Leah Adams will tell you that what she does is nothing out of the ordinary, that her neighborly spirit and sense of community service are simply "what everyone does."

Don't believe her.

Lelia Helms, a neighbor who has known Adams for nearly 25 years, is among the many who will tell you that her friend's life is anything but ordinary.

Adams is the hub of Iowa City's Willow Creek neighborhood, Helms says, doing the little things that bring a community together - remembering birthdays, recognizing children's achievements, cooking meals for families going through tough times and organizing neighborhood projects.

"It's just little things that I do; I haven't done any great things," Adams said. "I just remember people when they've done something good or when something happens in their families - but that's what everybody does."

Helms, however, says that those little things have added up to immeasurable good over the years.

"She just knows what's going on and is always there to help," Helms said. "And it's not always through a service organization, it's just Leah being Leah. She's in the background and never seeks the limelight. She's just a lovely person."

Beyond her neighborhood, Adams volunteers through the Senior Center to deliver Meals on Wheels each week to area seniors, providing not only food, but companionship to those in need of both.

Adams is an active member of Project GREEN, an organization that grows and sells plants to benefit the beautification of the city and schools. She also has worked through her church, First United Methodist, to comfort the sick and bedridden.

"I don't think I do anything extraordinary by any means. It's about neighbors helping neighbors and people helping each other," Adams said.

Helms says it's impossible to tell just how many people Adams has helped. "She has touched hundreds, if not thousands of lives," Helms said.

- Josh O'Leary