Dotted With a Heart

I came home yesterday to a large white envelope that didn’t look like a bill. I love snail mail, so I eagerly ripped into it, but what was inside surprised me and left me momentarily speechless.

Inside were several brightly colored letters written in pencil on lined looseleaf paper. They were covered in stickers and written in lovely childlike handwriting, some of the i’s dotted with hearts. They were from a 5th grade class that I had donated books to through the organization Donor’s Choose. Donor’s Choose lets you pick among requests from teachers in your area who need various supplies for their classrooms and donate money toward fulfilling those needs. I had given money to fund this 5th grade class’s need for books in their classroom.

To be honest, I had forgotten about the donation. I love Donor’s Choose and try to made several donations to them throughout the year, but I had forgotten about this fifth grade class and their books. Thanks to those letters, I’ll never forget them now.

The class wrote about how much they loved the books and which ones were their favorites. Many of the children wrote that The Babysitter’s Club books were their favorite. When I saw that, my breath caught in my throat, because those had been my favorite books growing up.

One girl ended her letter P.S. I love reading. ❤

My heart melted for that girl, because I was that girl. I always loved reading and still do. To see that these children are loving reading and to know I had a small part in helping to foster that love made my day. I pinned her letter up on the bulletin board next to my desk and have smiled each time I’ve glanced up at it.

If you want to feel great, donate to Donor’s Choose. You will help a teacher and their students, and it might make your own day.