Plot Synopsis

Presented by United Way and hosted by Donald Driver and Emily Wilson, THE HERO EFFECT is a half-hour series that brings to life the stories of ordinary individuals who are making extraordinary differences in their communities. Shot on location in ten different communities across the country, each episode brings audiences real-life stories that build on United Way's credo to fight for the health, education and financial stability of every person in every community. The heroes featured in the series were identified in part through nominations from the 1,200 local United Ways across the country. Each 30-minue episode concludes with a call to action, encouraging viewers to visit www.HeroEffect.com and connect with their local United Way or other community-based organizations to create positive change. Season 1 features the following heroes: Stephen Moss, who founded Mission United after being inspired after his daughter returned from deployment injured; chef Chad Houser, who created Cafe Momentum, a Dallas-based restaurant and culinary training facility to transform the lives of at-risk youth who have spent time in juvenile facilities; Brook Bello, who used her story of survival as a way to reach out to other victims of human trafficking to help them heal and restore their own lives; Maria Gomez, a nurse in the District of Columbia's Department of Health, who founded Mary's Center, a federally qualified health center to provide health care, family literacy and social services to individuals whose needs too often go unmet; Carolyn Jons, who leads the effort to help improve language and literacy development in children, and nurture healthy family relationships through Raising Readers in Story County; John and Tom D'Eri, who founded Rising Tide Carwash, which hires individuals with autism and teaches them job skills to help them on a path towards independent living; Judy Cockerton, who founded Treehouse, a multi-generational affordable community connecting the elderly with families in foster care or who have been adopted; 17-year-old Katie Stagliano, who started Katie's Krops to teach kids about growing vegetables and how providing those crops to disadvantaged populations can help fight hunger; Julie Garreau, who works with young people from poverty stricken Native American families in the Eagle Buttle, SD, community to create services that foster healthy choices and life practices as part of the Cheyenne River Youth Project; and Jack Viorel, who leads Indo Jax Surf Charities, which empowers disadvantaged, medically fragile and special needs children by exposing them to the ocean environment and teaching them to surf.