NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas - Inspiring America: The 2023 Inspiration List

Episode Date: June 13, 2023

Lester Holt, Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb celebrate extraordinary individuals across sports, entertainment and science, as well as everyday individuals who have made a positive difference in the world around them.  

You're the queen of country music, but you came back to Etuca. Why? It's home. They said we need this growth to revitalize the town and sure enough, that's exactly what happened. Activism, philanthropy, they've been with you throughout your life. Yeah, helping Latinas specifically reach their full potential. Just telling people you believe in their potential is huge. What is it that we may not fully appreciate in the veteran experience? A lot of service members are struggling in silence. The invisible wounds of war, we want them to be okay.

Incarcerating people over and over again. What you're offering, it makes so much more sense. Yes, I mean, women are not throwaway people and we invest in them. Some are reaching for the stars. There's so much about the universe

that we don't know. These huge mysteries out there. Some are reaching out a hand. I remember the struggles. I want him to succeed, just like I succeeded. Meet the people shining a light and showing the way. LeBron James, he's a role model, and he empowers us. Inspiring America, the 2023 Inspiration List. Here now are Hoda Kotb, Lester Holt, and Savannah Guthrie.

Hi, everyone, and welcome to one of our favorite annual traditions, sharing the inspiring stories of extraordinary people lifting up our world. Yeah, from a tiny prison cell to the vast frontier of space, this year's Inspiration List shows us what is possible from every corner of the human experience. Including small town America. There's one in Oklahoma that was dying, but now thanks to a country legend, it is singing a whole new tune. Here's Craig Melvin. Reba McEntire has been thinking a lot recently about where she grew up. Lots of great memories.

Sometimes I wonder what it would have been like if I hadn't left. This massive star, who left to travel all over the world, grew up near the small town of Atoka, Oklahoma. You grew up on a ranch about 15 miles out of town, and you would come into Atoka. Atoka was the big town where you got your dry cleaning and groceries and banking. It's also where Reba competed in her first rodeo,

where she took her little sister Susie to the movies. We got there, and we realized we didn't have any money. So we took the back seat out of Mama's car and we found enough change to get in, get some popcorn, get us a drink. Wow. How about that? You were resourceful even at a young age.

Heck yeah. But in 2020, when Reba came home to visit the once bustling Main Street was a ghost town. Factories, closed businesses, shuttered. Nearly one in three living in poverty. Young people moving away. Atoka was hurting. Reba was too.

Her mom was dying. I slept with her. We'd cuddle and I said, what am I going to do when you leave? She said, oh, you'll be fine. Because she's always been my rock. After her mom died, Reba wanted to do something to honor her. Maybe create a place for music and her mom's collection of books. She shared her dream with a family friend.

And I looked at her and I said, we have a plan. Thing is, Carol Irvin is more than just a family friend. She's also Atoka's economic development director. For years, she'd been fighting an uphill battle to save her beloved town, trying to get new businesses to give Atoka a try, but none of them bit. They said, you've got to clean up your town. We need a place where our people want to live, and it's not a toka. Carol realized Reba's dream could be just what a toka needed. The town had been working on a dream of its own, to turn one of its oldest buildings into a Reba-themed restaurant.

They just needed Reba to say yes. What was the initial response? You've got to be crazy. I said absolutely not. I don't know anything about the restaurant business. I'm not that good a cook anyway. That's where this guy came in. I knew Reba growing up. My uncle actually worked for her at one time. Gary Batten is chief of the Choctaw Nation. His modest manner belies the economic might of his tribe. This is our roadmap. The tribe has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in Oklahoma businesses and created thousands of jobs.

