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My mother, a devout Christian, always told me "the world should be a better place because a man (or woman) has lived." She spent her entire life helping others, and I have tried to follow her example. Although I've fallen far short of her altruism, I found that as a teacher, I had the rare opportunity to make a difference in the lives of many children.

Let me preface by saying that I'm not some wonderful, selfless person. I do what I do for selfish motives. I love the feeling I get when helping others.

Many of my students came from very poor homes. Since they were teenagers, they usually did a pretty good job of hiding this fact. Once in a while, however, I would discover that one or two didn't have money for lunch. I don't know how many times I've loaned or given hungry students a couple of bucks to ensure they would have something to eat at noon. This was such a little thing to me, but it meant so much to the students who would otherwise have gone without lunch.

I remember one time, a boy named Pat was going on a trip with a school club. He, along with the rest of the members, had sold barbecue plates to raise the necessary funds. Their lodging and meals were included, but they were planning a trip to a zoo, which was not included in the package. I found out from another student that Pat didn't have the money for the zoo trip. He had never been to the zoo and was both disappointed and embarrassed that his mom couldn't afford to give him the extra cash needed. I called him out into the hall and gave him $20. This great big, strapping football player broke down and cried as he gave me a bear hug.

A couple of years ago I had a senior who was pregnant. She was a wonderful student, but her family was destitute. I discovered that she had been raped and refused to get an abortion. One day she began crying in class. I called her into the hall to find out the problem. She had absolutely no clothes for the baby, and it was due in January, our coldest month. She had been given a used carseat and crib, but no clothes. After school, I went to Walmart and purchased warm baby clothes. I also got used clothing from friends. The next day I gave the mom-to-be the items. You would have thought she had just won the lottery!

I could go on and on about similar stories, but I think you get the picture. These were just little things to me, but they were very important to the recipients. It seems that the students I helped financially never forget these small acts of kindness. I still

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