A piece of paper spits out from my printer and my daughter comes to retrieve it.

 “Mommy, do you want to see my flyer?”

 I see a picture of a kitten at the top. She explains that it is a flyer for the group that she and some friends formed called “The Itty Bitty Kitty Committee.”

 Although I’m not quite sure what this group does, I somehow find it more comprehensible than the other club she and her twin sister belong to, “The Worm Club.”  This second group is dedicated to saving worms from being squashed or drowned on sidewalks at school.  Out of respect for my daughters’ sensibilities and their club, I admit to having rescued my share of worms after heavy rainstorms leave them floating in puddles, susceptible to drowning.

As I read the flyer, I discover this committee of eight children is working to raise funds for a one-year-old cat named Samson.  Samson, it seems, has lost use of a limb due to the actions of an abusive  person who shot the poor creature in the leg. Suddenly, the group’s purpose has become mine.

 “How do I donate?” and “How can I help?” I want to know.

Beyond my interest in their mission, I’m proud of my daughters and impressed that this small group of children is trying to make a difference.  Their mission to save this one little cat reminds me of “A Starfish Tale,” adapted from The Star Thrower by philosopher Loren Eiseley. 

In the tale, the storyteller is walking on the beach and sees a man picking up individual starfish and throwing them into the ocean using ballet-like movements.

The storyteller wonders at the other’s actions and, hearing that the man is saving individual starfish, he points out the futility of the other’s actions. After all, the sun is up and there are starfish along the entire length of the beach, so this one man can make very little difference in the bigger picture, he asserts.

The Star Thrower simply smiles, bends down, picks up a starfish and throws it into the sea.

“It made a difference for that one.”

 
My daughters tell me that their Itty Bitty Kitty Committee has just received requests from two more students to become members.  Soon they’ll number ten who will work to raise funds to help this kitten.  The number of dimes, nickels and quarters in the mayonaise jars installed in each classroom, labeled with “Funds for Samson’s Surgery” are guaranteed to grow with such a dedicated group inspiring action.

This is how the passion of one individual wanting to make a difference can become universal, touching and engaging many.  Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King and many of history’s great people recognized it.

So did one child in the Terry A. Taylor fifth grade class.

 
P.S. If you, like I, are inspired to help Taylor Elementary School’s Itty Bitty Kitty Committee in their efforts to raise funds for Samson’s surgery, you can make a donation directly to GRASP (Greece Residents Assisting Stray Pets). Samson and The Itty Bitty Kitty Committee will be ever so thankful.

Copyright 2009©Carol White Llewellyn