They are some of the "givers" among us - people who bring opportunity, hope and learning to others.  They're being honored for their activism this weekend by The Thomas Wales Foundation. 

Every year The Wales Foundation gives out an award for "passionate citizenship."  They hold an event they call "A Night Among Heroes."  These are the heroes. 

Gary Thomsen 

Gary Thomsen's classes do a lot of learning outside this classroom.  His students have rollerbladed across the country, barnstormed on bikes to celebrate the old negro baseball leagues, preserved local history with video diaries, made moves about it all and won Emmys with those movies. 

"They'll all get to a point where they're going to feel that they've done something for the community and for other people. For a lot of them, it's the first time they've felt that.  They're going to be able to stand on their own two feet and they'll feel good about themselves - not so much from what they've learned, but because what they've learned is going to help someone else.  And that's priceless," said Thomsen.  

Killian Noe 

Killian Noe runs The Recovery Cafe in Seattle. It's an oasis in Belltown, shelter from the storms of the street, where addicts, alcoholics, the mentally ill can get a free meal and the tools they need to get sober and engage life.   

"We try to see beyond, also to the gifts that are there - not just define them by their brokenness or their illness, but try to look beneath that to the gifts they bring to the whole," said Noe. 

Colleen Willoughby 

Colleen Willoughby and her staff are happily and openly "purse-happy."     

"That's what it's all about - the power of the purse and women getting in touch with their purses," said Willoughby. 

Without salary, she runs the Washington Women's Foundation, which pools charitable donations and supports local non-profits in the arts, education, social services, health and the environmental fields.  They've raised more than $7 million worth of grants in 11 years. 

Twenty-five years ago, she co-founded the City Club as a public affairs forum. Civic involvement for Willoughby is as natural as breathing.           

"In our family, we read the Declaration of Independence every Fourth of July," says Willoughby.  "We have a Fourth of July picnic, and everybody, from young kids to old people - we pass the Brittanica around and we each read sections.  And it ends 'We pledge our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor,' and I guess I just take that to heart.  I think we all have a responsibility in a democracy to do what we can."  

Margaret Wilson 

This is Bahia Street, a free school in Salvador, Brazil. Girls get an education and a break from the poverty and violence of the shantytowns.  Co-founder Dr. Margaret Wilson runs Bahia out of her tiny Seattle office.  

A Brazilian partner operates the school day to day.  They have sixty students now, have sent their first three graduates to college and have a teen pregnancy rate of zero. 

"I think it's as though we're all holding hands, and we are all doing what we can and it's got to make a difference," said Wilson.  "If we don't do that, then surely there's going to be catastrophe. For myself personally, I don't have another choice." 

Trong and Rani Hong 

Trong and Rani Hong have earned the Passionate Citizenship Award for their work with The Tronie Foundation, raising awareness about modern day slavery. 

Rani was kidnapped and sold as a child in India and has never forgotten the loneliness and desperation of those years. 

"I know that's something I don't want other victims to go through," said Rani Hong.  "It's my passion to help others. I believe we can all do something of our part, and my part is stepping out of my comfort zone and providing a home for them." 

They have helped build shelters in Fiji and are refurbishing a Western Washington home as a safe haven for slavery victims abandoned in our state.   

"This is something I must do.  This is who I am. This is who we are," said Trong Hong. 

The Wales Foundation is named in honor of U.S. Attorney Thomas Wales, who was murdered in Seattle six years ago. The dinner recognizing these heroes is set for Saturday night.