Over the Hump: 6 Items to Help You Through Wednesday (Sponsored)

Are Wednesdays really so tough?

Well, yes, they can be.

Here, though, is to keeping things in perspective. For more than a month now, Patch and Grape-Nuts have teamed up to present stories about your neighbors - neighbors who have faced challenges that would seem insurmountable to many of us. 

But not to the people we've featured in this series, Journeys.

Not surprisingly, the stories have generated dozens of comments on Patch and on Facebook: "Great story..." "Thanks for sharing..." "So wonderfully inspiring..." 

And, so, here they are again. Great stories shared to inspire. Take a look at what these people have faced. Then click on the story to see their responses. And feel better about your tough Wednesday.

Not long ago, Steve Halligan was earning a steady paycheck with a major company. Now, with nine children, he's shedding the security of a regular job to build something he believes in.

It hasn't been easy.

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Woman's Running Life Begins at Age 44

Michelle Ormond had never been a runner. But one day, tired of watching runners fly by as she sat in her car, Ormond got tired of something else - sitting.

“I was sick of feeling like I wasn't doing anything," she said. So, she did.

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Teen Ballerina Bounces Back from Devastating Injury

At 14, Southern High School student Ellie Dotson -- then a freshman -- knew she wanted to be a professional ballerina. But after just one month, she badly injured her ankle. After more pain and no improvement, she sank into a deep depression. But overcoming her injury sent her to a place she never dreamed she'd go.

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Mom Inspires Others to Mobilize to Make a Difference

Rebecca Kahlenberg had one goal - mobilizing her friends and their children to make a positive difference in their community. It took some years, but she has established a vehicle for that very purpose, a non-profit organization called MoverMoms that now has more than 200 moms involved and countless kids.

"In order to make a positive difference, we have service projects at local homeless shelters, at charity athletic events, at the county jail, and in many other places," Kahlenberg says.

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95-Year-Old Holocaust Survivor Helps Raise Money for Other Survivors

Instead of "ties, shirts and books," author, journalist and Holocaust survivor Herman Taube asked that any planned gift money for his 95th birthday be granted to the Jewish Social Service Agency Holocaust survivor program.

"I feel as long as I'm alive, I will try two things: not to forget what happened to us during World War II with the hope that it will never happen again, and that those other survivors will have the help they need," Taube says.

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Veteran to Walk 18 Miles for Suicide Prevention

Thomas Sweet, 28, a federal police officer living in Glen Burnie, MD, with his wife and two children, is literally taking the steps to prevent suicide from affecting communities. 

In early June, the U.S. Marine Corps veteran who has had three tours in Afghanistan will walk 18 miles in the Out of the Darkness Overnight in Washington, DC, to raise awareness for suicide prevention.

Sweet remembers finding a relative on the floor after a drug overdose suicide attempt years ago. He also remembers a brother in arms who took his life shortly after returning from the Middle East. "Almost everybody I talk to says they know or have heard of someone who has attempted or committed suicide," says Sweet.

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Craig Babst strapped on his biking cleats and hit the road from Baltimore to Florida, all to help young cancer survivors. 

For eight days, Babst biked up 100 miles a day as part of a team that made stops down the East Coast promoting cancer awareness and raising funds for the Ulman Cancer Fund for Young Adults -- and finished on April 13.

"The eight days of riding was some of the hardest, I’ve ever faced," Babst says.
Babst's wife, Amy, was diagnosed with stage 4 Hodgkin's lymphoma in 2008, and fought the cancer into remission, all while giving birth to two little girls. 

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Teen Grabs National Speedskating Title

Sixteen-year-old Shaner LeBauer of Potomac, MD, captured his first U.S. National Championship speedskating title in the 2013 U.S. Short Track Age Graded Championships. But he says the biggest challenge about winning the title wasn't from that weekend, but the season as a whole.

"Coming to a new school and balancing the obligations of junior year with my training routine compromised my sleep schedule as well as my social life," LeBauer says. "In the end, however, it was worth it and I can now enjoy more free time."