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generosity

Education

Teachers share their sweetest gifts from students and it's a moving lesson in generosity

The most thoughtful gifts often cost nothing at all.

Heather Babin Benoit/Instagram (via Upworthy)

A simple purple crayon can mean more than any expensive gift.

Generosity comes in many forms, but the most beautiful gifts come straight from the heart, no matter how much they cost. And when a heartfelt gift comes from a child? That's a pure form of giving that's hard to match.

A former teacher shared a story of the most memorable gift a student had ever given her, and it prompted a flood of teachers sharing similar stories that show the meaning of true generosity.

Heather Babin Benoit shared a photo of a small white gift box with a purple crayon inside it with the following story:

"Nine years ago, a student of mine saw other kids giving me presents and he had nothing to give. He took a box from a present he was given and his purple crayon from his pouch and wrapped it. He walked up to me and said, 'I hope you love it, it is your favorite color.' I still get tears in my eyes when I open this box.

Purple is my favorite color. He knew that. He paid attention to what I said. He didn’t have much to give in his eyes but he gave me so much more than a purple crayon. He gave me love. He gave me his heart. He gave me a kind gesture.

Nine years ago, it was my last Christmas as a classroom teacher. I received many gifts in this lifetime, but this present will always be a gentle reminder that it is always the thought that counts."

The comments on Upworthy's share of the story on Instagram were filled with teachers sharing similarly meaningful gifts their students had given them over the years. (Fair warning: If the purple crayon didn't already have you grabbing a tissue, you might want to grab one now.)

"A student once got me a dryer sheet. He had a troubled home life and didn’t have a lot of money, but he brought me a dryer sheet for Christmas because 'It’s my favorite smell, and I wanted you to have one to smell too!' It’s been 8 years, and I still have that dryer sheet. ❤️" – @roxanneamarques

"I had little boy in my Kindergarten classroom who brought me a mostly used bottle of old perfume. He said I’m sorry it’s all I had. I assured him I loved it and he said. “It was my Mom’s favorite perfume and you remind me of her.” His Mom had died the year before. The most selfless and heartfelt gift I have ever received." – @carol_j_becker

"This reminds of a student I had when I taught 1st grade, his family didn’t have money for store bought valentines so he hand wrote valentines on loose leaf paper with pencil to every student in the class. Kids understand the true meaning of giving." – @heatherbee721

"Years ago a student gave me a tiny piece of paper with just a curved line on it. It was our last day working together and he told me it was a smile. I still have that little smile in my office. 🥰" – @orangegrad

"Years ago when I taught pre-k, a child gave me a packet of ketchup for Christmas so he’d have something to give me. His mom worked at a burger place and he spent his afternoons and evenings there sitting in a booth because she had no child care. 😢❤️" – @awcarlsson

"One year one of my first graders gave me 2 extra long Slim Jim beef sticks that I believe were intended for her own snack. Keep in mind I am a vegetarian. 2 hours into our day she came up to me and said Ms. Hagan, I’m really hungry and think I need to eat one of those Slim Jims I said absolutely. Then an hour later she came back and whispered, I’m starving and I need to eat that other Slim Jim. Best present ever and best story. 😂😍" – @lu.hagan

"My daughter was teaching at a school where many students didn’t have money for gifts or great home situations. A little girl who received free breakfast took all the marshmallows from her cereal box and put them in the bag the plastic silverware came in to give my daughter her teacher as her Christmas gift. I could still cry thinking about how much her little heart wanted to just give a gift to her teacher." – @stacykib

Other commenters shared how much the story meant to them.

"I really hope that kid sees this someday and then he'll know how many people smiled because of his beautiful purple crayon," wrote one person.

"You cannot compete with the pure innocence of a child, that’s why their energy must be protected," shared another.

"I'm not sure which is more beautiful. That the student gave the sentimental gesture, or that the teacher recognized the sentiment in the gesture. Both are making me cry," shared another.

Indeed, giving a gift from the heart is one thing; recognizing the value of such a gift is another. May we all be thoughtful givers and receivers, especially with the children in our lives.

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Joy

People are creatively using sites like Etsy and Airbnb to get money directly to Ukrainians

Photo by Artem Zhukov on Unsplash; screenshot via @renebelew/Instagram

People are using person-to-person purchases to get money to Ukrainians in the war.

