Outside of my immediate family, my favorite people are nameless. Of course they really do have names. I just don’t know their names. The doctors and nurses, caseworkers and therapists that are working to get my daughters the help they need have given them both so much hope that I will be forever grateful for their efforts on my children’s behalf. My current favorite people are all those people that work behind the scenes to make sure that hungry people have food and cold people get warm. They go to work each day and spend the day finding resources, helping others fill out the necessary paperwork, and matching up the right people with the ones who need their help.

They are the nameless, faceless, voice on the other end of the phone helping one more person find a reason to stay alive just one more night. They are the anonymous people who leave presents under a tree for a child who might not get anything else for the holiday. They are the ones out in the streets protesting on the behalf of the powerless. They walk their neighborhoods making sure everyone’s sheltered. They’re setting up warm little houses for the feral cats. They were the one that rushed that dog they’ve never seen before to the vet and paid the bill without blinking an eye.

They don’t stand out in the crowd, but they’re there when an elderly person turns around in a panic suddenly realizing that they can’t see their caregiver. They’re the first to reach out a hand to help and the first to disappear back into the crowd. They’re nameless by choice. They’re nameless because they’re just doing their part. They’re nameless because they’re you and me. They can be any of us, in any city, town or country. People doing what they can, where they can and how they can, every day who don’t look for rewards or fame.

Whether it’s their job, or just their way, my favorite people make sometimes tiny but enormous differences in the lives they touch everyday.