Right in time for the holidays, Mayor Catherine Pugh, Baltimore City Schools, and Pandora teamed up to honor the heroes we seldom hear about.
Some are teachers, some are parents. But all of them made a difference in the lives of a Baltimore student.
Young people from all over the city honored their heroes Monday night at Pandora's regional headquarters downtown. The heroes, all women, received a special bracelet.
But it's the story behind it that's most valuable.
"My mother showed me only you can hold yourself back can't nobody stop you, not even the world," read part of Iyanna Reaves' winning essay.
Reaves said, "She taught me that even if it feels like the world is literally crashing on top of your head and it feels like everyone's against you-you can still push through all that and you reach for what you want you don't have to follow anybody else."
Iyanna's hero is her mother.
"She definitely wears her battle scars on the top of skin proudly and she's fought for what she has today," Iyanna told ABC2.
Baltimore City Public School students from select schools wrote essays nominating their female heroes--all of them received a special holiday gift from Pandora.
Laurie McDonald, the general manager for Pandora, U.S., addressed the crowd.
"The students' words speak volumes about how much you mean to them and the positive influence you've had on their lives."
"I want to thank my mom for being so loving and caring despite all the stuff I put her through, the headaches, the migraines."
All pain Iyanna's mother was happy to go through for the success of her daughter.
"It was really surprising, honestly, it's everything that I prayed for it's been a really tough 18 years so just to know that everything I did was not done in vain was overwhelming," Iyanna's mother, Lakeisha Frisby, told ABC2.
Too often it's children that crave validation. When Iyanna's mother read her essay, it's her that now rests easy knowing she's a hero in her daughter's eyes.
"Every bit of it from beginning to end was everything that I needed to hear," Frisby said.
Mayor Pugh said initiatives like these recognize important women that keep city youth on the right track.
More than 100 heroes were honored.
