James Willerton

Jimmy Willerton, a 14-year-old Eagle Scout, saw first-hand the destruction of a natural disaster on May 22, 2011, when an F5 tornado destroyed his hometown of Joplin, Mo. He also witnessed an outpouring of love as thousands of volunteers immediately came to help rebuild. His Stars of HOPE project paid forward the love shown to Joplin.

Jimmy gathered 100 Stars of HOPE from his hometown to Minot, N.D., to help rebuild from devastating floods. He and his volunteers worked nearly 135 hours to cut out, base-coat and paint messages of hope on stars that would eventually be posted in the flood zone of Minot. His volunteers ranged from a 6-month-old baby to his 90-year-old great-grandmother; four generations of his family assisted with the project.