Our favourite clips...Frank O'Dea

It's not very often that you hear about true rags to riches tales. And then, every once in a while, we hear about people like Frank O'Dea.

O'Dea's early story is truly horrific, one that you would not expect to have a happy outcome. The victim of multiple sexual assaults in his childhood, by the time O'Dea was in his twenties he was living a drunken life on the streets of Toronto. At 23, he was given the courage to fight his demons, overcome the obstacles facing the homeless and rejoin mainstream society in the pursuit of making something of his life.

And his desire to be something more than what he was has paid off. Many, many times over. In 1975, O'Dea opened up a little coffee shop with a business partner in the Scarborough Town Centre. They called it Second Cup, which is now the largest chain of gourmet coffee stores in Canada.

And he didn't stop there.

Building on the success of Second Cup, O'Dea went on to found Proshred Security, a now global document shredding business.

In 1985, he co-founded Street Kids International, an organization charged with helping homeless children around the world, particularly in third world countries.

He was the founding chair of War Child Canada, the organization providing humanitarian relief to children in war zones around the world.

He co-founded Canadian Landmine Foundation in 1999, whose aim is to raise funds and awareness about the suffering caused by anti-personnel landmines. O'Dea was a key force in the creation of the Night of a Thousand Dinners fundraising initiative that is now held in over 50 countries around the world.

In 2003, Frank O'Dea was made an Officer of Canada.

Last year, Frank O'Dea released his biography titled: "When All You Have Is Hope".

In 2007, O'Dea joined George in The Hour studios to discuss his life and the book. I remember when I first watched the interview, I went through an array of emotions: horror, sadness, awe and finally, my own version of hope.

Frank O'Dea on The Hour