It's not every day I am presented with an opportunity to be generous. Don't get me wrong..I'm a people pleaser, but the pocket books have been a bit baron, if ya know what I'm saying.
This holiday season, little man's daycare participated in a shoe box holiday service project. I shrugged it off until the last night, then took little man to the store to pick up goodies to pack in the box. I think my conscious had gotten the best of me, especially after I checked out their website.
Yes, this is cheesy, but since the moment I first laid my eyes on little man, February 19th at 12:50am, I felt a strong urge to try and make a difference in the lives of other kids.
The shoebox thing, albeit very small, was my initial way of giving back. I jammed everything a 2-4year old boy could possibly want/need. Dove soap (because everyone needs to have a dove experience at least ONCE in their life!) a new washcloth, dum dum suckers (a whole bag of them!), an economy sized pack of bubble gum, disney toy cars, crayons, a coloring book, water color paints and play dough. It set me back about 35 dollars...really, pocket change in the grand scheme of things.
Did I mention putting the box together, and trying to explain it to little man felt amazing? No? Well, it did! So much so that I decided to extend my charitable fever to my girlfriends. I hopped online and started shooting emails.
I was surprised when I received an email from a girlfriend of mine, a second grade Teacher at a local school. We ended up speaking on the phone, and she told me about how the kids in her class are amazingly deserving, but come from families who are new to the country and going through some difficult economic times. My mind started churning, and I remembered a local radio station was granting holiday wishes. Unbenounced to her, the second we hung up the telephone I hopped online, and submitted my wish for Teacher*:
My friend Teacher is a kind and compassionate person. She is a second grade teacher at a local Hmong charter school. When asking my girlfriends for charitable ideas, Teacher told me the kids in her class are in dire need of simple things. Most of her second grade class are sent to school without socks, hats, or mittens. Many of the kids cannot complete their homework because their families cannot afford crayons. Teacher has visited their homes, and many of these children don't even have sheets on their bed. Teacher, being the amazing person that she is, took it upon herself to fund a sock drawer for her classroom. When children show up to school without socks, she takes a pair out of her drawer and gives them to the child in need. It is something so simple, yet so completely kind.
This holiday season, I am asking you to help Teacher with her efforts. She can only do so much on a teachers salary, and would rather provide her classroom with basic necessities instead of receiving anything herself. She is so passionate about her classroom, and about children that helping her this holiday season would not only touch her heart, but the hearts of nineteen glowing second graders. Thank you.
To my amazement, I found myself sitting in the sound booth of the
radio station, while some interns barged in on Teacher's classroom, with bags of gifts for the kids. They truly went above and beyond, giving each child a sweatshirt, hat, mittens, school supplies and leaving Teacher with a sizable gift card. She was blown away, and the kids were amazed. I am still in shock about everything that went down this morning.
I know money is tight for a lot of people this holiday season, but I can tell you for certain KDWB's Holiday Wish is an amazing cause.
*Although her name was all over the radio this morning, I am keeping her anonymous to respect her privacy.
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