Before I prepared to launch the pilot of Community Corps for South Riding (CCSR), I had completed a personal project: sort and organize all of my loose photos into chronological order. While sifting through my memories, I came across a bag full of keepsakes from my AmeriCorps *VISTA service. One of the items was a farewell poem given to me by the children and youth at the settlement house, where I was the Youth Director. The title is called The Starfish Story.

Here is the essence of the poem:

A wise man went to the ocean to write, and he would walk along the beach before he began writing. One foggy morning he noticed a dancing figure in the distance. He walked quickly to catch up with the dancing figure. He saw a young girl, but she was not dancing. She was reaching down to the shore, picking something up, and then gently throwing it into the ocean.

He called out to her, “Good morning! What are you doing?” and she replied, “Throwing starfish in the ocean.” He corrected himself and proceeded to ask why is she throwing the starfish in the ocean. The young girl answered, “The sun is up, and the tide is going out. And if I don’t throw them in, they’ll surely die.”

Here is the lesson of the poem:

“But, young lady, don’t you realize that there are miles and miles of beach, and starfish all along it? You can’t possibly make a difference!”

The young girl listened politely. Then she bent down, picked up another starfish and threw it into the ocean, past the breaking waves and exclaimed, “It made all the difference for that one!”

Here is the impact of the poem:

The Starfish Story framed my mindset for CCSR. I had no expectations for what it would look like and how many children it would reach. I knew that I could have been volunteering all over our neighborhood or remained in one spot. I could have reached dozens of children or only a few. CCSR would evolve as it was meant to be with who found value in my service. Occasionally, I was asked if I had more children and youth participate. I understood the interest, because so much of our world is driven by data. However, I did not hesitate to reply no. Numbers and statistics were neither my goal nor the intention.

As CCSR draws to a close on June 15^th, we topped off at 16 students and 3 youth volunteers benefiting 3 schools. These children and youth, their families, and the surrounding neighbors have all told me how CCSR has made an impact in their lives during this unprecedented school year. And, like the girl and her starfish, it made all the difference to them. SUCCESS!