A teacher decides to visit one of his students after she stopped attending school. He learns a robbery caused her to lose many of her belongings, including all her clothes. Jack was a passionate high school teacher who was loved by his students for his kindness and ability to relate to all of them. To his students, he was one of the “cool” teachers, and he lived up to that expectation.
He taught history, and instead of going by the book, he’d think of creative ways to make sure the class wasn’t boring for his students. He’d incorporate social media, videos, and sometimes, even out-of-the-classroom trips for his students to understand the lessons more.One day, the grade 9 teacher noticed that one of his top students, Deborah, had stopped going to school. He initially thought she had gotten sick until a day turned into a week, and she still wasn’t back.
Deborah was hard to miss because she was a straight-A student loved by all. She was very polite to all her teachers and would teach her struggling classmates in-between classes. So when Deborah was absent for quite a while, people started to wonder where she went. One classmate started a rumor that Deborah didn’t have clothes to wear to school, so she chose not to attend at all.
Jack heard about the rumor and thought it was pretty strange. He decided to visit Deborah, who lived in a homeless shelter for women and children nearby. When he got there, Deborah was almost too ashamed to come out of her room. And when Jack saw her, she was in a ragged oversized black shirt and a pair of long jersey shorts that did not fit her well.
“What happened, Deborah?” Jack asked in shock. “We’ve been so worried about you in school.”Deborah clutched her arms around her stomach, embarrassed that her favorite teacher saw her in such a state. “I don’t own a lot of things, sir. I only have three sets of clothes and a dress. Last weekend, some volunteer workers at the shelter offered to take us on a hiking trip. I took all my clothes with me,” she started to share.
“We didn’t realize that while we were hiking, the car was accidentally left unlocked. Somebody took all of our things, and now I’m left with nothing,” Deborah cried. Jack was so upset upon hearing what happened, especially to someone who already had so little to begin with. Deborah revealed that the shelter hadn’t received a lot of donations, and most clothes were in a dire state and could not be worn because they were too big for her.
“I’m sorry you had to go through such a terrible incident, Deborah,” Jack couldn’t help but apologize. He assured her that he and the rest of the school were behind her and that he’d do his best to help her. Immediately after their meeting, Jack turned to social media to enlist the help of their school community. In his post, he wrote:
“Deborah Graham is a gifted, straight-A student loved by all. She is a polite and helpful student to her teachers, and a generous and patient classmate to her peers, choosing to teach them between classes. Deborah does all of these without expecting anything in return, despite her hard life. She currently lives with her single mother in a homeless shelter for women and children, and they’ve been relying on the shelter for their basic needs.
“Deborah’s belongings were recently stolen. Her already limited wardrobe was raided, leaving her with ragged, oversized donations. She has been absent from school for over a week because she has nothing to wear. I humbly request your assistance in getting Deborah what she requires so that she can return to school and work towards a better future for herself. Donations will be accepted through donation boxes located at our school’s front door. Mr. Jack Collins, please sign.”
The message quickly went viral after Jack shared it on social media. Hundreds of messages of support were sent to him by good Samaritans. The next day, Jack’s boxes in front of the school were filled with brand new and barely worn clothes for Deborah and the other women who had lost their belongings at the shelter. Because there were too many donations, Jack gave some to other struggling students at school, who now had new clothes to wear.
Aside from the clothing donations, Jack was surprised to hear from several parents concerned about Deborah’s safety. Deborah and her mother were given a free studio apartment by a parent who owned an apartment complex. Deborah and her mother couldn’t stop crying when they heard about this offer. Deborah’s mother worked as a cleaning lady, and her pay was insufficient to cover the rent.
Deborah’s mother offered to work for the parent instead, so that they could somehow repay her for allowing them to live in the studio unit for free. In the end, not only did they receive a free place to stay, but Deborah’s mother also received a raise in salary, allowing her to better provide for them.