About

Twenty Five Days to Make a Difference is a Service Project Dedicated to:

My Grandpa, Al Stockman

 

Albert Stockman was my grandpa. He loved helping other people, and he believed that everybody could make the world a better place, not just by doing big things, but by doing small things too! My grandpa once told me that I was a leader. Even though he called me “Lit-tle Laura”, he made me feel big and strong inside.

In 2005, my grandpa got very sick. He was only in his sixties, and he was very happy and healthy before then. I was sad and scared when he was diagnosed with brain cancer. He died only five months later. I was very, very sad when he died, and I felt lonely. My grandpa would not have wanted this though.

In December of 2007, I decided that the best way to remember my grandpa during the holiday season would be by living my life like he did, by making a difference and being a leader. I decided to honor my grandfather’s memory by trying to make a difference every day for twenty five days. I wanted to be able to do little things, like kids my age typically do, instead of HUGE things that are sometimes hard for kids like me. I decided to write about my adventures here, and I also created a challenge.

I challenged everyone who read my blog to TRY to do something every single day during the holiday season to make a SMALL difference in his or her world. I explained that whoever made the “most difference” in December would win a $25.00 donation to the charity of his or her choice on Christmas night. I SAVED ALL OF MY ALLOWANCE ($25) FOR THE MONTH OF DECEMBER, AND I WAS REALLY SURPRISED AND EXCITED WHEN SEVERAL PEOPLE  GENEROUSLY OFFERED TO MATCH MY DONATION (OR MORE)!

Roger Carr

Mr. and Mrs. Fisher from Starpoint

Kristen and Carmen and Maddie Marchiole

Mrs. Genovese-Scullion and Billy

Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach

Mrs. Nabozny

Dr. Sheila Cason

Laura Mayes

The Aroune Family

Dr. Alterio

Joanne from Western New York

Mark, Maggie, and Christopher Stockman

Kim Arthur

Christene Allen

and

Susan from Toddler Planet

RIGHT AFTER THIS FIRST CHALLENGE WAS OVER, I DECIDED TO TRY TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE ALL YEAR ROUND!! I decided that I wanted to spend 2008 supporting smaller causes in my area that may not get as much attention or support as bigger ones do. I also wanted to pick causes that all of my readers could support as well, even if they lived very far away.

Now we’re coming to the end of 2008, and I am thinking about the year ahead. I have decided that I want my readers to visit and want to come back. In order to make my blog more interesting for everybody (including me), I will be changing the style of my  posts starting November 4, 2008! I love writing in all sorts of different and exciting ways, and I want to notice others who make a difference and pay attention to the small things in my life that are meaningful. I will be writing poems and sharing pictures about these things in my posts, and I want to encourage others to do the same thing on their own blogs or in the comments section of my blog! Sharon Creech’s books Love That Dog and Hate That Cat inspired me to do this. The speaker teaches us that good writing starts with things that are meaningful, even if those things seem small or unimportant. Making a difference starts this way too.

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