Abused as a child herself, Cynthia Shafer is not willing to look away from the problem, avoiding her own bad memories. Instead, she's devoting her life to protecting abused kids.

She started when she was still in high school, teaching disadvantaged children how to read, and volunteering at an abused children's home. She continued as an adult, taking time off from her job as a realtor to volunteer as a children's advocate with the nonprofit Guardian ad Litem program. She was actually fired by a realty agency for spending time as a Guardian, even though her sales figures were high.

As a Guardian, she helped to determine just how abused the children were, got them through the legal system, and either returned them to their families, if that was safe to do, or found good foster homes for them.

It wasn't easy. "You have children who've been neglected or abandoned and children who've been physically and sexually abused," said Shafer. "You cry a lot." And it wasn't safe, either: Shafer encountered many situations in which she feared not only for the child but also for herself. There were parents who were drunk, who had weapons, and who threatened her as well as their children. "You don't know what you're going to walk into. You learn to deal with situations as they are, not as you want them to be."

Shafer took on more responsibilities in both her job and her volunteer work. For the former, she rose to be president of the Fort Myers Beach Board of Realtors and state chapter president of the Women's Council of Realtors. For the latter, she became involved with Voices for Kids of Southwest Florida, whose mission is to make sure that every child who needs a Guardian ad Litem volunteer gets one.

Then she took a really big step. Florida law mandates that children with guardians must have beds of their own. In some cases, that's difficult; for example, some grandparents who want to be guardians live on fixed incomes and can't afford extra beds; kids sleep on sofas. So in 2001, Shafer founded Bedz for Kidz.

Bedz for Kidz set out to provide a bed and other furniture to any child who has a guardian. It started when Shafer donated a twin bed out of her own spare bedroom so that a grandmother could be a guardian of her own grandchild and not lose the child to foster care. Ever since then, Shafer has given time, energy, and money to this effort, traveling across five counties in southwestern Florida to deliver dozens of beds to children. Shafer solicits donations, buys the beds and furniture, prepares the bedding, and then sets up packaging and deliveries, to say nothing of actually installing the furniture. She even adds a stuffed animal to every delivery. The organization has delivered more than 2,500 beds.

It's rewarding in a number of ways. "When I deliver beds on Saturdays," says Shafer, "you get kids that just grab your arm and ask, 'Is this really for me?'" Shafer travels around Florida to speak about the Bedz for Kidz, enlisting more support for the work.

In the end, it's the little things that count—if you consider a child's joy little. Shafer knows what matters: "I'm passionate about it. I feel blessed because, if I can help the kids and put a smile on their faces and give them that moment of happiness, it lasts a long time."

When she hears a child's voice on the phone asking, "Are you the bed lady?" Shafer has all the payback she'll ever want.