And as it turns out, a toka is in the Choctaw reservation. Through the years, I mean, we have helped with water lines. We've helped with streets. Why is it so important for the Choctaw Nation to provide so much support, even for non-tribal members? Because if they don't do well, we don't do well. The chief agreed to split the cost of the renovation, and Reba was in. She didn't waver, even after the stairs collapsed while she was visiting the building. We were hollering out the windows, and I said, how are we going to get down? They said, oh, don't worry, we're going to call the fire department. Reba's

place opened for business earlier this year. Right away, Atoka got what it so desperately needed, visitors. Thank y'all for being here. Appreciate it. As many as 60,000 came to Reba's in the first five months. Reba gave us our own tour. I picked out the plates. You picked out the plates? Yeah. You really were quite involved.

Yeah. Okay, so here is our merchandise floor and memorabilia everywhere, like I told you. And tucked into a room on the third floor, you can find her mother's books. She was quite the prolific reader. I could even tell you which room some of these books were in in her house. Yeah. She's smiling on us for sure, though. Yeah. But the thing Reba is really proud of? The restaurant has created more than 130 brand new jobs. There are kids working here that some of them never worked in a restaurant before. So they're learning, and they're learning a trade, a craft, and that's very important. And their wages are giving a boost to other businesses in town.

People are getting their cars fixed. They're buying more groceries. They're getting their nails done. And it's led to a lot more businesses opening. Even bigger ones are on the way. This one-time town of ranchers and cowboys will soon be home to a multi-million dollar Bitcoin data center and a 120 room hotel. Carol projects it will add up to a 20 million dollar bonanza for the local economy this year. Chief Batten says the Choctaw nation plans to invest their share of profits back into community services for

the tribe. What's the tribal motto again? Together we're more. It kind of seems like that's what you guys have sort of achieved here as well. Folks who are watching this, who've heard about how Ariba McIntyre's helped save her tiny town, what do you want them to take away from this story? Well, I want them to take away that Ariba was a small part of a great story, a successful story, one that's still growing, one that's still thriving, and one that's talked about all over the state of Oklahoma. Coming up.

All the people coming back from prison, they have to make a life with nothing. When I realized that there was a solution, I thought, why isn't this happening in my community? And each day, we make some impact on the planet, and we have a choice as to what kind we're about to meet has endured more than most of us can imagine. Her life, a painful cycle of tragedy, addiction, and prison. A stroke of luck and incredible strength allowed her to turn herself around. And now she's helping thousands of others find a new way of life. I was born into violence, born into poverty, born into neglect. And I had to learn to navigate, to hold on to my sanity, to hope.

From the start, the odds were stacked against Susan Burton. Her young life in South Central Los Angeles was marred by sexual abuse, by teenage pregnancy, and finally, by the greatest tragedy of all, the loss of her five-year-old son, KK. I drank to drown the pain and the grief of losing a child. It escalated to drug use, and for the drug use, I was incarcerated. Susan became trapped in a vicious cycle. She committed petty crimes to support her drug habit and was sent to prison repeatedly. I was stripped of my identity.

I was stripped of my identity. I was stripped of my dignity. Oh, it's such a painful experience to be punished for grief. Each time she got out, Susan was dropped off on L.A.'s skid row to face a precarious future. All the people coming back from prison get off a bus and they have to make a life there with nothing. No government documents, no social security card, no place to go. The only thing waiting there is the old life.

The only thing waiting there is the old life, and I would inevitably return to prison. In 1996, when Susan left prison for the sixth time in 20 years, a guard taunted her by saying she would be back. Those words, you'll be back. What did they do to you? It was shattering to know he was probably right. What he said is what our nation has created, this turnstile of incarceration for people. But then, finally, a break. At the age of 45, Susan got into a private rehab center in a wealthy L.A. suburb that gave her things she never had, safe housing, a good job, and support to help her stay clean. I thought, why isn't this happening in my community? So over the next two years, Susan worked, scraped, and saved.

In 1998, she bought a small house in her old neighborhood and created a non-profit she called A New Way of Life. And then she went back to Skid Row to find those women who, like her, got off the bus thinking they would soon go back to prison and told them they could come to her place. It was like 11 of us living in that little house. And we were happy. We were laughing together.

We were crying together. We were going to meetings together. We were cooking together, recovering together. You make a home, not just a house. Why does that matter? In prison, it's hard. It's cement. It's concrete.

