Five extraordinary kids - one from each New York borough - were the very first LITTLE APPLE HEROES and they would like to share their stories with you.

Read how they became the first Little Apple Heroes based on their inspirational suggestions on how to improve their local communities.

Thadius Regisford
Brooklyn, NY

"Spider-Man is my favorite superhero because he uses his super power and ability to fight for people and what he believes in, which is justice and peace." Thadius was in third grade when he chose the homeless for his community work, as he was homeless for a period as an infant. His mother reminded him that real life heroes like the Red Cross, firemen and neighbors helped them during a difficult time and he wanted to follow their footsteps with Spider-Man's help. On Little Apple Heroes Day, a team of the Mayor's volunteers helped Thadius run a special lunch at the Open Door Church of God in Brooklyn. Thadius chose a menu of "rice and beans, BBQ chicken, cake and juices."

Gabriele Dileone
Staten Island, NY

Gabriele was in the third grade at P.S. 1 in Tottenville when she became a Little Apple Hero. She has a brother (Christopher) with autism, who has trouble speaking and writing, but loves to paint. He and his peers at P.S. 37 spent time creating great pieces of art but were unable to do lobby displays because the school had cinder block walls that wouldn't allow adhesives. Gabriele asked that the Little Apple Heroes team hang cork in the lobby, so the kids could pin up their artwork with pride. In addition, they had an art festival in Christopher's honor - - as Gabriele said "my heroic deed is for my brother who I love very much and I'm happy I got picked to make his school proud"

Max Nocerino
Queens, NY

At the age of 10, Max wrote in his essay entry "I am fortunate to have a wonderful and loving family and even luckier to have a great grandmother who just celebrated her 90th birthday...I consider it a privilege to share my love and time with her." He continued with "unfortunately, there is an elderly segment of society that is sometimes forgotten or gets 'lost in the shuffle' of days gone by." However, sensitive Max had a plan. The Little Apple Heroes team went to the Forest View Center for Rehab & Nursing in Queens, where Max, who dubbed himself the "cruise director," planned a full day of activities. Bingo, chess, checkers, charades and Trivial Pursuit were on the agenda, but Max also requested there be a few group discussions about a "good book they read or good movie they saw."

Shaliyah Ivey
Bronx, NY

Shaliyah's essay boasted half a dozen impressive illustrations, including one of her and Mayor Bloomberg. Within her essay, the then 8 year old, made mention that if she won first place, she would "share it with people who worked hard on this project like my friends Samantha and Ashley. P.S. I hope to win." She did win. Although Shaliyah concentrated her efforts on a gardening initiative in her neighborhood, she also added that "we could recycle too. Get 5 cents for each can and bottle and then use the 5 cents to get a coupon at Mickey D's and give it to the homeless in my neighborhood." As per her instructions, new flowers were planted in the community garden in Vidalia Park. As she had said in her closing comments, "flowers help us by putting oxygen into the air we breathe."

Anisha Brooks
Manhattan, NY

Anisha attributed her good grades at the Community Action School to "strong organizational skills" and wanted to put those skills to use on Little Apple Heroes Day. Anisha's plan was to clean-up Morningside Park in upper Manhattan. She started the day by "dividing the volunteer's work into teams" and she was confident about the success of the project because "it was well organized and got done quickly." Projects in the park that day included: garbage clean-up and recycling. Do Not Litter sign installations and painting of benches and tables.