The Magic Bus

The big day, the day we start actually making gifts to local charities, finally arrived on Thursday, April 4.

Eric Hansen, who has done so much to make this program successful, arranged for a bus and for the students to take a field trip.  I arranged for the Orlando Sentinel to send a reporter and photographer to join us on our journey.  All the students and Eric were wearing their "Longhorn Legion" shirts--I was so jealous.

We first went to the vet clinic at Harmony High to make a gift presentation to "Pawsitive Action Foundation."  They do amazing things to teach vet skills to students, to train service dogs, and to provide low- or no-cost vet services to low-income families in the community.  We came on surgery day, so there were lots of dogs and cats there being prepped for . . . you know.  Kristen Bowen presented her gift, the first one, and it was a new experience for all of us.  Good job, Kristen, for breaking new ground for us.

Then we got on the bus and went to the offices of the Osceolas Education Foundation, where we were greeted by the executive director, Kathy Carr.  She took us on a tour of the resource center and free store for teachers.  Very impressive.  Kathy is all about helping students, teachers, and schools in Osceola County, and she can see the impact of Main Street Philanthropy on these kids.  I wanted them to see what her organization does to help the community, and I wanted her to feel the enthusiasm these student have for our program.  I'm hoping to become long-term partners with OEF and Kathy.

The local branch of Habitat for Humanity was our next stop.  I've had a wonderful relationship with Pat Filippone through the years, having orchestrated some very large service projects with them and our church groups.  I was so pleased that several of our students chose to donate to them.  Pat was very touched by the gifts she received, and pledged to use them for matching funds in her "students for students" program,  "This will be multiplied one-thousand-fold," she told our students.  That was definitely the tender spot of our field trip.

One the bus, the reporter David Breen made a point of talking with each student, asking them what they were learning and why they chose the charity they did.  He had planned to only ride for a stop or two, but ended up going all the way to our final stop, Give Kids the World.

At Give Kids the World, we met with Eric Gray, who we met when he came out to our class a couple of week earlier.  He gave us as much of the VIP treatment as he could in the limited time we had there, and I must say everyone was really impressed.  Several of our group were trying to figure out how to arrange a group service party to GKTW.  It really is a first-class organization and Eric is a first-class guy.  Thanks, Eric!

We had enough time on the way home to stop at Cici's Pizza.  The manager gave all the kids a discount and let the driver, her assistant, and me eat for free.  I wonder if he knew how much a bunch of high school kids can put away?  I'm sure he lost money on our group, and his generosity was greatly appreciated.  He even gave us some warm cinnamon rolls to eat on the bus--like we needed anything else to eat.

It was a fun and heartwarming crescendo to the class so far.  Then we woke the next morning to find that David's article and a huge picture of part of the group at GKTW was on the front page of the Local News section of the Orlando Sentinel. 

Fun, food, and fame--and doing good for others--what more could you ask for?