Valerie Perkins is a 14 year-old with spina bifida, a disability involving the spine.
Adopted by San Diego
City Fire Fighters

Renaldo Rodriguez is 11 and is blind.

Leslie Rosenbaum is an eleven-year-old who has juvenile rheumatiod arthritis.

Jennifer Hauser is 11 and has a learning disability.

Mark Riley is 11 years old and has cerebral palsy.

Michael Riley is 11 years old in fifth grade and is the identical
twin brother of
Mark Riley.

Ellen Jane Peterson is 17 years old and has Down syndrome.

Brian McDaniel is an 11 year old with epilepsy.
Adopted by the
Epilepsy Foundation of San Diego

Mary Margaret Riley is an active woman who is 73 years old who has just had a stroke.

Brenda Dubrowski is an 11 year old that has gone through difficult times. Her parents are divorced and she has had to adjust to a variety of life-changes.

Jason Robinson is 11 years old. He helps children learn about alternatives to violence.
Adopted by
Hitachi Data Systems

Joanne Spinoza is 14 years old and curious about many issues, including prejudice, racism, disabilities and her own self esteem. Adopted by Union Bank of California

John Sanchez is 15 years old. He talks about his experiences with a gang and about having a mentor.
Adopted by Union Bank
of California

Claire Sanchez is 14 years old and in 8th grade. John is her brother.
Adopted by
Hitachi Data Systems

Melody James is 11 years old and represents those children who have siblings.

Shaun James is 16 years old and was diagnosed with clinical depression.

Nam Nguyen is 11 years old and his parents are from Vietnam. Sometimes he feels torn between two cultures.

Christine Kontos is 11 years old and has diabetes.

Paul Worthington is 14 years old in the ninth grade and attends junior high school.

Eric Van Aart is 14 years old and attends junior high school.

Daniel Cole is a 14 year old Kumeyaay who talks about his heritage.

Diane Delaney is an 11 year old with leukemia.

Nicholas Murphy is 11 years old with hemophilia.
Adopted by
The Hemophilia Association
of San Diego County

Stephen Arthurs is 11 years old and has experiences with physical abuse and possible solutions.

Mandy Puccini is 12 years old and has been deaf since the age of two.

Anna Perry is 11 years old and was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Adopted by The Cush Charitable Foundation

Abbie Lynch is a 25 year old pediatric hospice nurse who works with children and has attention hyperactivity disorder.

William Morgan "Willie" has dwarfism. He tells everyone what it is like for him.