It's steel. When women walk into the homes of A New Way of Life, they get to experience texture, color, bright furniture, fruit on the table, flowers on the table, that this is a new world and it's much different from where you come from. And you're worthy of it. And you're worthy of it. A New Way of Life now has 12 houses in L.A. from where you come from. And you're worthy of it. And you're worthy of it.

A New Way of Life now has 12 houses in L.A. where formerly incarcerated women get much more than food and shelter. They get job training, health care, counseling, and legal help. When you think about it, it makes so much more sense to help them transition to a new way of life than to just throw them to the streets and say,

well, good luck. It's just such a no-nonsense, simple approach. You know, that's my oldest son, but I have other children. That allows people to know they matter and they count. Why are you crying? Because. Because what? I'm so grateful.

A new way of life says more than 2,000 women have been given a fresh start, and that only 6% have returned to prison, far less than the national average. So what you started in Los Angeles is now nationwide. Susan's model has been so successful, she partnered with other formerly incarcerated women to open 24 more houses across the country. Women like Pamela Zimba, who runs this house in Mount Vernon, New York. Literally, Susan changed my entire life.

You know, like, this was my dream, and she made it come true. Hey. Hi. This is our resident Kate. Hi, Kate. I'm Savannah. Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you. Kate Mort This is our resident Kate. Hi, Kate. I'm Savannah. Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you.

Kate Morton is a recovering addict who spent years cycling in and out of prison. What does it mean to have a place that's so lovely, but also the community and the support of the other women here? It's a huge deal to be able to have a place to call home. And I feel like my life is just starting finally. Susan, you showed the way. Yeah. I understand what a miracle it is to be able to pull out and pull through and stand up and reach back. Your dreams could be fulfilled. Your dreams could be reborn.

But I think that being able to love has allowed me the strength, the courage to move forward to where we are. Sitting right here, me and you. Me and you. Me and you, yes. I'm Melissa Lee. For more than 60 years, Jane Goodall has deepened our understanding of the natural world by chronicling the lives of chimpanzees. At 89, she's inspiring us again by turning her attention to another species, the one

that impacts our planet the most. We watch her evolve from an intrepid female pioneer discovering the world of chimpanzees. Back when I dreamed of it, there was nobody doing anything like that. To a global icon for conservation. Now, Jane Goodall is focused on the next generation. It's the young people that give me the most hope. Her program, Roots and Shoots, gives young people resources, support, and tools to work on conservation issues in their own communities. They're so full of energy, enthusiasm, determination. At 89, so is she. Goodall still

spends roughly 300 days per year on the road, speaking out for the environment and against animal cruelty. Each day that we live, we make some impact on the planet, and we have a choice as to what kind of impact we're going to make. Coming up. Eva has literally inspired America. This America. I knew I wanted to help my community and the women of my community. Keep the door open. Let everybody in.

And culture does not build walls. It builds bridges. She's a desperate housewife turned Hollywood mogul, an actor turned scholar, a star turned beacon of hope. And now by championing the community closest to her heart, Eva Longoria is helping to unleash one of our nation's greatest untapped resources. A lot of people get to the top of the mountain are happy and they just pack their bags and go, you're like, you're coming up here with me. Yeah. I want you to come up here with me.

Yeah, I mean, you know, you can't just keep moving forward by yourself. You've got to look back, and you've got to say, who else is behind me? Keep the door open. Let everybody in. There may be no one more qualified to crack that door wide open than Eva Longoria. I knew I wanted to help my community and I wanted to help the women of my community. Eva's path to making a difference began in a humble Mexican American neighborhood in Corpus Christi, Texas. I come from a family of independent women. I come from a family that really values intelligence and resourcefulness and discipline.

