Stories of Hope
by Christine Hotchkiss
We all have a walk of life that is different from one another. Some have experienced tragedy, illness, loss, and life changing situations that either help us discover our life purpose or to help someone else in need. Sharing your story can help, heal, inspire, educate, and give Hope to someone who needs to hear your story. Stories of Hope loves to feature community non-profit organizations & foundations who are serving their communities. Welcome to Stories of Hope.Please subscribe so you are always informed of the newest episodes. Contact us: [email protected]
Episodes
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Nathan is 8 years old with a rare blood type, requiring blood donations for the rest of his life
Meet April Macak and her son Nathan. Nathan is a very active, energetic, and loving 8-year-old boy who loves to play basketball with his cousins every chance he gets. His mom April talks with us about the importance of blood donations, you see without blood donations Nathan wouldn’t be here.…
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Mia Johnson- A story of resilience and overcoming hardships
Meet Mia Johnson, she openly shares the details and journey of her life having been born to a drug-addicted and alcoholic mother, placed in foster care with her brother at 1 1/2 yrs old, lived in numerous foster homes, sexually abused by her brother and her brother-in-law, became a juvenile...
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Paula McCall, Founder of SemiColon Society
Let’s talk mental health. With so many things that have changed in our society in the past couple of years, we need to talk about it and help individuals, parents, and our communities. Meet Dr. Paula McCall the founder of the Arizona 501(c)(3) non-profit organization Semicolon Society. Mission:...
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Changed by Fire with Julie Piccione
Early morning in December 2018, Julie’s mom Darleen, was in a house fire that burned 83% of her body with 2nd & 3rd-degree burns. Unfortunately, after 106 days and 24 surgeries later, Darleen unfortunately passed away due to a blood infection on March 31st, 2019. Julie found a way to help people...
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Arizona Adaptive Water Sports
Meet Scott Stowers, he is a member of the Board of Directors with Arizona Adaptive Water Sports an Arizona 501(c)(3), as well as the volunteer coordinator and has been volunteering with AZ Adaptive Water Sports for 19 years. Vision: For anyone with a disability to have access to get on the water...
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Daniel and Kathy Fulton.... Living with a TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury)
Imagine being told your son has a 10% chance of survival and if he does he will never function on his own. Meet Daniel Fulton and his mom Kathy Fulton. Daniel is a TBI survivor and his mother is his caregiver. Daniel survived a tragic impact when he hit a tree on his snowboard. His journey to...
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Francine Sumner - Teen Suicide Awareness
"Suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death for ages 10-24". Meet Francine, she is the founder of an Arizona 501(c)(3) non-profit that is more than a resource for mental illness. Francine is an advocate and a voice for all walks of life, because of the legacy she carries on through her son Zack....
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Erin Powell - Brain and Spinal tumor survivor
Meet Erin Powell, she is a survivor of 6 spinal tumors, and a brain tumor and has lost over 125 pounds. Her journey leads her down a dark path of depression and overeating getting to the weight of 298 pounds. Studio Sponsor: The Motivated Mind Group Your global creative agency is based in…
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Jodi Walton - David's Rocks. Messages for everyone on a healing journey
DAVID’S ROCKS Random Acts of Kindness Meet Jodi Walton, tragically she lost her son David on July 25th, 2019 while working for the DOT in Horry S.C. David was filling a pothole with his coworker when a box truck came through unable to stop, hitting the stopped cars, injuring several, and...
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Jax Fuchs, living with Scoliosis at age 10
Meet, Jax and her mother Angel Vargas Fuchs, (Girl With a Curve). The journey of living with Scoliosis Jax is a very active, positive, and outgoing 10-year-old, a passionate performer, dancer, community actress, and award-winning vocalist. The day before Thanksgiving 2022, Jax was officially...
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Elena Zajac, "The Monster Within Me" the documentary of having Lyme Disease
In October 2022, at the Show Low Film Festival and at the January 2023 Chandler International Film Festival I had the privilege of meeting Director Tony Sylvia, his wife, Producer Frances Cecilia, and Elena Zajac. Together they made the documentary, "The Monster Inside Me". A documentary about…
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US Vets-Phoenix, Jennifer Z Gewarges, Executive Director
“Serving Those Who Served” Meet Jennifer Z Gewarges, the Executive Director for U.S. Vets -Phoenix (United States Veterans Initiative), a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization helping our veterans get back on their feet in the safe place they call home. US Vets-Phoenix provides multiple programs...