As we watch the war in Ukraine from half a world away, many Americans wonder what they can do to help the Ukrainian people.

There are standard NGOs and nonprofits, such as the Red Cross, Amnesty International and the International Rescue Committee, that are organizing aid to refugees inside and outside the country, of course. But not everyone feels good about putting their donation money into a big, pooled pot. Some people want to know exactly where their money is going and who it is helping.

And some people are figuring out creative ways to do that via person-to-person "gig economy" platforms like Etsy and Airbnb.

Here's how they're doing it:

For one, people are booking Airbnb stays in Ukraine for the coming days, which they obviously won't be using, and telling the hosts to keep the money. When you book an Airbnb you can read the profiles and reviews of the hosts to get a sense of who they are, if they have children, etc. Some people rent out private rooms in their own homes, while others own property that they rent out, but it's easy to see who you are renting from. When you book, you are also directly connected to the host so you can message each other.

The responses from people who have done this are both heartbreaking and beautiful.

@renebelew/Instagram

The Quentin Quarantino Instagram account, which has been used for huge crowdfunding efforts, shared the idea and the responses some followers have gotten from Ukrainians when they've done this. It also shared some tips, such as booking dates that are coming up soon since payments only go through to the host once the booking date arrives.

You can click the right arrow to scroll through all of the the screenshots, but here are a few of them:

Screenshot via quentin.quarantino/Instagram

Screenshot via quentin.quarantino/Instagram

Screenshot via quentin.quarantino/Instagram

Screenshot via quentin.quarantino/Instagram

Worth noting that Airbnb has waived the fees for hosts in Ukraine and its nonprofit arm, Airbnb.org, is coordinating stays for 100,000 Ukrainian refugees.

In addition to Airbnb, people are also using Etsy to give to Ukrainian people directly by buying from Ukrainian sellers. Some people have pointed out that sellers who sell digital files—educational or decorative printables, sewing or knitting patterns, and so on—can benefit from getting sales without having any confusion over whether someone wants something shipped.

Here's how you do it:

1. Go to Esty.com and type “digital files” in the search box

2. Click "All Filters" and scroll down to "Country"

3. Under "Custom," type "Ukraine"

You can use the country filter for any item sold on Etsy, but you do have to put something into the search bar before the filter option shows up. If you place an order for a physical item, just let the seller know upfront that you aren't expecting them to ship anything, you just want to send them some financial and moral support.

This is a good opportunity to personalize your giving in more ways than just a personal message. If you have a crocheting hobby, for instance, you could search "crochet" and then filter for Ukraine to support a fellow crocheter. It might sound silly, but those simple human connections are meaningful, especially when people are facing down inhumanity.

The situation in Ukraine is dire, and while it's important to support large-scale aid programs that have experience with getting people the assistance they need in a crisis, there's more than one way to help. Sometimes putting cash directly into the pockets of people who have just lost their livelihoods to war, who might need funds to get out of the country or to get supplies that help them stay safe can make a significant difference.

The beauty of sites like Airbnb and Etsy is that they allow us to connect with and help people on the ground directly, in a way that reminds all of us of the humanity at the heart of it all.


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Anonymous music store customer buys kid a 'Pantera' guitar for the sweetest reason

J.B. Hart Music Co., Inc/Facebook

Fallon got the surprise of a lifetime when an anonymous person gifted him his favorite guitar.

Is there anything better than someone going out of their way to make a kid's dream come true? Yes, there is. It's an anonymous person going out of their way to make a kid's dream come true.

Fallon is a kid who loves music. Metal music in particular. He's also a kid who has Williams syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that comes with a host of developmental and physiological challenges. It also comes with the gift of extreme friendliness and abundant love for people, often leading them to interact with people over toys as children.

For years, however, Fallon has enjoyed interacting with one specific guitar at J.B. Hart Music Co., Inc. in Grand Junction, Colorado. Fallon would ask to play it every time he came into the shop, and another patron took notice.

The music store posted the delightful story on Facebook, sharing photos of Fallon with the guitar and writing:

"This is Fallon. Over the last couple of years, he would visit the store from Montrose. His request each time was to play the 'Pantera' guitar, meaning the Dean Dimebag Darrell ML Guitar. We were shocked he knew some Dimebag riffs. Fallon is impacted by Williams Syndrome and has an excellent knowledge and a love for music. His dream was to own this guitar.

