Sometimes the littlest ripple can spark a real wave.

Friday, October 01, 1999

Sometimes the littlest ripple can spark a real wave. The Collins Career Center cosmetology department started the little ripple, but their classmates made it a wave.

The class had been reading about the devastation facing flood victims along the North Carolina coast. In addition to the damage to their property, many of the flood victims were left without the basic supplies they needed to take care of their personal needs and those of their families.

So, the students went to work collecting personal hygiene items for the flood victims.

They started with just the efforts of their class, but soon the whole school became involved. They ended up with more than 9,000 personal hygiene items to send south.

And, while they were at it, they learned a little lesson about teamwork.

Now that the project has been completed, the students are enthusiastic, hoping to harness the power of their classmates to do another good deed soon.

The initial credit for this venture goes to the cosmetology department. It takes a special group of young people to look beyond themselves to see the difficulties others face. It shows maturity to turn compassion into action and to do something to help – not many adults do that.

But Collins Career Center’s teachers, administration and parents should be very proud of the whole student body. When these students heard their classmates’ call, they responded enthusiastically, accumulating enough supplies to really make a difference for a whole lot of families in need. They pulled together as a school and accomplished something wonderful.

And that doesn’t mean they are all just wonderful teens either. It means they had pretty good role models, too.

A round of applause is deserved for all involved.