Good morning listeners. This is Sara Davis. Today on our radio program - Helping Hands - we are going to talk to John Carter. John started the Great Heroes Projecttwenty-five years ago.
Good Morning, John. What can you tell us about the Great Heroes Project?
The main idea of the project is to tell the stories of special people who volunteer to help others. These people are Great Heroes, because they have all made big changes in their lives in order to help other people. Some of them left their homes and jobs and even moved to another country. The work they do is not easy, but the Great Heroes continue to volunteer for many years. They are examples to other people, so we tell their stories on the radio, television, and the Internet.
Why did you start this project?
I used to work as a writer for a newspaper in New York City. Most of the time, I wrote about terrible things that people did. But I also learned that there were many good people who volunteered to help others. So 25 years ago I decided to tell the stories of these people.
Can you tell us about one of your heroes?
Yes. Let me tell you about Mr. Mike Rogers. A few years ago he left his job as a pilot. He decided to help people in far away places where there are no doctors or hospitals. He organized a group of pilots who volunteer to fly doctors to these places. When he started there were only ten volunteers in the group. Now, there are a hundred pilots who volunteer to fly doctors to places where there are sick people but no hospitals.
How do you find your heroes?
The Great Heroes Project is now famous all over the world. I get many letters with interesting stories about volunteers and their work. I send people to meet each volunteer and find out what he or she is doing. Then I get a report about the volunteer and decide if that person will be another Great Hero.
Do Great Heroes get a prize?
No. These people don’t do volunteer work in order to get a prize or become famous. They do it just to help others.
Thank you for telling us about your wonderful project. I hope you will find many more Great Heroes. Goodbye.
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