Generosity

Today I am overwhelmed by generosity. I teach junior high as I have mentioned before. There are about 800 students in my school. Not too long ago, one of my students had his house burn to the ground. They lost everything and I mean everything. Insurance is fighting paying anything for their loss. Our school decided to do a "Chuck your Change" for this family. The concept is simple - students bring money and contribute it to this family. Our school goal is $1500.00 or roughly$2.00 a student. We still have about a week to go before this collection ends. As of the end of school yesterday, the students had brought over $900.00.

Today a student in my homebase (a class like homeroom) overwhelmed me with his family's generosity and humility. He brought me a check for $1000.00 for this family. That doubles what the school has raised so far. It comes from his parents business. As he gave me the check, he told me to not tell anybody in the class the amount or where it came from. Tears filled my eyes as I looked at the amount, as they fill my eyes now when I think about this. I took the check to the office and told them of his request to remain anonymous. I am so proud of my students! So proud of the help this school and community are giving to this family in need. I know this money will be appreciated. I know they can desperately use it. And I know this one student, along with the money given from the rest of the school, has shown me once again the true meaning of Christmas.

How grateful I am again for that reminder at this most commercial time of year. That's what it is all about - giving and helping others. I hope I can give and help more through the remainder of this holiday season.