And patriotism. Eva's Mexican roots are deep, but her American roots are just as meaningful. We used to go across the border all the time when we were little. All we had to do when we crossed back was say U.S. citizen. And I thought that was a magic word. I'm first generation. My parents came in from Egypt. I'm like, you're ninth generation, right? Yeah, nine, nine. And I'm proud of it. I'm a very proud American. But I'm also very, very proud of my culture, my heritage. But not that long ago, Eva realized she didn't know enough about her culture and heritage. And I thought, I have a lot of questions and I just want to understand where we've been

so I can help my community go to where we need to be. So at the age of 35, she went back to school and got her master's degree in Chicano Studies. My thesis was about Latinas in STEM fields and how, you know, we need more, you know, engineers and mathematicians and biologists. Latinas, in fact, represent only two percent of the entire U.S. workforce in these professions. So in 2012, Eva established a foundation, and over the next decade, she helped create initiatives that encouraged almost 2,500 young, low-income Latinas to make their careers in science, technology, engineering, and math. It was important for me to prepare that specific group for the future jobs of this country, for the world. Her foundation also established microloan

and business consulting programs that so far have enabled more than 2,000 Latina entrepreneurs to start their own businesses. Just telling people you believe in their potential is huge. And then giving them the infrastructure and the tools to reach that potential. Eva has literally inspired America, this America. Actress and activist America Ferreira has collaborated with Eva Longoria on several grassroots projects. On behalf of Poderistas. Like Poderistas, a fast-growing digital community that gives Latinas a forum to exchange ideas and inspire each other. For Latinas to see that their lives matter, their joy matters, their health matters, their economic health matters.

And I feel like Eva is the model of that. She'll be as glamorous as you need her to be. And also, she'll jump on a bus with you and go down and visit families in a shelter. Her heart is ultimately with empowering folks who never get to see their power and feel their power. It is no surprise then that for her feature film directorial debut, Flamin' Hot, Eva chose to tell the story of a Latino janitor's rags-to-riches rise to become a marketing executive in one of the world's biggest corporations. It's really a movie exploring the theme of how opportunity is not distributed equally.

And he really faced a lot of adversity in his life that said, no, no, no, no, no, ideas don't come from people like you. And he always was like, but why not? But why not? But why not? That drive, that ambition, that never give up attitude. It sums up Eva Longoria. And these days she has another reason to be a role model. Her four-year-old son, Santiago. I mean, could you get better than that for an endorsement? How has he changed you? You know what?

Now there's like this urgency to make the world a better place. Just like this is my why. Your why? He's my why for everything. Eva is convinced that a better future for her son is a future where her community thrives and succeeds. And so, as she blazes a trail all her own, she reaches back to every Latina she can. I've had a lot of people who just come up and they say,

thank you for fighting for me. You know, they feel like they don't have a voice. I'm not speaking for them, but I encourage them to speak for themselves. You're not sure you can do it, but I believe you can do it. You need permission to be great? I give you permission to be great. Go and be great. For world-renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma, unity comes through music.

He performs worldwide to spread the message that our love for something beautiful can transcend our differences. My exploration in music has always been about people finding out what human nature is, why people do things, who they are, and their relationship to nature. Ma has received countless awards. Today, he is a United Nations Messenger of Peace. Culture does not build walls. It builds bridges. His service is his song. I'm always happy to respond when people feel like they need some music. Well, that's what I'm here for. I'm basically a human boombox. Coming up.

When we look at these beautiful images, we really are looking back at our origins. We're connected to the universe and to each other. And later. I understand these kids and where they come from. It's up to us as the mentors to help them. It's an inspiring message. We are all made of stardust, quite literally.

The NASA team that reminded us of that is pretty inspiring, too. Hailing from around the world, they show us what we can accomplish together, even when the stakes are sky high. Here's Gotti Schwartz. James Webb begins a voyage back to the birth of the universe. The Webb Space Telescope is a virtual time machine. Using infrared radiation, it captures light first cast billions of years ago, which is then transformed into these stunning images.

