editors note:  I love this week’s small voice– big message  guest post not only because it’s a great example of how one woman on a mission can change the world, but also because the story proves that while the internet may make it easier for one person to make a difference, it’s certainly not required.  Thank you Leslie for sharing the Hope Cottage story!

1918 – Dallas, Tx. World War I is winding down, the influenza epidemic is starting to rear its ugly head and one woman, Emma Wylie Ballard – a caseworker for the Dallas County Humane Society – when it dealt with people, not cats, rats, dogs and ferrets, despaired of the hundreds of children abandoned on the streets of Dallas. Unwed pregnancy was a shameful condition and these women had no other alternatives than to leave their children in cars, in barns and even, in the case of one tot, on an anthill. Continue reading →