Making a difference

Angelina Jolie is someone who inspires me. She's more than a community leader- she's a global one. As a rich and famous Hollywood actress, like many people in her position, she could easily turn a blind eye to the pain in the world. Instead, she throws herself into it without hesitation.

She has donated millions of dollars to refugees and has visited more than twenty countries on humanitarian missions over the last nine years. She's been to Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Thailand, Colombia, Kenya, and Sudan, among many other countries. In Christmas of 2006, she spent time with refugees in Costa Rica, handing out presents. Apart from her children, spending time with refugees is "the greatest gift – the greatest life lesson I could ever receive." She funds the National Center for Refugee and Immigrant Children, an organization that provides free legal aid to refugee and immigrant children with no legal representation. She also founded the Jolie/Pitt Foundation which donated two million dollars to Global Action for Children and Doctors Without Borders. She is very politically active and has received numerous awards for her humanitarian work.

She has said, "We cannot close ourselves off to information and ignore the fact that millions of people are out there suffering. I honestly want to help. I don't believe I feel differently from other people. I think we all want justice and equality, a chance for a life with meaning. All of us would like to believe that if we were in a bad situation someone would help us."

A New Hampshire native community leader that is also very inspiring, whose name is not quite as well known, is AnnMarie Morse. Her daughter, Michelle Morse, died four years ago from colon cancer. Under the law at that time, Michelle wasn't able to leave school while undergoing chemotherapy because she would have lost her family's health insurance. She still graduated with honors, all the while fighting to change the law so that no one would have to end up in her situation. After she passed, her mother continued the fight. AnnMarie Morse has said: "No other family will have to walk in our shoes and fight to keep the coverage they pay for to keep their seriously ill or injured college student on their policy. We were fortunate that Michelle’s Law became a state and federal law in 4 years. I am pleased that no other family or college-student will have to make the choice Michelle had to make, choosing between her health insurance or her education."

AnnMarie lobbied for years to turn her dream into a reality and to protect college students across the nation. She continues to fight for health care reform today. She holds a great deal of compassion toward other people who are sick and don't have health insurance and she wants to fix the situation. Because of her hard work, she has made an enormous difference in the lives of many people.

Just these two stories show that anyone can make a difference, whether you are a rich and famous movie star or a mother from Candia, NH. People who are passionate about what they believe in can make this world a better place and can serve as inspiring community leaders. Ones such as Angelina Jolie and AnnMarie Morse have inspired thousands of people to support important causes and to take a stand. I think that community leaders who are sincere and determined attract like-minded people and effect change that they don't even know about. I'm sure that Angelina Jolie has no idea I am sitting here saying that she has inspired me to want to make positive changes in the world. Leading your community and setting a positive example infuses others with the enthusiasm and good will that you project. Community leaders don't just affect their community; they inspire everyone they encounter, and that inspiration incites change that is boundless.

- Whitney