So now humankind can actually see galaxies being born. NASA astrophysicist Amber Straughan. You know, we recognize when we look at these beautiful images that we really are looking back at our origins. We're looking at ourselves. Absolutely. We're looking at ourselves. Webb has inspired awe and taught us more about our infinitesimal place in the cosmos. One galaxy has hundreds of billions of stars and probably hundreds of billions of planets. Wait, wait, wait, wait, hold on. Let me, I need to process what you're saying. One galaxy has hundreds of billions of stars. Of stars. And we're talking about hundreds of billions of galaxies? Yes. Possibly a trillion galaxies. Yes.

That is a number that is just so hard to compute. It is. It's staggering. Strawn was inspired as a young girl growing up in rural Arkansas, gazing up at the star-filled sky. Now, the images from the Webb Space Telescope have reinforced her deep belief we are all in this together. This idea that the iron in our blood and the calcium in our bones was literally forged inside of a star that exploded billions of years ago as a supernova. We're connected viscerally to the universe, and I think also shows that we're connected to each other. All of these divisions that we have, in a big sense, we're connected to everyone else on the Earth in a very fundamental way.

Strawn was part of a team of thousands that worked for decades to launch Webb. But the journey to get these breathtaking images was at times excruciating. And the telescope almost didn't get off the ground. NASA and its European and Canadian partners faced engineering setbacks, budget issues, and most of all, scientific hurdles that seemed impossible to surmount. And then there were the things a do-it-yourselfer might understand. And in the acoustics test, a lot of fasteners or screws fell off. And so that was kind of not such a good day. The screws were falling off. So that was bad. But that's why we test. We want screws to fall off while we're still on the ground.

Project leaders like Greg Robinson helped keep things steady. Robinson grew up in a sharecropper family, one of 11 children. He won a college football scholarship, studied math and engineering, and brought his sports experience to Webb. It's just amazing the possibilities, what we can do when we work as one team. And I think we can do anything. And I mean anything. Everyone and everything had to work in concert, including making sure the moving mirrors on the web opened perfectly in sync.

While that was happening, commissioning manager Keith Parrish didn't sleep much. Every day we were doing an unfolding process. So you'd win that day, and then the next day you'd come back and you'd play the game again. That's an emotional rollercoaster. Yeah, and you did that for 14 days and you'd go back to the hotel and be like, no, you're coming, come back.

Chief Systems Engineer Begoña Vila grew up in Spain, where she dreamed of a career in astrophysics, but doubted she had a chance. If that little girl in Spain could see you now, what would she think? I don't think she would believe it. If that little girl in Spain could see you now, what would she think? I don't think she would believe it. It makes you feel you belong.

You can make a home in a different place from where you grew up, and that we all have these common goals. We have about 30 seconds until we should be in contact. Using computers, specialists like Emily Bevins control the telescope

that is four times farther away than the moon. From a million miles away. Correct. There's a huge radio dish in Madrid that will be helping us facilitate being able to communicate with the telescope. That evening, Webb sent digital data that was translated into images like these. A reminder that in a time when Americans may doubt we can pull together to do anything, the web team pulled off a triumph. A feat that has redefined the way we look at who we are

and what we can do. It's a reminder of what unity looks like. Exactly. You know, I think one of the awesome things about this mission is that when we got started, it was impossible. And then to see these beautiful results, it's a beautiful example that when we put our hearts and our minds together towards something big and bold, that we can truly achieve the impossible. Mackenzie Scott met Jeff Bezos in the early 90s, and together they started selling books out of their garage. That company would become Amazon. When the couple divorced in 2019,

Scott received a 4% stake in Amazon worth more than $30 billion. That's when she decided to do something truly inspirational, give her money away. Last year, Scott gave over $122 million to the Big Brothers Big Sisters Foundation. Their CEO, artist Stevens, took the call. They told me the number, and I just started dancing. It is transformative, and it's going to mean so much for our communities.

You rarely hear from Scott, who stays out of the spotlight, but she continues to speak through her actions. To date, she's donated an astounding $14 billion to over 1,600 nonprofits and counting. Coming up. My family goes right there by my side, learning how to walk and run with me. He's a father. He's a husband. He's doing great. That's the story that we want for everybody who serves our country. You know Gary Sinise from movies like Forrest Gump and Apollo 13. You may also know that he helps our nation's veterans however he can.

