Great one. And how he is now determined to do the same for others. And do you want to go back over your stars one more time or would you like to start with the trees . Im going to start with the tree now. Brandons art teacher says it was all the way back in third grade that she first recognized Something Special about brandon when it came to painting. Something she felt worth sharing with the world. I love art stuff. This story though is about brandon using his art to share something hes even more passionate about these days. Im going to help my friends. Okay, so today weise are starting a new assignment. This all begins three years ago when he transferred to and toss high school as a freshman. A tough transition for any teenager. But for one with Downs Syndrome well, it wasnt a happy time. No. Not happy. But then the beginning of this his senior year brandon decided to make some changes. Hi. Tired of being an outsider he joined every group he could, put himself out there like never before. Blow it up he told his mom. And i decided to make my mark. Waiting for, the envelope please. And did it work. Homecoming king is brandon. Oh yeah brandon becoming homecoming king would make a great ending to this story. Except that its not. I decided to make at the beginning of my new journey. You see, feeling part of his school like never before felt so good he couldnt wait to share the feeling. He began doing it by selling note cards with his artwork on them. So what were going to do is get you started measuring you. Brandon raising enough money to pay the way for half a dozen other aptoss students to go to this years winter ball. Tuxes, tickets and transportation for kids due to special needs or low incomes would have been left out of such fun. But wont be this time. Fun for everyone. All thanks to a young man with special needs, sure but one who is also just plain special. The next man youre about to meet is in the process of changing his whole life you could say. Into what . Well heres a clue. Super hero. Ricky has packed a lot into just 31 years of life. Athlete, musician ar borist. Now hes got a new identity. The idea for it coming to him from an unlikely source. You know, chrysler 300 with all the whistles and bells on it. For rick can i menna it was all about the car or better yet, the cherry red chrysler 300 was a symbol of what life was all about for the younger ricky. As a younger man, i was more selfish rather than selfless. I bought it for the i think. I just wanted to go out to be seen and things like that. And for a guy in his early 20s, he had a lot to showoff after all. Just going to bump it up. A steady job with the city of pittsburg and a rising rap career. But just like cars make turns, so do lives. And this story. We have somebody superspecial here today. Is about one heck of a uturn. Domino effect in life. The dominos in rickys life were an injury that cost him a job, a Music Industry he didnt quite fit in with, and a love affair that sauered. You got this. He found himself last year living in a friends spare room offering personal training sessions in exchange for room and board. And it was like okay, who am i now. The answer surprisingly came from rickys grand mother. Surprising seeing as she died two years ago and she came to him in a dream. She came to me in the dream, flicked on a reel to reel like old movie projector which is totally her style. The images were of spiderman. Giving gifts to needy kids. And so i said whats that got to do with me in the dream. And she said that is you. That wasnt of course ricky then. But it is now. With the last last 1,000 ricky had left after selling his precious chrysler he ordered a custom fitted spiderman outfit and for the past few months wherever there are underprivileged or overchallenged kids needing a smile. Marshall. Ricky is happy to be there for free. Buddy. Can you carry it. I wish there was a super hero when i was a kid to tell me hey, its going to be all right. Youre a hero. Keep doing what youre doing. Oh. This is the most broke ive ever been financially but the richest ive ever been in my life. Ricky has begun a nonprofit in the hopes of bringing in at least a little money and spreading the word so that his new identity does not remain a secret. From a super hero to a singer songwriter one with a goal of helping fellow veterans deal with the silent war. The one many fight against ptsd. John preston served his country a decade ago in iraq. He still serves the public now as a firefighter in palo alto. But its his latest quest using his first love that has his focus now. Its not going to take very long for you to realize im no fool for many a musician their songs, like their lives, rarely travel a straight path. In the same way john prestons music is created in fits and starts with changes in tempo and meaning, the key of his life has changed more than once. And how i feel right now is where were at in life. I believe we wrote a hit. Life started for john in the small town of warsaw kentucky. He grew up always wanting to be a rock star but always knowing he would be a marine. Like his dad first. He joined the corps in 2,000 and was on a Training Exercise in Southern California one september day the following year. What happened that day like it was dictating the rest of my life. John eventually found himself in iraq a sergeant and a squad leader. You have their lives in your hands. It completely changes who you are. The rock star dream was almost a memory as john was about to sign reenlistment papers but then a buddy videotaped him singing a song about the Positive Side of the war effort and it took off. A record label signed him. His dream was about to come true except it didnt. Leaving him crushed. I moved up here to the bay area. I put the guitar down and stopped playing. He tried a