Schools realize that we need to make our children more aware of issues, both global and domestic, and this is a good thing. Yet, we also need to make them aware that they have power to change outcomes. That first brave step really can make a difference. We have to instill hope for the future against all odds.

Hope is what empowered a young girl name Malala Yousafzai when she continued her education despite overwhelming odds against her. That hope is what kept Immaculee Ilibagiza alive during the Rwandan genocide. Hope allows us to be brave and bravery changes everything.

We realize the importance of our voices only when we are silenced. — Malala Yousafzai

I raise my voice not so I can shout, but so that those without a voice can be heard. — Malala Yousafzai

The love of a single heart can make a world of difference — Immaculee Ilibagiza

Faith moves mountains, if faith were easy there would be no mountains. — Immaculee Ilibagiza

October is the month so many groups call their own. It is the month different groups ask you to be aware including:

• Breast Cancer
• Domestic Violence
• Learning Disabilities
• Disability Employment
• Infant Loss and Miscarriage
• Cyber Security
• Literacy
• LGBT History Month
• Bully Prevention

I’m sure there are others too. Still, they all began with that brave first person, the one who started it all, the one who had the courage to enact change. Every group listed above wants change and they all ask your help to get it.

That first person refuses to give up hope for a brighter future. The world needs more of these people. But, we need to go further than awareness. We need action and that is what that first person did. They took action when hope seemed lost.

Whatever this month means to you, keep hope alive.