I was volunteering for kids. I handed him the box of tennis shoes, and he clutched it to his body in stubborn desperation. He was just four years old, shy and quiet. But now that he had those shoes, his assertiveness surfaced. He was holding on for dear life. “Oh no,” I thought. “I’m supposed to leave the box with the cashier, but my little friend will have to let go of it.”
We were in the midst of a shoe drive, giving free shoes to all the kids in a Head Start Link preschool in Sterling, Colorado. It was a program called Share the Spirit Link. The procedures included letting the kids pick out shoes, box them, write the recipient’s name on the box, and take them to the cashier.
He wouldn’t let go
I tried to explain all that to the four-year-old face looking up at me, but he wasn’t buying it. His eyes were intense, the gaze questioning. His excitement in picking out the shoes had moved to fear of losing them. He didn’t trust me ever to give them back.
It seemed we needed to make an exception to the procedures related to my little friend.
So we went to the cashier together, and I lifted him, and the clerk scanned the label with his clutching hands. He never let go. Not from when he sat down with the rest of his class to when they got back on the bus and went back to preschool. God bless him.
Kids tug at our hearts
It’s the innocent ones that tug at our hearts the hardest. I smiled as I saw the little boy climb the big stairs of the bus holding his new shoes for dear life. I made a difference in his life today, but it felt tiny. I wondered about his family, education, and the influences around him. I wondered where those little shoes would walk and, as he grew up, where the larger sizes would take him.
As we were organizing the shoe drive, I was concerned we would be taken advantage of by the kids or their families. Were the families really not able to buy shoes for their children? But as I handed out shoes, my worry shifted completely. I wanted to do more. I felt petty — one pair of $18 shoes to fight against all the odds a poor child faces.
Americans volunteer for kids
I’m not alone. Americans all over the country share these same feelings. We are a giving and charitable people. We want to help the poor and those less fortunate than us. Charites are filled with many people volunteering for kids.
According to Gallup, 83% of us donate to charity, and 65% volunteer our time. But is it enough? I asked myself, How many people were like me — happy to be volunteering for kids but wondering how much of a difference they made? Can I link to my opinion page – maybe the exact survey?
I felt inadequate
As a society, we are good at giving things away — shoes, food, even housing. But the human being on the other end is what matters most, and it’s the rare charity that teaches life skills and prepares the poor to grab the American Dream. Nor is our federal government any good at that; its role is to formulate benefits and pay them out. That is what I was feeling watching my little friend climb the steps on the bus. His new shoes will take him only so far.
This blog supports the Ultimate Guide on How to Help the Poor – Be Kind Hearted