This week we soft launched My Teacher, My Hero to the public.

The site is built in partnership with the University of Southern California and a number of other organizations dedicated to supporting teachers. The goal of the site is to raise the status of teachers in our society, recognize the integral role they play in shaping our future, and encourage more top college graduates to consider teaching as a career.

To do that, we’ve initially reached out to a select group of people and asked them to share the story of that teacher who most dramatically impacted their life and helped them become who they are today.

Thus far we’ve filmed or received confirmations from about 60 people, including: Harrison Ford (actor), Esther Dyson (entrepreneur and philanthropist), Eli Manning (athlete), John Legend (musician), Janet Robinson (CEO, NY times), Seth Godin (author, blogger), Craig Newmark (founder, Craigslist), Caryl Stern (CEO. UNICEF USA), Robert Rubin (former Secretary of the Treasury), Alan Mulally (CEO, Ford), Robert Thompson (Editor in Chief, Dow Jones and WSJ), Pras (Fugees), Mike Bloomberg (Mayor, NYC), Antonio Villaraigosa (Mayor, Los Angeles), Barry Mayer, (CEO, Warner Brothers), Dominique Moceanu (Olympic Gymnast), Dan Bane (CEO, Trader Joes), Dick Cook (Chairman, Walt Disney Studios), etc..

Now that the site is live, anyone will be able to submit a video thanking a teacher who changed his or her life and then share it across a variety of different social networks.

The favor:

If you get a chance, please check out myteachermyhero.com and share a story. After that, please consider becoming a fan of MTMH on facebook at Facebook.com/MyTeacherMyHero