A while back, we asked SELF’s readers to nominate hometown heroes for SELF’s Women Doing Good awards.
We received mountains of nominations (our readers never cease to impress us!) describing amazing women doing wonderful things to make our world a better place. Recognizing the remarkable efforts of superstars Beyoncé and Minka Kelly, SELF editors first tapped these two inspiring celebrities. Then, after much deliberation and debate, we finally selected three amazing hometown heros, all featured in our September issue. 
Bonus: How the stars give back–including our latest cover girl… Beyoncé!
We were so inspired by their work that we donated $10,000 to each of their causes.
Read all about them, get inspired, and get involved:
NOURISHING THE NEEDY
Forty-one year old Phoenix-native Lisa Scarpinato and her husband started Kitchen on the Street after learning that children in their town were starving on weekends (when they don’t have access to free school lunches). Through her non-profit, more than 300 needy kids are sent home on Fridays with backpacks full of food.
Take it from her: "Don’t make assumptions. There are folks who show up at food banks in very nice cars, but what you can’t know is they may be living in those cars."
Get involved: Learn more at kitchenonthestreet.org
Get instant food analysis and tweak your diet with our new Nutrition Data tool
MAKING CHARITY A NO-BRAINER
When JJ Ramberg learned how much money search engines make, the 39-year-old host of MSNBC’s Your Business decided she had to figure out a way to divert some of the cash to charitable causes. Thus, Goodsearch.com was born. Go to the Yahoo!-powered site, choose from more than 90,000 causes, then search away. Every search equals more money for your favorite charity. So far, it has raised tens of thousands of dollars for charities such as the ASPCA and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
Take it from her: "You don’t need extra money, energy, or even time to make a difference. All you need is a computer and a heart."
Get involved: Edit your Internet browser preferences to set Goodsearch.com (or its sister site, Goodshop.com) as your homepage.
More women who wow us–from Reese to Ellen!
INSPIRING CONFIDENCE IN TEEN GIRLS
After being teased and cyber-bullied as a kid throughout middle school, 15-year-old Haley Kilpatrick launched Girl Talk, a mentoring program that pairs high school and middle school girls. Through their talks and friendship, they realize that they’re not alone in their struggles and their "mentor" teaches them how to deal when things do get rough. Now 24, Kilpatrick continues to head-up the cause, which has helped more than 32,000 girls in 39 states navigate the crazy ups-and-downs of adolescence.
Take it from her: "Girls have to come together and talk so each one can realize it’s not just her having a rough time. I wish I’d known that."
Get involved: Click here to learn more about the cause–starting a new chapter in your area is easy!
Build your own workout! Exercise kick-starts motivation! And, you never know … next year you could be one of our Women Doing Good!
Beautiful article! I recently "adopted" an incredible woman as a role model (I am 40) and she inspires me every day…I have her webpage as one of my homepage tabs and it starts my day off thinking about others in the world with needs, as she is doing so much in our world. My 4 yr old daughter will benefit from my growth…and we can be a team for change over the course of our lives.