Growing up, I never realized how blessed I was as a child until I started teaching in the Memphis City Public School System at the age of 21. It pierced my heart to see children coming to school with insufficient clothing and shoes with holes. I could not get angry one day when a second grader stole $20 from my purse just so he could buy some food. Although this was over 30 years ago, I vowed from that day forward to never forget his face and commit myself to helping children like him, because “If I can help somebody as I travel along, then my living shall not be in vain!”