Green Mom Proud of 'Pink' Idea From 8-Year-Old Son

A few weeks ago I received a call from my third grade sons teacher. I always get a little worried when that happens. I was pleasantly surprised with this call, though.

His teacher, Sara Hernandez at Madison Elementary school wanted to share a neat idea that my son had had in class that day. The 3rd graders were currently studying government structure and how laws are made. Ms. Hernandez had asked the class what ideas they had for laws or bills that they thought should be considered. Tommy's idea was a unique and inspiring one.

Traditionally the classroom chairs have yellow tennis balls on the bottle of each one of the legs. This helps the chair slide easily on the floor,  without making too much noise. My sons idea was that they should be able to choose the color of the tennis balls and he would choose pink to increase the awareness of breast cancer. My son plays hockey and on his team this year was a boy who's mom was just diagnosed with breast cancer. They had all taped their sticks pink for a game that was just before this mom's first treatment. It was a touching moment.

He thought this was a way to bring about awareness in the classroom. He told thought that if the students chose to purchase the colored balls, they could donate the monies collected to the Cancer Society. In the end the classroom gave the kids the choice of pink tennis balls for the American Cancer Society or blue tennis balls for the World Wildlife Fund. They raised $86.29 for each organization.

We can probably all mention someone we know and love who has been impacted by breast cancer. Bringing awareness to fund raising to help find a cure and striving to live healthier lives is important. Doing anything at all big or small makes a difference. When the ideas and activities comes from our children, it makes us proud, proud that they are learning about caring and compassion and helping others, even at a young age.

Thanks for the great idea, Tommy.