佚名 /Anonymous
The pounding rain began in the middle of the night. The people of Jackson, Ohio awoke to the sound then went back to sleep, but the rain continued. Statistics said Jackson f loods once every one hundred years, but no one believed this would be the f lood of the century, People were evacuated from their homes to higher ground, leaving everything behind. Buildings in the low-lying areas were immersed in water. People felt helpless as they watched Mother Nature show her power.
Susan told the story to her students and showed them pictures from the newspaper. Immediately her students began raising money for the f lood victims. They sold lollipops, wrote letters to the community asking for donations and collected their own money. Mountains of clothes, furniture and food piled up. Susan's class made Easter baskets from shoeboxes and f illed them with candy and toys as well as toothpaste, soap, toothbrushes and shampoo.
Susan and I drove there with these baskets. We went from house to house, knocking on doors, ready to begin our mission. “Hello, I'm Susan Moore, and this is my friend, Allison. My sixth-graders at Pennyroyal Elementary made Easter baskets for you when they heard about the f looding. ”
Their faces lit up as they opened their gifts. As we entered one home, a husband and wife were crouched over their f loor with hammer and nails. When he opened the box, he began to cry. “I can't believe those kids did this. Let me give you some money for their school.” As I glanced at what was left of his home, I could not believe his generous spirit. He eventually conceded to write a thank-you note instead. One woman ran out to f ind us after opening her box, tears rolling down her face. “I collected bunny rabbits, and I lost them all in the f lood. There was a small pink rabbit in my box. I can start my collection again. Thank you. ” The burly man standing next to her also had tears in his eyes.