You're about to meet two of them who overcame remarkable odds and found surprising and stirring ways to help others who have served. It's a dramatic night at the California Center for the Arts in San Diego. I need immediate medevac support. The cast of this play is almost entirely military veterans. There are many vets and their families in the audience, too, all here to watch this man tell his story. How am I supposed to let my son fight a war that I couldn't finish?

Scott Mann spent 23 years in the Army. Most of his career was in special forces. Three tours of duty in Afghanistan took their toll. I went from the top of my game to standing inside my bedroom closet holding a pistol within 18 months. What stopped you from pulling the trigger? My son came home from school. When I didn't expect that and the thought of him finding me was more than the desire to take my life. Part of his therapy was turning his own experience into last out, elegy of a green beret.

How did that come about? So when I came out of that dark period of my mental health, I was fortunate enough to have a civilian mentor who was a storyteller. And he showed me how to use storytelling as a way to heal myself. He also had help from someone you might recognize, Gary Sinise. He's perhaps best known for his role in Forrest Gump.

How did the idea of supporting veteran causes become so near and dear to your heart? Probably starts with the veterans in my own family, and on my side of the family, it goes back to World War I, World War II, Korea era. He started the Gary Sinise Foundation in 2011 and has since raised some 300 million dollars to help thousands of veterans. What is it that we may not get in the veteran experience? There are a lot of service members that are that are struggling in silence. The invisible wounds of war that we call them. He just says, Gary, thanks for believing in us. Which is one of the reasons he funded Scott's very public reckoning with his own wounds of war.

Are you surprised at the reaction it's elicited? Well, I'm humbled, you know, by the reaction. You know, I had the sister of a Green Beret Sergeant Major stand up and through tears, she said, you know, you guys just showed me in two hours what my baby brother's been trying to tell me for five years. Scott isn't the only veteran Gary is helping to pay it forward. April 10th of 2012, we went out on a patrol and I took my backpack off and I set it on the ground and underneath it was actually a bomb. That day changed everything for me. Travis Mills came home from Afghanistan to his wife, Kelsey, a quadruple amputee. She came in the room and I told her, you know, you should go live a better life without me. And she was like, that's not how this works at all. You know,

we're going to get through this together. My daughter was right there by my side my whole recovery, learning how to walk and run with me. Gary first met Travis at Walter Reed Hospital. He's an inspirational guy, wonderful guy. He's missing all four limbs, yet he's a father, he's a husband, he's doing great. But that wasn't enough for Travis. His recovery inspired him to help others. So he and his wife built a retreat house in Maine, where veterans and their families come to heal, bolstered by a $1.5 million donation from Gary Sinise.

You should see my running blade. Army veteran Amanda Seward lost her leg in a car accident while serving. This Memorial Day, she attempted her first run at the annual Miles for Mills fundraiser. I'll just crawl inside. Travis gave her a pep talk. She exceeded her expectations and ran the entire race. It was fantastic. 5K, it's great to get back

to a sense of normal. They have these stories, like Amanda's, where she comes out, she runs a whole 5K, thinking that she's only going to go for a mile. But the truth is, we're stronger than we believe we are. For Travis, strength and inspiration come from helping those who otherwise

might be left behind. Starting a foundation from nothing, not knowing what I was doing, I mean, that's what matters, you know, just, and then giving back and doing all this. Yeah, in the beginning, probably started because of me, but now it's its own thing, you know. I don't even know why the hell I'm tearing up, so I apologize for that. Where do you find your inspiration? From all these families. And that's the story that we want for everybody who serves our country. We want them to be okay. We want to give everything possible back to them for all they've given to us. Five years ago, NBA superstar LeBron James opened the I Promise School in his hometown of Akron, Ohio.