Eight months ago, when he was in the store playing it, another customer took notice of Fallon. It moved this customer so much he returned to the store later, purchased the guitar, and asked us to give the guitar to Fallon anonymously the next time we saw him. However, we didn’t see Fallon until today. We tried finding him to no avail. Today, his family came in the store, and we learned they had moved to Texas and returned this week for a visit. It was a wonderful experience to gift Fallon his dream guitar as a gift from a kind stranger. His mom burst into tears, and Fallon beamed with excitement. It was a special moment. There are still good people in this world."

Pantera themselves reshared the story:

So darn sweet.

It's particularly sweet considering Pantera's history with special guitars.

Dimebag Darrell, the "Pantera" guitar's namesake, was the lead guitarist for Pantera before the band broke up. He was tragically shot and killed in 2004 by a deranged fan while performing on stage with a different band, sending shock waves through the heavy metal world.

As reported by Loudwire, Darrell had been a huge fan of Eddie Van Halen and had been delighted to meet him just weeks before his death. After he was murdered, Eddie Van Halen called Darrell's family to ask if there was anything he could do for them. They wanted to bury him with a guitar, so they asked Van Halen to stripe one for Darrell like his iconic yellow striped guitar from the Van Halen II album cover.

Instead, Eddie Van Halen brought his original 1979 yellow striped guitar that Darrell loved so much to the viewing and memorial service so he could be buried with it, saying, "Dime was an original and only an original deserves an original."

How wonderful to see such care for one another carrying on, and the love of music being shared by people who don't even know each other. Rock on, humanity.

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Well Being

The touching reason why Keanu Reeves donated 70% of his 'Matrix' salary to cancer research

via Wikimedia Commons

Keanu reeves in São Paulo, Brazil.

“The Matrix” (1999) directed by the Wachowskis, was one of the biggest box-office hits of the ‘90s. It changed the course of cinema by being one of the first films to create a credible cinematic world that exists in the digital realm.

The special effects and action sequences were also groundbreaking at the time. The slow-motion “bullet-time” effects would become a hallmark of action films for the next 20 years.

The film’s success made its lead actor, Keanu Reeves, a very rich man. The actor made a $10 million salary for appearing in the film and received $35 million on the back end.

But instead of pocketing the generational wealth, he donated 70% of it to fund leukemia research. Reeves’ sister, Kim, was diagnosed with cancer in 1991 and battled it for 10 years, before going into remission.

He also sold his home to be closer to his sister and spent $5 million in therapies to help her recover. Reeves was the primary caretaker for his sister while she was sick, he cooked her meals, cleaned the house and prepared her medication.

He dedicated his life to being a cancer caretaker as his career as a leading man was skyrocketing.

His dedication to his sister meant that “The Matrix”’s first two sequels had to be delayed.

“She was always there for me, you know. I will always be here for her,” he said.

The siblings have a close bond forged by a tough childhood. Their father walked out on the family when Reeves was just 2 and later served time for drug possession. The children were raised by their mother and they moved frequently, living in Canada, Australia, New York and Hawaii.

Reeves created a charity foundation to help those fighting cancer, although he doesn’t want any of the credit. “I have a private foundation that's been running for five or six years, and it helps aid a couple of children's hospitals and cancer research,” he said, according to The Mercury News.

“I don't like to attach my name to it, I just let the foundation do what it does,” he added.

Reeves is also very generous with his coworkers. He reportedly gave a significant amount of the back-end profits he made from “The Matrix” films to the visual effects artists and costume designers, although that was apparently more an in-kind donation to the production of the films, and not literally a cash payout to crew members and some have claimed.

Reeves’ nomadic life as an artist has led him to the understanding that true happiness doesn’t come from accumulating wealth and material objects, but learning how to appreciate what you have already.

“That enormous sense of gratitude is enough for me–I don’t need to surround myself with a lot of objects and possessions to feel that way,” he said according to the Mirror. “It’s always nice to open your eyes every morning and see the world–it all seems so simple! That’s why I frequently use an expression that I like very much, and which gives me peace of mind: ‘I’m happy to be here.’”

Keanu, we’re pretty happy you’re here, too.

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