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Victor Jakpor, Mission Africa 501(C)(3) non profit organization
Meet Victor Jakpor, the executive director and founder of the 501(c)(3) nonprofit Mission Africa Project. Victor grew up in a small town called Sapele in Nigeria. Education, clean running water, and textbooks for school are a challenge for the children to attend school. Victor Jakpor found a way…
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Mother/Son duo: Ashlee & Michael Cramer talk about cancer
Meet Ashlee and Michael Cramer, son/mother podcasters who talk about Cancer. Michael is a 21-year-old cancer survivor, bone marrow transplant recipient, social media influencer, and motivational hero who was diagnosed with an insanely rare and aggressive cancer, Hepatosplenic T-cell lymphoma.…
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Kiamesha Guy - Veteran founded non profit helping Military woman with selfcare and good health
Meet Kiamesha Guy a US Veteran and founder of Quiet Waters -Global Maternal Wellness Center in Chandler, Az. A 501(c)3. Mission: Support & provide Veteran families with funding for Maternal and Women’s healthcare & benefits; host family activities for disabled & non-disabled women veterans &…
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Herbert Washington - Phoenix Boys Choir Success
Meet Herbert Washington who is with the Phoenix Boys Choir. Herbert opens up about his childhood and how his life changed in a way he couldn't imagine being the path of his destiny and his childhood dream. Herbert's childhood wasn’t ideal from a child’s eyes. He never met his father or older...
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Tami Chmielewski - Burn Survivor
“Beauty is only skin deep” Stories of Hope behind the scenes. Meet Tamara (aka Tami) Chmielewski, a short two-day weekend getaway turned into 63 days in the hospital, most of which were in the ICU Burn Unit. Returning home to Arizona on the 64th day. Her body was burned at 38% with 3rd degree…
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Kery Schulman, CEO of the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central and Northern Arizona
Kerry Schulman, CEO of Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central and Northern Arizona. Kerry talks about the programs, and families share a couple of stories to give a better understanding of what families experience while staying at the Ronald McDonald House, as well talks about how the staff…
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Dalea Faulkner & Martina Webster - Hashtag Blessed the Movie
Dalea Faulkner and Martina Webster, both are producers of Hashtag Blessed the movie, and Dalea is the writer. Hashtag Blessed was based on Dalea’s personal transformation from a time when she was feeling lost, depressed, and having suicidal thoughts. Hashtag Blessed the movie is only one of many...
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Sherry Herzing
After learning that the shortcomings of the 911 system may have cost her husband Bob's life on the day he collapsed and died of a heart attack, Sherry Herzing vowed to make a difference. Dedicating herself to protecting others in rural communities from the risks that contributed to her husband's...
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Michelle Mann, Survivor of a head on collision with a drunk driver
Michelle Mann was hit head-on by a drunk driver at an estimated speed of 100 mph. Her struggle and journey from darkness into the light will inspire you. Thank you for sharing your story with us. Thank you to my studio sponsor The Motivated Mind Group, a local-global creative agency located in...
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LeAnne Hull - Changing how we live with Grief
LeAnnHull knows the journey of grief and loss but doesn’t live within the pain, but rather the joy and love of the memories and lives of her husband, mother, son-in-law, and her son Andy. The beginning of her grief journey was when she tragically lost her 16-year-old son Andy to Suicide which…
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Doug Kenney - Autism, type 2 Bipolar and bulling
Doug Kenney is on the autism spectrum, has type 2 bipolar, and talks about being 310 pounds and being bullied. Doug’s journey/story with his “different” ability and bullying turned into a self-discovery and successful YouTube channel RURentlessAndUnstoppable? Doug’s love for the race car circuit...
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Abby Traylor, MDD (Major Depressive Disorder)
Behind the scene with Abby Traylor. Abby is 21 and has struggled with MDD (Major Depressive Disorder). She openly talks about her struggle, and the several failed suicide attempts, and explains what ”cutting” is and why. On her journey, she has found God to be her strength and has realized she is...
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Bernice Berry - Homelessness to Entrepreneur
Meet Bernice Berry, Homelessness to successful Entrepreneur. Bernice left a very bad domestic violence marriage with her two small children. Forced to live in her car. Today she is a very successful business owner in Chandler, AZ (Pure Luxury Tint & Detailing) Thank you to my studio sponsor The...