The goal, to give at-risk youth a place to learn and feel supported. I understand the mental state that goes in with these kids and where they come from. About 1,600 students have attended the school, which demands that its students promise to always do their best and make healthy choices. It's up to us as the mentors and everybody in place to help them to get to that point. That's what kids want to know, that you care about me, and we do here. Proof of that, every graduate receives a college scholarship.

I never thought that I could have a chance to go to college. It goes back to breaking those cycles, those generational curses. We're really doing something different here. This year, LeBron's foundation opened a community center offering job training. The foundation also runs a food bank and provides medical services. LeBron James, he's a role model and he empowers us and he shows us every day that if you work hard, you can live out your dreams. Coming up. We have vulnerable folks showing up on our doorsteps.

It's that land of opportunity for them. I have a responsibility to give back. A border has two sides. The debate over what to do about our southern border has many. But there are some folks in El Paso, Texas, who are focused more on the people than the politics, helping the most vulnerable no matter where they're from. Here's Jose Diaz-Balart. They travel thousands of miles, risking everything in pursuit of a better life in the United States.

For many, the journey brings them here, to El Paso, Texas, where over the past year, the sheer number of migrants created a humanitarian crisis. It's overwhelming. I think sometimes I cannot absorb all this pain because there's so much going on. We have for the church. Father Rafael Garcia is pastor of El Paso's Sacred Heart Church. Last winter, he watched as the emergency unfolded on his doorstep. There were some days when there was like 1,200 people or so around this area,

sleeping on the streets, in front of stores, around the church for sure. Father Garcia leapt into action, turning the church's school gymnasium into a shelter. So what is it that they receive here? They receive, first of all, a place to sleep. We have three meals a day here prepared. We have some over-the-counter medication. We have a clothing room.

How many people have you been able to serve? We've served thousands for sure. Thousands and thousands. Father Garcia had help from an army of volunteers, like 83-year-old Frank Padilla, who distributes clothing at the shelter. I'm very proud of this city. The people that are helping here, they are the heroes.

They really make these people feel at home. Volunteers all over El Paso stepped in to help, handing out thousands of meals a day. All right, thank you. And providing critical medical care. We have vulnerable folks showing up on our doorsteps. Dr. Brian Elmore has spent most of his adult life volunteering for those in need.

He served with the Peace Corps in West Africa. And in 2017, he taught refugees in the Middle East. After graduating from medical school, Brian moved to El Paso. What is it about that community that made you fall in love with it? Part of it is the way El Pasoans have risen to respond to this crisis. Today, Brian divides his time between the ER at El Paso's University

Medical Center and clinics where he sees migrant patients like this woman. This patient, she fell from what's called the beast, the train that runs throughout Mexico, transports migrants. She fractured her tibula. I come from a privileged background. I have a responsibility to give back and to serve. Medical student Fabiola Ramirez feels that same sense of responsibility. The stories of the migrants she cares for resonate with her personally. When I was 14, my family and I moved to the United States, and I remember the struggles.

Do you see yourself reflected in the people that you are serving here? You see confusion, but you also see excitement and you see hope. And that's the way my family and I felt. Fabiola is part of a program run by Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center and Doctors of the World that brings medical care to migrants in shelters around El Paso. Luckily for me, I had a lot of mentors. I want to extend my hand as well. I want to help others, and I. I want to help others and I want

them to succeed just like I succeeded. The work is exhausting. The needs are never-ending, but the volunteers here say they are the ones inspired by the people they serve. What is it that they have taught you? So migrants arrive here just filled with this hope. It's that land of opportunity for them. It's encouraging to be reminded that people still believe in America. And it makes me want to live up to their expectations to be the America they imagine this country to be. Inspiring words and some incredible, unforgettable stories tonight. We hope they inspire you to pay it forward in your own way, in your own community, because we need everybody.

We'll keep this tradition going next year. We'll also keep telling inspiring America stories on NBC Nightly News. If you have someone you think we should know about, reach out to us at NBCNews.com slash Inspiring America. From all of us at NBC, MSNBC, CNBC, and Telemundo, good night.