My daughter and I combined our envelopes and had $30 to share. We decided to give it to someone at the school where I work because I teach at a Title I school, meaning the majority of students live at or below the poverty level. There is no shortage of people in need. I asked our 7th and 8th grade counselors to think about a student who they knew and was most definitely close with their parent. I asked for this caveat because I know, when it comes to extra money, many of my students would wish to share with their families rather than use the money themselves.
The student that they chose is a creative, outgoing young man who is very close with his mom and his sister, who is also at my school. Mom is currently working two jobs and putting herself through school. One of the things this young man has shared is how he does lots of odd jobs to earn money, and he and his mom plan together for fun things to do with the money as a sort of “fun fund” (those are my words, not theirs). Because they have so little money and she is constantly at work or doing homework—they do homework together as a family when mom is around—they really look forward to planning how to use any extra cash and sometimes it may be days or weeks of saving and planning. When I gave him the money, it was with the direction that he had to use it to do something fun and special for his mom. He was very excited and was going to let me know what they decided to do with it when they made the plan.
I loved this idea so much that we matched the amount and did the same with another student in the other grade. Not scared to do this, it’s fun, and I love finding creative ways to give to my students without them really knowing that it was me—that was the only hard part. I prefer to be anonymous in my giving.
—Moxie Sparkleplenty