HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS DONATE DOLLARS

Of the hundreds of childrens' Christmas lists that Sonja Davis had sifted through, one particular request caught her attention. Shuffled in amongst the appeals for Barbie Dream dolls and Tonka trucks, was a list whose only item was a pair of blue jeans. The humility of the request touched Davis. She selected the child's name and his modest list from the bunch and folded it into her purse.

Unknowingly, Davis had commenced writing a new chapter into the life of the young child she had chosen. Jacob Lee, the three-year-old boy whom she had selected from the pile, was one of several children who had no Christmas presents and, without assistance, had no way to attain them. Davis' church, the LaCroix United Methodist Church in Jackson, had sponsored an outreach program for area children like Lee. The program, called Angel Tree Ministries, specifically targeted children whose parents, one or both, were prisoners.

Each member of Davis' congregation was to choose a child's name and gift. The program had found a willing contributor in Davis. "There's nothing wrong with wanting something for Christmas that's really neat and special. But I just couldn't pass that one certain tag up. It said, 'a pair of blue jeans -- size 2,' and that just touched my heart," said Davis.

Davis, a teacher at Jackson High School, retold the heart-warming story of Jacob Lee to her second period English students. Davis recounted, "A student near the back of the classroom, Tasch Bierschwal, stood up and said, 'Well that's just sad... I think we oughta help that little guy buy some jeans. And maybe we could get him something besides just jeans,'".

Davis said that Bierschwahl then walked to the front of the class, snatched an envelope from Davis' desk, and commenced passing it around the classroom for kids to put their spare change into. "He [Tasch] was really the campaigner," said Davis. "There were only about 14 kids in the class, but Tasch was determined to raise money for Jacob. He challenged all my other classes to match the money that the second hour class collected."

Davis was ecstatic at the generosity and warmth that her students had exhibited. "I was really impressed -- there were some really big givers, and this was not my idea. One boy even slipped a ten dollar bill into that envelope," said Davis. Her other English classes were so enthused about Jacob Lee and the class competition that Davis decided to offer an incentive. "I gave them something to work towards. I offered homemade cookies as a prize to the class who raised the most money," said an elated Davis. The four classes battled daily, scraping their loose change out of their pockets and into the envelope.

In the meantime, Davis had learned about Jacob Lee's eight-year-old brother, John Eric. "I immediately asked to have the other little boy's name and Christmas list incorporated into our project," said Davis. She also discovered a phone number where she could reach the boys and that the boys were being raised by their grandmother. She updated her classes about her findings, and the race for funds continued. "Every day someone would get up and ask me where their envelope was.

She also told her classes of the dramatic reaction she witnessed as she introduced herself to the boys' grandmother. "When I first got a hold of her [the boys' grandmother], I told her who I was and what my classes and I were doing. I asked if there was anything else we could get for them. She cried," said Davis. "She said that she never dreamed that anything like this would ever happen to her and her boys."

The grandmother told Davis that the boys did actually need some shoes, if Davis and her classes could manage it. For the students' budget of $55, shoes were not a problem. Davis and her crew allotted part of their collections for two small pairs of hiking boots in the boys' sizes. John and Jacob, though they were not specific, revealed to their grandmother that they would also like to have some toys. Davis' husband donated a new, jumbo basketball. Davis' mother bought the boys new wallets, and Davis herself purchased a Farmer Says toy for the them. "We came up with some really creative ways to use our leftover money. The students helped me put four dollars in each of the little wallets, and we put all of our extra loose change into the jeans' pockets," said Davis.

The day soon approached when the members of Davis' church would go and deliver the presents to the children. Davis requested to go with them in order to meet the family that her classes had worked so diligently for.

"When I finally got to meet the grandma, she just went on and on about how wonderful this was for us to do," said Davis. "She told me that the Lord works in mysterious ways, and that, starting with my phone call, things were starting to turn out for them."

"She told me that we had no idea what an impact we had had on their lives," said Davis. The boys and the grandmother responded immediately to the gifts. John Eric and Jacob Lee sent pictures, thank you cards, and letters to the students in all four classes. "They [John and Jacob] had obviously put a lot of effort into their cards and letters. They even got their apostrophes right," said Davis.

"One of my students' first reactions was, 'Wow! These little guys can write as well as we do!'"

Christmas came and went, but that was no reason for the newly-formed friends to lose contact. Davis' classes send John and Jacob cards and letters, and collect the boys' pictures and thank you cards on a large bulletin board inside her classroom. Recently, Davis and her classes helped John Eric, the oldest boy, celebrate his eighth birthday. "On Tuesday, [January 29], we took the profit from our candy money and bought him an individualized birthday book," said Davis. "On the front, we wrote, 'to John Eric from all your friends at Jackson High School" said Davis. The classes' efforts are greatly appreciated. "Every time I talk to the grandmother, she is overwhelmed. Overwhelmed to the point of tears."

Davis and her classes want to continue communicating for the rest of the year. But the year will end soon and Davis' students will move on to other English classes. "I will most certainly keep it going until the end of this year, and send them Valentine's card and Easter cards, but I'll lose my students in May. I think this will just have to be a special year in the lives of John Eric and Jacob Lee," said Davis.