“They were almost all of them white students. And it made me happy. It made me strong on what I believe, of unity between people of all races.”

EJ Labb, assisted living facility director, tells us about the challenges of supporting people with dementia during a pandemic, and the critical importance of joy.

“A lot of people don’t travel, don’t go places, but you can mentally go…with a story.”

“I thought I’d never actually get a chance to be a father, and have someone say their name, my name, but with a Jr. - and be proud of it.”

Cedric Masengere, a manufacturing associate at Moderna, talks about the sense of purpose that comes with producing a vaccine during a pandemic.

Scott Rogers, a grocery worker, talks about the early days of panic buying, his appreciation for his coworkers, and how he misses interacting with his customers.

Abner Bonilla, a mail carrier, tells us about delivering mail to more than 1,000 people during a pandemic, his worry for his elderly customers, and the power of gratitude.

“That’s one of the things in life I didn’t think I’d be able to do, but I did- I raised her.”

“I was telling her it was my first job, and she said, ‘Oh, I’m gonna hook you up!’ And she bought $10,000 worth of clothes.”

“We just grew a bond for, like, 10 years now. It just keeps getting better. I love them. They’re my bros.”

From our pop-up story shop at the Boston Unity Cup.

“I’m not one of those people who posts a lot on social media, so just to have people see me uncut, unfiltered and raw- it was kind of a self-love thing.”

“That’s the one thing about me: I never turn down a dare. And I so I thought: You know what? I’m shy. This is a way for me to get out of my shell.”

“So there’s a picture of me in an alley in Pisa, in Italy, and I’ve got my head back and I’m smoking a cigarette and I just look really happy. And I really, really was.”

“About 15 years ago, I decided to take my sons on a guys’ trip. It was ‘see as much of the country as we possibly can in the week that we have.’”

11-year-old Inari Jade Higgins Barrett, bringing the house down with a song she wrote in the third grade. By her side is her father, Toussaint Liberator.

"Los Robles, un grupo de latinos de tercera edad, cantando espontáneamente mientras esperan embarcar un crucero del Boston Harbor organizado por la ciudad. Para algunos, era la primera vez que salían del barrio de Mission Hill." (VIDEO)

The birthday tradition started a few years ago, when members of the Mission Hill Senior Legacy Project noticed older people in the neighborhood were often spending their birthdays alone. (VIDEO)