few years later, this time a better musician but the same results. So he got on with his life. Became a father and a palo alto firefighter, closing the door on music except it just kept knocking. Finally when john learned of the stateside struggles of the wartime friend it was time to try again. Somewhere along the way something blewed me with the talent that im not going to let it sit on my couch and ponder. You know were going to take whatever i can doing with that talent to raise awareness for the rest of the country. I made this happen. Your war is over is the song he wrote. His old record label released it followed by an ep last fall. Another sunday morning hes working on songs for an album right now. What makes this third time such a charm, john says is the message his music now carries. Music by veterans for veterans. Music meant to raise awareness of the silent war his friends are still fighting. We are raising money but my word would be awareness. 22 a day. 22 a day commit suicide. And our country, 22 veterans. A number that the first time i heard it completely blew my mind. And made me want this more than ever. Coming up how would you celebrate 72 years of marriage . When you have someone to love that much it cant go wrong. One east bay couple found they will selves taking a walk down the aisle in a way they had never done before. Plus giving by design. How a mother helps children with lifethreatening illnesses feel right at home right in their very own room. But first it says a lot about the capacity he has for compassion. Hes a little guy with a huge heart giving his time and hardearned boy scout money to help people in their worst of times. Were back in two minutes. Ring ring . Progresso its ok that your soup tastes like my homemade. Its our slow simmered vegetables and tender white meat chicken. Apology accepted. Im watching you soup people. Make it progresso or make it yourself you say avocado old el paso says. Zesty chicken and avocado tacos in our stand n stuff tortillas. record scratch you say stand n stuff tortillas old el paso says. Start somewhere fresh we are back with a little kid tackling some rather adult issues. Ryan tran is a 12 yearold from san jose who has been raising money for charities for years. But its his choice of charities this year that got our attention. That charity is the grateful garment project. Lisa blanchard started it after hearing about victims of Sexual Assault who after giving up their clothes as part of the investigation were sometimes sent home in paper gowns due to a lack of resources. She vowed to change it. And is now getting some unlikely help in the process. The so this wall is primarily childrens clothing. After just a few short years, Lisa Blanchard could write a nice long book about running a nonprofit. It never ceases to amaze me how people come across and come to grateful garment project. Her grateful garment project now providing new, warm comfortable clothing to victims of Sexual Assault in 25 california counties. And growing. This is our packing slip what it looks like. She says in all that time wearing almost every hat she thought she had seen it all, all types of needs and donations and all types of donors. On my honor ill do my best. Till a very different one appeared on her doorstep. 12yearold ryan tran may be one of the smallest members of his Boy Scout Troop but has to have one of the biggest hearst. For years hes been selling popcorn as part of the cub and boy scouts and giving away a portion of the money for charity. On the hunt for a new Charity Last Year he remembered lisa asking for donations at his church. He asked his mom and dad what it was all about. They told me its about people who get touched in spots that they didnt allow them to. Right here, we have sweat pants. And like sweat bras. I said thats really bad. And they need like help. And i would want to do there for the organization. So four days a week three hours a day for an entire month, ryan went door to door selling his popcorn, eventually raising 500 for grateful garments. And if the idea of a 12yearold boy scout raising money for victim of Sexual Assault werent different enough just think about that boy in walmart filling lisas wish list. Well, i didnt really know what sizes to pick. They gave us sizes but i didnt know how to find them because i dont really shop for underwear into it says a lot about the capacity he has for compassion. Oh my goodness. Look at all this. It says a lot about the personal integrity he has. Coming up love and marriage. Bob and mira graves know a lot about both. What they didnt know so much about though was a traditional wedding. See how that all changed with the help of some very giving people. Plus i knew then that that was my mission. That was my calling. A calling for comfort and beauty during difficult times. How a bay area mother uses her design talent to help children and their families when they need it most. A childs bedroom is a special place. Especially for kids with serious medical issues. Many of them cant go out in public. So their rooms are their little slice of the world. Which is why it is the mission of one east bay woman to make those rooms a place kids want to be. Shellyham says thanks to her professional background and personal experience, she wakes up every morning knowing what she was put on this earth to do. Theres a square one and theres also a round one. I want to see which one. When it comes to matters of interior design shelly ham is quick to make decisions. Thats the blue one. I wonder if the black ones with it. Go take a look into it was her profession for many years. So the best color for a pillow or the proper height for a painting. Awesome. Is an easy call for her. Turns out though when it comes to lifechanging decisions, shellys been known to be