Bay Area Proud

Bay Area Proud

Inspiring stories of people making a difference

Friday, Jan 11, 2019 at 03:30 PM PST

7-Year-Old Spreads Kindness At School With "Rocks Of Encouragement"

7-Year-Old Spreads Kindness At School With "Rocks Of Encouragement"

Stephany Martinez's parents say she's a really good kid and helps out a lot around the house. At her school, though, they call her an inspiration. Garvin Thomas reports

Wednesday, Jan 9, 2019 at 01:21 PM PST

Vallejo Artist Surprises 10-Year-Old In Wheelchair With Elaborate Dinosaur Costume

Vallejo Artist Surprises 10-Year-Old In Wheelchair With Elaborate Dinosaur Costume

A Redwood City boy with cerebral palsy is traveling in style these days thanks to the work of a Vallejo artist, a woman he barely knows. Garvin Thomas reports.

Tuesday, Dec 11, 2018 at 11:13 PM PST

San Jose High School's Emotional Holiday Tradition Brings Students Together and to Tears

San Jose High School's Emotional Holiday Tradition Brings Students Together and to Tears

Every year at this time, the leadership class at San Jose's Branham High School strives to grant as many student wishes as possible. The result is an amazing assembly of compassion and generosity. Garvin Thomas...

Friday, Nov 30, 2018 at 06:18 PM PST

Gilroy Executive Wipes Out Student Lunch Debt At Local High School

Gilroy Executive Wipes Out Student Lunch Debt At Local High School

When Ken Christopher, Executive Vice President of Christopher Ranch, learned that students at Christopher High School owed thousands of dollars on their school lunch accounts, he decided to wipe it all out with...

Friday, Nov 2, 2018 at 02:52 AM PDT

Day After Final Chemo Treatment, 7-Year-Old Cancer Patient Asks to Return to Hospital to Cheer Up Fellow Patients

Day After Final Chemo Treatment, 7-Year-Old Cancer Patient Asks to Return to Hospital to Cheer Up Fellow Patients

Claire Noland's parent gave her the choice of going anywhere she wanted after her final chemotherapy treatment: the beach, a park, even the American Girl Doll store. Claire chose, instead, to think of others....

Friday, Oct 19, 2018 at 12:01 AM PDT

One Year After Fire, Longhorn Cow Returns To Santa Rosa Ranch, Heals 89-Year-Old Cowboy's Heart

One Year After Fire, Longhorn Cow Returns To Santa Rosa Ranch, Heals 89-Year-Old Cowboy's Heart

Ever since the Tubbs Fire roared through Glyn Evans' Santa Rosa ranch, nothing has been the same for the 89-year-old cowboy. This past weekend, though, one part of his old life, all 1,600 pounds of it, returned....

Tuesday, Apr 17, 2018 at 11:03 PM PDT

South Bay Girl at Center of Potential Cancer Breakthrough

South Bay Girl at Center of Potential Cancer Breakthrough

Stanford researchers have made a significant breakthrough in the fight against DIPG, a rare and always deadly form of childhood cancer, and a Gilroy family has played a crucial role in the findings. Garvin...

Saturday, Sep 22, 2018 at 04:17 PM PDT

Mural Commissioned For Senior Community Leads To Touching Friendship, Collaboration

Mural Commissioned For Senior Community Leads To Touching Friendship, Collaboration

Morgan Bricca has painted almost 500 murals in her 18 years as an artist. No two of them are exactly alike. Still, the one she is working on now at Pleasanton's Stoneridge Creek is different than all the others...

Thursday, Dec 20, 2018 at 10:57 PM PST

Sweet Success: Owner Of Growing Richmond Bakery Offers Zero-Interest Loans To Employees

Sweet Success: Owner Of Growing Richmond Bakery Offers Zero-Interest Loans To Employees

East Bay restaurateur Andrew Stoloff turned a failing nonprofit bakery into a thriving for-profit business with a social mission. Today, Rubicon Bakers employs 200, many who have come out of prison or drug...

Tuesday, Dec 18, 2018 at 10:58 PM PST

Cosmetics And Chemotherapy: "Lipstick Angels" Bring Beauty Treatments To Cancer Patients

Cosmetics And Chemotherapy: "Lipstick Angels" Bring Beauty Treatments To Cancer Patients

Kerri Stimson has always believed that, when done correctly, makeup is about revealing beauty, not concealing flaws. That is never truer than when she visits infusion centers to give free beauty treatments to...

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About

Each week NBC Bay Area's Garvin Thomas profiles the people, the groups, and the companies making the Bay Area, and the world, a better place to live. Bay Area Proud stories are success stories; inspiring profiles of those making a positive change in our communities. Do you know someone who we should profile? Contact garvin.thomas@nbcuni.com

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60 Years Later, Peninsula Man Becomes Eagle Scout at Age 85

North Bay Spirit Awards

The North Bay Spirit award was developed in partnership with The Press Democrat and Comcast NBCU to celebrate people who make a difference in our communities. In addition to highlighting remarkable individuals, the North Bay Spirit program aims to encourage volunteerism, raise visibility of nonprofits and create a spirit of giving. Click here for stories and videos about the recipients.

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