Barbara Daniels spent 30 years as a teacher in Virginia before retiring in 2011. And instead of taking it easy, she spent the last 15 years turning a local thrift shop into a community powerhouse. Barbara runs the Cumberland Clothes Closet, where she works with volunteers to sort gently used clothes, books, and household goods to keep prices dirt cheap for local families.

Even better? Every single cent of profit gets poured right back into her town. Under her leadership, the shop has handed out $10,000 in student scholarships, funded the local library, chipped in for the volunteer fire department, and supported local food banks.

Barbara doesn't consider herself the centerpiece of the effort — or see anything extraordinary in her work. Instead, she credits the store's true success to the bond between volunteers and customers. Without them, she says, helping those in need would be impossible. As she explains, "Our community is a part of us, and we are a part of it."