See Also:
Beginning of a FAMOUS Hero: The Danny Thomas Story.
Life Lesson #60 – Volunteer.
Toward the end of every school year, after all the testing is done, Mr. Delaney likes having discussions with his class. And of course, one of his favorite subjects is that of HELPING others instead of hurting them. “Why should we all be HELPERS,” he asked his class. One girl said, “It makes the world a better place.”
Another student said, “It makes life easier for someone having a hard time.” Someone else said, “It makes everybody friendlier.”
But there was a new kid in the class who had just moved from another city. He spent a lot of his time picking on other kids. He said, “Life is not always JUST about HELPING, you know.”
“Really” said Mr. Delaney, “Then what is it all about?” The boy thought—for longer than just a moment and finally said proudly, “It’s about having fun!” Mr. Delaney started to comment, but then a boy named Bryan, raised his hand. “I think I can handle this one,” he said, and Mr. Delaney nodded. Bryan said, “But just as soon as the fun is gone, all you have left is the memory of having fun, and if your fun was causing someone else to be hurt, what good does that do? When you HELP other people, though, then the person HELPING creates a good memory and provides a good memory for the person being HELPED. It really is all about HELPING.”
Then Mr. Delaney added, “And you can certainly have fun while you’re HELPING, too, making a good memory for everyone.” The boy hadn’t really thought about it like that before, but he was beginning to see that choosing to HELP others was a lot better than choosing to hurt them. He was pretty much deciding right then to start becoming a HERO instead.
– Jim Lord