When I was in high school, I had a volleyball coach who saw I had a lot of potential, and who took the time after practice to run extra drills with me and push me to become the player he knew I could be. He chose me as a sophomore for the varsity team – not because I was as good as the seniors, but because he saw talent that he knew he could develop. He told me one day that when he recruited players, he didn't look at the 18-year olds who were heading into college, but at the 12 and 13 year olds - the ones with big feet, who he knew would grow tall, and the ones with raw athletic talent who could be turned into volleyball players. Some girls could be shanking volleyballs left and right into the stands, or serving it straight under the net, but he wasn't concerned about where they were at – he looked at where they were going.
It meant a lot to me, especially at a young age, to have someone take the time to invest in me. That experience stuck with me through the years since high school, and it wrote a lesson on my heart that I needed - that I could be somebody worth investing in. So partway through college, when things in my life weren't going the way I had hoped they would go, it meant something to me once again, to run across someone who found greater potential in me, and could help me develop it.
It's that love and dedication that we’ve received from people who've invested in us that has made us want to give that help back to others. A little love and understanding can go a long way, and it is now our commitment to pass along the same help onto others – simply because we're grateful that somebody else did that for us.
Welcome!
Welcome to the Freedom Foundation “blog” – a place to read everyday stories from everyday people who volunteer for the Freedom Foundation. These are the stories that are the life of the events, programs and efforts of the Foundation.
Some people criticize us for the faith we have that makes us believe we can make a difference. Others ridicule the idea that change is possible. But it is stories like these that you read below and then thousands of others that remind us that making a difference in just one person’s life is worth it.
The Starfish Story
Original Story by: Loren Eisley
One day a man was walking along the beach when he noticed
a boy picking something up and gently throwing it into the ocean.
Approaching the boy, he asked, “What are you doing?”
The youth replied, “Throwing starfish back into the ocean.
The surf is up and the tide is going out.
If I don’t throw them back, they’ll die.”
“Son,” the man said, “don’t you realize there are miles and miles of beach and hundreds of starfish?
You can’t make a difference!”
After listening politely, the boy bent down,
picked up another starfish,
and threw it back into the surf. Then, smiling at the man, he said…
“I made a difference for that one.”
These are our “Starfish Stories”.
Some people criticize us for the faith we have that makes us believe we can make a difference. Others ridicule the idea that change is possible. But it is stories like these that you read below and then thousands of others that remind us that making a difference in just one person’s life is worth it.
The Starfish Story
Original Story by: Loren Eisley
One day a man was walking along the beach when he noticed
a boy picking something up and gently throwing it into the ocean.
Approaching the boy, he asked, “What are you doing?”
The youth replied, “Throwing starfish back into the ocean.
The surf is up and the tide is going out.
If I don’t throw them back, they’ll die.”
“Son,” the man said, “don’t you realize there are miles and miles of beach and hundreds of starfish?
You can’t make a difference!”
After listening politely, the boy bent down,
picked up another starfish,
and threw it back into the surf. Then, smiling at the man, he said…
“I made a difference for that one.”
These are our “Starfish Stories”.
Friday, May 9, 2008
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