19 Dec Making a Difference
I stumbled across a story on the internet yesterday which struck a chord with me, and which I thought I would share.
An old man was walking on the beach one morning after a storm. In the distance, he could see someone moving like a dancer. As he came closer, he could see it was a young woman picking up starfish and gently throwing them into the ocean.
“Young lady, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?”
“The sun is up and the tide is going out and if I don’t throw them in, they will die”, she said. “But young lady, do you not realise that there are many miles of beach and thousands of starfish? You cannot possibly make a difference.” The young woman listened politely, then bent down, picked up another starfish and threw it into the sea.
“It made a difference for that one.”
Children need to feel that they are able to make a difference in the world around them, that they feel listened to and have a voice, which can be used for the common good. One way for them to realise this, is for us as adults to model it for them. At the Coleridge Families AGM I spoke about the importance of our parent body. That as well as organising events to raise funds for the school we also organise events which raise awareness, and educate about different issues that we as a community may well face.
On Saturday 17th January we are doing just that. Coleridge Families, together with Team Margot and Delete Blood Cancer UK will be hosting a community ‘Swab, Save a Life’ day. The event will be in memory of inspirational 2 year old Margot Martini who sadly lost her fight with leukaemia on 27th October 2014. This is a real opportunity for us to make a difference to lives of others. For more information on the event and what is going to be happening on the day please visit the website.
I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a happy holiday and a restful couple of weeks.