See Also:
Beginning of a FAMOUS Hero: The Daisy Low Story.
Life Lesson #60 – Volunteer.
Jane Addams was a little girl born long ago in 1860. Her family was very loving and took good care of her. Jane loved going places with her dad. One morning he said, “Hurry up with your breakfast, Jane, I’m going out on business, and you can come with me!” As they rode along in their horse-drawn wagon, Jane noticed they were going down a street they had never been on before. She had never seen such “tumble-down” houses with torn curtains in the windows. Jane whispered to her father, “What’s the matter here? Why is everything so ugly?” Her kind father explained that these people were very poor and could not afford nice houses and pretty clothes. Jane felt a great deal of compassion for them and told her father that someday when she grew up she was going to build a big fine house near the ugly little houses so the children could come play in her yard, and she would be their friend.
As Jane grew, she always remembered her promise to help poor children. After going to college, Jane went to the big city of Chicago and began looking for just the right house. She found an old run-down mansion that had been very beautiful at one time. Jane cleaned and repaired the old house until it was wonderful again! She invited the children to come play, and she invited their moms to come visit her. Jane’s big house full of love became very famous! It was called Hull House, named after the family that had first built it long before. Jane Addams showed so much compassion for people that Theodore Roosevelt, the President of the United States, called her “America’s most useful citizen!” Because she cared so much for others, Jane Addams truly became a HERO!
– Jim Lord