And When All Else Fails, Believe in Kids
"The students raised money this fall as part of a nonprofit program called Penny Harvest. Students at 54 schools in King County participate by asking their classmates to bring in spare change, then forming student committees (guided by an adult coach) that decide where to donate it."
"At most of the schools, students give to nonprofit organizations. But when the 10 members of Hawthorne's committee met, DeBraer's name came up right away."
"A few of the students met DeBraer when their teacher Jason Wong, who met DeBraer as he walked to work, invited DeBraer to come to school to talk about homelessness. Others had seen the 55-year-old in the streets and alleys of Columbia City as they rode the bus to and from school."
"The Penny Harvest committee members quickly agreed they all wanted to help DeBraer. The question was: How much? And what about the shelter for homeless women and children they also were considering? Didn't the women and children there deserve help, too?
Like many moral dilemmas, there was no easy solution.
The students met a dozen times over several months, giving up lunch recess to sit in a windowless room around a group of desks pushed together."
These elementary students sat and worked this issue out. What great kids and what a great teacher.
Comments
And then I read the comments. Why do I do that? The comment section at ST always makes me feel like I live in a much different city than the one I think I live in.
But YAY KIDS!!!!!
This is probably because so many of the comments aren't written by folks who live in the city. Take note of the locality of the posters and take heart.