it had. A washerwoman’s quiet faithfulness is still sending kids to college.