Stronger Together

As a former first lady of the White House, and the current Democratic presidential nominee, Hillary Rodham Clinton is one of the most prominent people in the world. So it would be reasonable to assume that she comes from a wealthy and elite family. But this is far from the truth.

Hillary’s humble origins taught her the importance of helping others.

Her family has roots in Scranton, Pennsylvania, where Hillary’s grandfather worked at a lace mill for 50 years. A selfless man, he worked hard to make sure his kids had more opportunities than he did.

His efforts paid off when Hillary’s father, Hugh Rodham, was able to attend college at Pennsylvania State University before enlisting in the Navy after the events of Pearl Harbor.

Things were tougher for Hillary’s mother, Dorothy Howell. Abandoned by her parents at a young age, Dorothy scraped by on her own, working as a housemaid at the age of 14.

Had it not been for the help and kindness of others, chances are that Dorothy wouldn’t have made it. For instance, her first-grade teacher, noticing that Dorothy had nothing to eat at lunch, brought extra food to share with her.

This kindness never left Dorothy’s heart, and she taught her daughter that no one gets through life alone, and that we have to look out for one another and lift each other up when times are tough.

And just as Hugh’s father had done for his children, Hugh and Dorothy succeeded in giving Hillary better opportunities than they ever had. She eventually graduated college and attended Yale Law School.

During this time, she worked for the Children’s Defense Fund, an advocacy group for kids facing obstacles like those her own mother had to overcome. Hillary went door to door to gain support for disabled children who were being denied even the basic opportunity of attending school.

And this is when it became clear to Hillary that compassion and caring alone aren’t enough. She realized that true progress is made when both hearts and laws are changed – and that it was time for her to take real action.