Little Voices, Big Potential

Earlier this year, the Kiwanis Club of Woodhaven had a writing contest titled "If I had $100 to give to a charity I would choose __________________ because _______________." I told my students that they were welcome to take part in this optional writing piece if they desired. I was astounded when 27 of my students said they wanted to write a letter to assist a charitable cause.

After this competition, one child was gratified with the ability to grant a check to the Kids-Talk Child Advocacy Center in the amount of $100. I was so proud of this student but didn't want the other 26 kids to feel like their writing was pointless. I wanted to let them know that their actions have the ability to make great differences. After tossing around a few ideas with my principal, we decided to ask my students if they would like to write to the specific charity that they were intending to help. Most of the 26 students were still looking to help and jumped at this opportunity.

I sent these letters out with little expectations of what would happen next. I figured a few kids might receive a thank you note in the mail, but that was about it. After a few weeks, I started getting responses electronically and in person. It became extremely exciting to check my email/teacher-mail to see what surprise I might be able to share with my little philanthropists.

I heard from the Michigan Humane Society, Trenton Humane Society, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, American Heart Association, Panthera Save-the-Tigers Foundation, Miracle League, and the American Cancer Society. Each of these foundations responded by sending hand-written thank you notes, certificates of appreciation, wristbands, booklets, pictures, and even surprise visits to our school.

A representative of the American Cancer Society (ACS) called me a couple of weeks into the excitement and mentioned that she was almost in tears after reading the letters that were sent to her. She was so moved by what she had read  that she wanted to invite my girls to speak at an opening Relay for Life ceremony. Together, we invited the families of the two girls to our classroom so they could see the girls reactions when being offered this tremendous opportunity. Needless to say, the girls were beyond thrilled. The rest of the day they both had an ear-to-ear smile on their faces. Towards the end of the day, one of the girls said to me, "Mr. Bezeau, was I looking pale during the presentation? I was shocked and could barely believe this was happening to me!"

Two months ago, this assignment wasn't even a slight consideration in my teaching plans. But now, it will be a priority that all my writing assignments are planned to have a more meaningful outcome. This opportunity taught every child in my classroom that their words have meaning, that they can leave a positive mark on the world by following through with their passion,and that they have a voice worth being heard. As a teacher, what else would I want?