People Are Awesome: Fifth Grader Donates $300 Life Savings to Stop Teacher Layoffs

Good   
March 17th, 2011

Credit: RLHyde / Flickr

Thanks to draconian budget cuts, thousands of layoff notices have been delivered to teacher mailboxes nationwide over the past few weeks. But, after notices went home about pink slips handed out in the Arcadia Unified School District, Jocelyn Lam, a fifth grade student at Camino Grove Elementary decided there was something she could do to save her school’s teachers: she emptied her piggy bank.

Last Friday, Lam gave her teacher an envelope full of $1, $5, and $10 bills totaling $300—money she’d earned over several years for doing chores and getting good grades. She also included a handwritten letter addressed to the Arcadia Unified school board and superintendent, saying, “I really hope this $300 will help save the teachers that are about to be laid off. I also hope this is enough to save more than one teacher.” Her donation was completely unsolicited and took the school staff by surprise.

Of course, the $300 isn’t nearly enough to save even one teaching position, but Lam’s selflessness has catalyzed the community into action. Since her inspiring letter, the students and parents at Camino Grove have raised $20,000 toward saving teaching jobs and the fund raising has gone district-wide. The effort has gone a long way toward letting the teachers and school staff know how much the community cares. Lam’s principal, Dr. Brook Reynolds told Arcadia Patch that he’s proud of the students and how they’re trying to save the teachers, “because they actually value what the teachers are doing for them.” As for Lam, she plans to do more chores—so she can make more money to save additional teaching jobs.

This story originally appeared at Good.

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4 Responses to “People Are Awesome: Fifth Grader Donates $300 Life Savings to Stop Teacher Layoffs”

• John Fritz says:

  March 20, 2011 at 2:41 am

  Every single teacher and administrator in this school district should be hanging their heads in shame over the selfless but misguided act of this child.

  It sickens me to think what sort of misdirections, half-truths and outright lies the teachers have used to poison these young student’s minds

  Scum.

  Reply
• TT says:

  March 20, 2011 at 11:12 pm

  Classic example of Stockholm syndrome.

  “Thank you for all the year past and present of brainwashing in this government indoctrination camp!”

  Both sad and pathetic from multiple angles.

  Reply
• TMike says:

  March 21, 2011 at 12:08 pm

  John Fritz and TT — Hear! Hear! Say it again so people hear it. You two are exactly right on this matter.

  Reply
• Gringo says:

  March 24, 2011 at 6:40 am

  This kid is going to have the most incredible socialist hangover one day, when she graduates and realizes how much she has to unlearn.

  Reply