pretty quick there, as well. Take the promise she made about 16 years ago when her daughter morgan was seriously ill. And i knew that if god allowed me to have my child, for that child to live that i would spend the rest of my life helping children with lifethreatening medical conditions. Which explains why shelly and a team of volunteers have piled into this Mountain House home tools at the ready. Did you get the dust off the top. You see years ago when she volunteered for the makeawish foundation, one child wished for a room makeover. Shelly took on the job and saw her future. I knew then that that was my mission. That was my call. Thats all she does now. Running rooms of hope a nonprofit that gives dream room makeovers to children facing lifethreatening illnesses. In this case it is both a brother and a sister who, after hundreds of volunteer hours and thousands of dollars in donated goods have had beautiful new spaces to call their own. For asik child, often forced to spend hours alone at home it is a special gesture. To that kids parents. This is way beyond what i ever could have dreamed for. Im sorry. Hannah and andrew. Shelly says she wakes up every day and without a hint of indecision knows she is doing what she was meant to do. Its truly a privilege and an honor to be able to work with these children and to be able to work with the families and to be able to give them some peace and some hope during a time when there might not be a whole lot of hope. Coming up a love story for the ages. We just stood in front of a judge. Hes over here. We were over here. And i think the secretary was a witness or something. Right. But wait till you see how this east bay couple renewed their vows more than 70 years after they said their original i dos. Finally tonight during this valentines season we bring back one of our favorite bay area love stories about a couple who wed 72 years into their wonderful marriage. Bob and mira graves met in 1941 when he stayed in a boarding house where she worked. A few months later when they drove to reno to be witnesses for a friends wedding they decided on the spot to join them. They appeared just as much in love now and thanks to the generosity of others finally have the pictures to prove it. Before moving into the quayle Lodge Retirement Community in antioch last year. These are grandchildren. Bob and mira got rid of most of their stuff except a few family photos like this one. The first of themselves taken as a couple taken a few months after they eloped to reno in 1942 just before bob went off to war. To call that wedding a simple affair would be generous. No flowers, no cake. No photographer. Nothing. We just stood in front of a judge. Hes over here. We were over here. And i think the secretary come in to be a witness or instinct. Which was just fine for them at the time and 72 years of loving marriage later, still is. We never thought back on that at all. Ever. Never. Which all makes what happened last last valentines day all the more special. When staff at quayle lodge learned bob and miras story, they want waed to give them the picture they never had which meant throwing them the wedding they never had. It was what i meant to do. Thats when the activities director jennifer noble called Suzanne Larson owner of a bridal shop. You called me five times, back, back. It just exploded. Soon suzanne had lined up not just the clothes but the cake the flowers, the photographer all for free. It did my heart so much good to know theres this kind of goodness in everyones heart. So surrounded by friends and family this valentines day, bob and mira graves retied a knot that had never come loose. I believe its time they kissed. This second wedding not so much a promise of good things to come but a celebration of a job well done. When you have someone to love that much, it cant go wrong. Thanks again for joining us for this bay area proud special. You can see new bay area produced stories every tuesday and thursday evenings in our 5 00 newscast. And all the reports are on our website. Go to nbcbayarea. Com and scroll down to the bay area proud segment. And if you wonder where we get these stories, we get many of them from our viewers, people like you. If you know someone who should be featured in our bay area produced segment, id love to hear from you. Go to our website where youll find links to Facebook Twitter or contact me through email. Have a great night. Female announcer through president s day, get 36 months interestfree financing, and save up to 300 on beautyrest and posturepedic. Even get three years interestfree financing on tempurpedic. Plus, free delivery, set up and removal of your old set. And sleep trains 100day money back guarantee. Keep more president s in your wallet. This special financing offer ends president s day at sleep train. Guaranteed sleep train your ticket to a better nights sleep reporter 50 shades of grey is finally here. Just in time for valentines day weekend. Hi everybody. Welcome to access hollywood. This is Weekend Edition im shaun robinson. Tim vincent if london where fans whipped in a frenzy at the film premier. This is for the bun. We the fans we want to please them the fans we want to please them. So excited to be here. Im a little distracted. Sorry. Feel sort of extra special. Are you cold . No im completely numb. I dont feel nichlingt i have zero only i feel like my face keeps twitching. Reporter a twitch a little different than the one that plagued Christian Gray palm in if i shades wearing a white gown dakota a johnson took the plunge second day in a row wearing a sleek black dior and less skin than in the film and we get to see lots of jamie dornan time. Special moment of t. That was it. Yes. Thats one of the things that you want
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