Six Who Made a Difference

From left: Karl Chapin, Norberto Leon, Ron Bonney, Kazuko Matsusaka, Lydia Labreque, and Josephine Worrell.

Josephine Worrell

96, Roxbury

Gift: Time, as a volunteer "foster grandmother" at Children's Hospital Boston

I started volunteering on the cardiac unit 26 years ago, and it's where I've been ever since. I love what I do. I'm 96 now, and I'm going to keep going for as long as I can. I work from 9 to 1, Monday through Friday, playing with the children in the playroom. They have a big smile when they see me. We read, play games, color, paint, whatever they want to do. The playroom means everything to them. It brings them happiness and contentment. Coming here and spending time with the children every day is what keeps me going. It keeps me alive. As you get older, you have to do something to keep you young. Nothing's worse than an idle mind.

Ron Bonney

42, Somerville

Gift: Taxi rides for domestic violence victims

About three years ago, my sister, Brandy, was brutally tortured and murdered by her boyfriend. Right after she passed, the executive director of [nonprofit agency] Respond told me they were no longer getting funding for the taxi program. So I decided I would provide the free rides through my company, Arlex Yellow Cab. Victims call Respond and other agencies, and we send cabs that bring them wherever they need to go -- emergency shelters, hospitals, police stations, courts -- no questions asked. So far, we've provided about 600 rides. I don't want anyone to be forced to stay in a dangerous situation because they don't have a car or their abuser is preventing them from getting access to one.

Kazuko Matsusaka

47, Brookline

Gift: Horseback riding lessons for the disabled

I'm a violist with the BSO. It has a summer home in Western Mass., so that's where I keep my horse and where I started my therapeutic riding center, Therapeutic Riding at Blythewood Farm, four years ago. I work with children and adults with physical, developmental, and emotional disabilities like ADD, autism, fear and abuse issues. It brings me such joy. I can see immediately the effect riding has on them. For the kids with physical disabilities, to give them that feeling of freedom is incredible. And it's so great to see the reaction of parents of children who can't move around on their own, who have never been included in these kind of activities. Doing this recharges me. Music is such a different world, and it's so easy to get lost in that little world.

Karl Chapin

59, Grafton

Gift: Left kidney

My wife bought me a wallet for Christmas and in the process of transferring things I found my organ donor card from many years ago. It got me thinking. Why wait until you're dead? I found a website called matchingdonors.com with hundreds of sad stories about people just trying to live. I made up my mind right then. Looking at the site, I kept coming back to a man named Ricardo Mermet [owner of the Arlington restaurant Tango]. I had a deep feeling that this man needed help. When I called him and heard his story, I knew it was on. I never had any doubts. I'd do it again if I had another one. I lost my hand saving a guy in Vietnam. The amputation didn't play a factor in this. It was the fact that I could do it. A part of my body changed a man's life. I just took a little pain.

Norberto Leon

35, Allston Gift: Architectural designs for Habitat for Humanity Greater Boston

I just finished up the plans for a 1,100-square-foot home in Needham. The process didn't differ much from the work I do at [architecture firm] Casali Group, except that everybody had a say in the design. It's a bit of a challenge to meet everyone's requirements, but the result ends up being a compromise everyone can be happy with. What Habitat is doing is providing stable environments for families so they can focus on family life, school, and work. I see how this relates to what I went through when I first moved to this country from Spain 18 years ago. I wouldn't have been able to go to school and start my career here if it were not for the generous people who did things like welcome me into their homes and give me scholarships. Habitat was the perfect thing for me, because I could use all of the skills I've learned here.

Lydia Labreque

49, Worcester

Gift: $1, to the Worcester Fellowship, a group that assists the homeless in that city and holds a weekly worship service for them on Worcester Common

I gave all in nickels to the church collection today. My boyfriend, Dave, and I live on the street. We made $19.45 today collecting bottles and cans, which is really good. I donate a dollar every week, more or less, depending on what I can afford. I do it because I can. What you do on the street comes back to you, and I hope that when I need the help one day someone will give it to me. Being on the street these last two years has taught me a lot about giving. People give us cans all the time, and someone just gave Dave two pairs of pants and a belt. Coming to this outdoor church also gives me a lot. It brings relief and peace to the rest of my day.