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Lauren Stivison - Stage 4 Throat cancer survivor. She gives a new meaning to breathing
Meet Lauren Stivison, 2009 Lauren was diagnosed with stage 4 throat cancer and in 2021 with tongue cancer. Lauren brings an entirely new understanding and appreciation of being able to breathe. Lauren underwent several surgeries, one removed the tumor on her epiglottis and she went through...
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Tim Oldham - Diagnosed with a CSF Spinal cord leak and 5% of surviving
Meet Tim Oldham. In 2015 Tim was diagnosed with a CSF spinal cord leak. Within 2 days he was scheduled for surgery to remove a cancerous tumor from his brain, with a 5% chance of survival. He is a walking miracle! His story, strong faith, and the meeting of an 11-year-old little girl dying of...
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PJ Dixon - Life with a different ability, not a disability of a rare form of Muscula Dystrophy
Meet P.J. Dixon, who has a rare form of Muscular Dystrophy that was expected to take his life by age 7. He chose to live, and live well. He is wheelchair-bound but doesn't depend on it because his desire to live and live it well has no boundaries or limitations that include sky diving, hiking,...
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Darryl Brandt - Finding the light within "The Deep Waters of Depression"
Darryl is known as The Dreaded Barber in Central Phoenix Arizona. He opens up about the feeling of being in the “deep waters of depression”. As a barber, he has cut the hair of celebrities, toddlers, and the homeless. Through his journey of healing and self-discovery, he founded a local…
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Danielle Gregorich, pill & alcohol addiction, infidelity, failed suicide attempts and a stroke that changed her life
Meet Danielle Gregorich, a stay-at-home, mom, military wife, successful author of two books, and an overcomer. Danielle had several failed suicide attempts, infidelity, pill, and alcohol addiction, and a stroke that saved her life where she found a new meaning and began to live for more with love...
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Brock Bevell - Overcoming addiction with Opiods
Brock Bevell is a retired Police Officer who was run over on duty and ultimately retired from injury. The injuries caused him to endure numerous knee surgeries and constant rehabilitation. To deal with the pain, he was prescribed Opioids. It was at this time, that Brock’s addiction took control…
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Coco Gonzales - Childhood trauma of being sexually abused by a family member to thriving as an Entreprenaur
Second Chances! Coco talks about the childhood trauma of being sexually abused by a family member at a very young age, and what it did to her self-esteem and lack of trust in people. She talks about how she overcame many obstacles from it and one day she decided "no more" and took control of her...
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Christine Hotchkis - My story and inspiration for Stories of Hope the vodcast/podcast
Hi, I'm Christine Hotchkiss, the inspiration and host of Stories of Hope. I had a vision in 2015 but didn't know what to do with it, then sitting on a street curb I decided to make the idea come to life in 2019. With such great success with people wanting to share their personal stories and...
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Jazrome Coulter - Kidney Disease Advocate, Warrior and Comedian
Jazrome Coulter, Kidney Advocate, Kidney Disease Warrior, and comedian. Jazrome is a 6-year dialysis and recent recipient of a kidney transplant. His donor gave the gift of life on many levels. In May 2015 Jazrome was diagnosed with stage four kidney failure, due to poor lifestyle choices, and…
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Jane Vogel Mantiri - child refugee from Indonesia from 1960
Through the eyes of a child - Through the eyes of a child. Jane's life works as a trauma healer, an artist, and a social justice warrior has been fueled by her experience as a child refugee from Indonesia. Jane and her family arrived in the United States in 1960 when she was 7 years old. Her life...
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Jennifer Scott - real life movie about depresson & suicide, "Eyes Upon Waking"
Eyes Upon Waking is inspired by a true story about one woman’s struggle to come to terms with her own existence. This project is about the disease of suicide and how it is misunderstood by society. This film uncovers the darkness in the minds of those who suffer from their emotions yet shows how...
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Nejra Sumit - Surviving Through Adversity as a former child refugee from Bosnia
Everyone should have a place to call home, feel safe, and trust the people in their lives. But what if you had to flee your country because of a civil war, your father was taken away to a concentration camp, and you had to hide to survive and not know if you would be killed? My guest today is a...
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JuanTe Daily - Mental Illness & Homelessness - Dsquared Homes for the Homeless
Juan Te Daily is a Veteran, Author, Mental Health Advocate, and Certified Life Coach with a B.S Degree in Criminal Justice. She is the founder of the Non-profit Dsquared Homes for the Homeless. She supports the mental health challenge with rental assistance, the homeless with hygiene bags, and…
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Steve Murphy - Boys to Men Mentoring - Helping the fatherless boys become men and chase their dreams
"It's easier to build strong children than to repair broken men" - Fredrick Douglass No boy dreams of a life in prison. Of dysfunctional relationships and social disconnection. Fatherless teenage boys have a higher-than-average risk of participating in crime, dropping out of school, and entering...
