All products featured on Self are independently selected by our editors.
However, we may receive compensation from retailers and/or from purchases of products through these links.
They began to drag-race at 90 mph and hit a tree.
Cohen was left a quadriplegic.
No one ever told me that.
Besides, I wouldn’t have accepted it.
You always want to be the one to defy the odds.
“I graduated with my high school class, despite missing three months.
I realized that life goes on, no matter what.
“I’d love to walk again, of course.
But if I could regain full use of my hands, my life would change 2,000 percent.
There’s so much potential for breakthroughs via stem cell research.
The goal is to replace damaged cells with healthy ones, so people can recover some functioning.”
“I’m a C5 quadriplegic.
I can use my hands, but I don’t have total control over them.
I have a 24-hour personal assistant who gets me dressed, cooks my meals and drives me everywhere.
But anything I can do myself, I do.
I brush my teeth, wash my face and feed myself.
I make my calls and use my computer by typing with my pinkie knuckle.”
“Everyone wants miracles, but I’d rather promise something real.
People tend to suppress their passions because they’re afraid of taking risks.
I don’t let fear stop me.”
How you’ve got the option to help:Donate atSabrinaCohenFoundation.org.
And urge your representatives to promote stem cell research.
He died 13 months later.
“He was my only sibling,” says Farman, 41.
But a week before he died, his doctors said, ‘Prepare yourself.’
Those are hard words to heareverything flashes before your eyes.
But to get through his passing, I needed to dosomething.
Taking action was my healing.”
He was a hiker.
Nature was his church.
Athletes for Cancer came out of that.
We do outdoor programs for young cancer survivors with activities that build their confidence."
At camp, I found something to grab on to.
Cancer rocks you to the core, and the camp put a foundation under my feet.'
I feel like I’m teaching people to live and thrive again."
How you’ve got the option to help:VisitAthletes4Cancer.orgto donate or volunteer.
“I didn’t always know I was brave, but I never gave up.”
After a routine exam in 1994, Wyatt-Morley, then 36, learned she’d tested positive for HIV.
“I was a suburban middle-class woman with three kids, a husband and a potbellied pig.”
“I had a good job.
I’d never cheated, shot drugs or put myself at risk other than having sex with my husband.
I felt like HIV couldn’t happen to me.
I lost my job, my friends, even my church.
It was a dark, humiliating time.
I have to at least give a shot to help others.'
That’s how W.O.M.E.N.
“My doctor had told me I had only six years to live.
So I started doing speaking engagements and wrote a book.
My wish is for every woman to be educated about this issue.
Married women think they’re immune to the virus.
But no one is an exception with AIDS.
“I know what it’s like to live on the precipice.
I had a plan for my life that didn’t include any of this.”
“We help everyone we can, but we especially target African-American women.
Outside of gay men, they have the greatest risk of contracting HIV and have less access to treatment.
My work is all about empowerment.”
“When I think about how old my kids are now27, 30 and 31I get chill bumps.
I wasn’t expected to live this long.
I love spending time with them.
I live my life with more urgency, especially now that I have full-blown AIDS.”
“There will always be naysayers, people who tell you you’re not worthy.
But when life comes against me, I tell myself, I’m successful, healthy and wise.”
How you could help:Volunteer or donate money atEducatingWomen.org.
“The fact that I’ve been blessed with the career I have makes me think anything is possible.
I have no fear of failure.”
They were all over her face.
It was a moment of terror.”
“Thankfully, Honor was OK, but it was so crazy, and I felt guilty afterward.
I worried that I’d poisoned my daughterand these were eco-diapers!
The more research I did, the more irritated I got.
Most parents don’t have time to do all this researchthey need a company with products they can trust.
I wanted to create that.”
That could save lives.”
“I can’t think of a better way to spend my work life than on a movie set.
“It took me 3 1/2 years to launch The Honest Company.
When things didn’t go smoothly, I’d get really upset.
I worried that I was wasting so much time and money!
But my husband, Cash, would tell me, ‘You didn’t waste anything.
Look how much you’ve learned.’
His perspective kept me going.”
A portion of proceeds goes to children and families in need via Baby2Baby, her company’s nonprofit partner.
Or visitHonest.comfor info on Baby2Baby.
“I grew up in New York City during the crack epidemic, with vials on the ground.
Theater and dance classes helped keep me off the street.”
“I volunteered for Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign.
I’m partnering with a school in D.C. to help it use arts education to improve things.
We work directly with the first lady, and it’s all been so rewarding.”
“Through art, we can understand who we are and who we want to be.
If we want to compete globally, we need arts programs.
But we teach kids to pass tests, not to innovate.
The arts help kids think creatively, but they’re one of the first things to get cut.”
When you’re facing an obstacle, you don’t have to be a victim.
But asking for help isn’t weakness.
When we come together on something as women, we’re even stronger.”
“I’ve always been an animal lover!”
says the 31-year-old star.
Then I visited the Barn, and my time there was transformative.
Who says animals don’t have feelings?
The ones at the Barn are clearly so happy.
Animals and people are connected.
We have to treat each other with compassion."
“When I’m passionate about something, I have to take action.
If we can’t make the world a better place, then why are we here?
Even little things, like having one meatless meal a day, can make a huge difference.”
“In Hollywood, there’s this energy that nothing is good enough.
You get a movie but not the one you wanted.
You get a role but not the biggest.
It’s draining and not who I am at my core.
So I take time to go to places that ground me, like The Gentle Barn.
Otherwise, I’d spin out.”
How SELF’s Favorite Stars Give Back
Check Out Past Women Doing Good Honorees!
