It is no secret that my husband is the  Executive Director at Teach My People, but what is a secret, that I think shouldn’t be, is the amount of community effort that goes into making things at Teach My People run smoothly.

Eric and I have always believed that if you see a need and it’s a need you can fill, you do.  It’s simple.  

We are raising our kids that way as well.   Our hope for them is that this will become an automatic response.

Since Eric has taken the job at Teach My People, we have seen such an outpouring of giving.   Not just money, but time.  

Everyone’s lives are so crazy that sometimes, time is even harder to give.  

I think at last count,  Teach My People has over 79 volunteers!

That’s a lot of people sharing their time.  And I don’t know if you have ever helped a kid learn to read, or listen to them practice reading,  but let’s just say I think that anyone who does deserves sainthood.  

This has been overlooked by the Pope, but I am thinking of sending him an email on the matter.

I am often blown away by what people actually give to Teach My People, in the way of school supplies, snacks, games and books.

Sometimes a need is filled so amazingly that it takes my breath away.  

Several weeks ago the center was out of dinner supplies, and it’s not easy to feed dinner to close to 90 kids every night.  

After a few hours of controlled panic, Get Carried Away’s Troy Lottchea made dinner for everyone.  

He saw the need and  he filled it.

I know that Teach My People would not survive without the support of all the local businesses that support them.  Graves Pools donated ladders for the pool, and the amazing Ms. Anita at Coastal Pure, provided a chemically reduced way to make sure the pool water is just right for the kids.  I mean,  who wants to swim in a gross pool?!  

Quigley’s Pint and Plate restaurant is providing  good, healthy food on a monthly basis. They  know that in order to help kids learn, you need to feed them well!

Helping people is always a risk.  There is a chance you might get hurt, or that something you see will break your heart.  

But, there is also a chance that you will change someone’s life.   Even if all you do is clean a pool or provide a meal, you’ve taken a step to help.  And that’s always worth the risk.