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Kimberly Gonzalez, living with 3 life changing autoimmune diseases
At age 12 Kimberly was diagnosed with Raynaud's and Scleroderma, an autoimmune disease, at the age of 21 she was diagnosed with another autoimmune disease, Anti Phosphospholipid Syndrome (APS). She survived 2 strokes and in 6 months she lost 7 fingers from these diseases. Undoubtedly her life has...
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Susan Whitaker - 20 Year United States Army Veteran
Susan Whitaker is a 20-year United States Army Veteran. We sit down and talk about her years served, her husband Major United Stated Air Force Michael Whitaker, what it was like to be a female in the military and her service, love, and community involvement, and the Wreaths Across America program...
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Matt Ode - 5 year Stage 4 Testicular Cancer Survivor
In 2016, at age 24 years old, Matt was getting minor back pains then other pains began getting worse and worse to the where he wasn't able to walk. He was rushed to the Cleveland Ohio Clinic to do emergency testing after doctors found an 11-centimeter tumor in his small intestines, found to be...
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Mary Lyn Hammer - Surviving Lyme Disease
Where do you turn for help, when you are dying and the doctors can't figure out why you are so sick? Mary Lyn Hammer and her daughter Elizabeth and countless others, Lyme disease was hard to diagnose and even harder to cure. To chronicle her journey, Mary Lyn wrote more than a memoir about her...
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Norma Trujillo - An Act of Kindness gone wrong
"Live your best life"... Norma Trujillo A second chance.... Norma and her family's lives were changed instantly in April 2017 when Norma assisted with pushing a stalled vehicle with an elderly couple at an intersection when she was struck and dragged underneath a car. She was in a coma for 2...
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Dorah Dunigan - Born with HIV, on a quest to find a cure
Dorah is 29, a young professional from Uganda, East Africa. Having spent her life living with HIV, she offers a powerful message of Hope, Strength, and Determination, rooted in Faith. Dorah was born with HIV and shortly after her birth, she lost her parents to HIV, making her an orphan at a very...
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Cancer Survivor at age 8 - Lily Taylor
Lily was diagnosed at the age of 3 with high acute Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) in December 2017. Lily spent just over a month Banner Children's @ Desert fighting to become stable in order to begin her outpatient treatment programs. A program she would undergo for the next two and a half...
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Lynne Hartke - 14 Year Breast Cancer Survivor - Author "Under A Desert Sky"
Lynn talks about her journey of being a breast cancer survivor. In her season of healing, she wrote the book Under a Desert Sky: Redefining Hope, Beauty, and Faith in the Hardest Places. Lynne is also a contributing author to nine books with Guideposts Publications and is the creator of Adventure...
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Chuck & Hannah Keels, Walking the journey of cancer as a caregiver, thriver and spouse
Chuck and Hannah Keels take us inside the home and lives of their journey with cancer, as stage 4 cancer thrivers, a spouse currently walking with cancer, the founders of the non-profit GetUpAndLive.org, and they take us on a 75-day bike ride across America. Their story will move you and inspire...
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Todd Murray Shares Hope Through The Mission of Teen Program "Treehouse"
Chandler Fire-fighter Todd Murray, started looking for non-profit organizations that help teens and found Treehouse through his Mother after seeing kids shut in due to various reasons and kids losing hope. Treehouse Hope started 30 years ago in Minnesota. TREEHOUSE SERVES TEENS AND COMMUNITIES...
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Brooke Kekos Shares Her Story of Overcoming Limiting Beliefs!
Many of us deal with it. Some of us may not know what it's called. It's that little nagging voice inside that says we're not deserving or that there's some things that are too unatainable. Brooke Kekos is an Intuitive Life Coach that found her purpose after dealing with her experience with toxic...
About this show
We all have a walk of life that is different from one another. Some have experienced tragedy, illness, loss, and life changing situations that either help us discover our life purpose or to help someone else in need. Sharing your story can help, heal, inspire, educate, and give Hope to someone who needs to hear your story. Stories of Hope loves to feature community non-profit organizations & foundations who are serving their communities. Welcome to Stories of Hope.Please subscribe so you are always informed of the newest episodes. Contact us: [email protected]
Hosted by
Christine Hotchkiss