Gift Touches Black Creek Teachers And Staff
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Sue Kaphingst (left) and Lisa Scheuerell reread
the anonymous donor’s letter. |
By Betty Pearson
Contributing writer
Black Creek Elementary School, a modest, sprawling building dropped
into a small neighborhood in a one-stoplight community, hardly seems
the place for a Christmas miracle. But Principal Sue Kaphingst believes
that’s exactly what happened December 22 – a Christmas miracle.
On the last afternoon before the holiday break, the all-school sing-along
was taking place in the cafeteria. Three hundred and sixty-seven K-8
students and staff gathered in an effort to contain pre-holiday excitement
by caroling. At 2:30 pm, Kaphingst was called back to her office because
an unannounced gentleman had come into the school and said it was critical
that he speak with her. When she reached the office, the courier in
a wet raincoat produced a damp envelope with Merry Christmas smudged
in green magic marker on the front. “I was told to give this to
the principal and only the principal,” he said.
The enclosed letter,written in pencil, read:
Teachers and Staff,
Thank you for helping our children so much. I do appreciate the
extra things that you do for them.Thank you! From a Black Creek Parent.
Please let every teacher, staff, maintenance person etc. have $100.
I do not know how many we have … I hope there’s enough for
everyone.“Merry Christmas to you” from Me.
Thanks.
Tucked into the envelope was a thick wad of crisp $100 bills. Kaphingst
did the math and realized that indeed, every one of the 74 school employees
would receive one of these surprise bills before they left for the remainder
of the year. With less than a half hour to distribute the money, Kaphingst
thought the only way to fulfill the donor’s expectation was to
call a meeting of all school personnel in the IMC at 3:00 pm. The announcement
was made over the public address system, and everyone assembled at the
designated time. Kaphingst stood, but asked everyone else to sit down.
They did,worried that she had tragic news. Instead, she read the letter
and then distributed the cash. Immediately, there were cheers,wet eyes,
and hugs all around.
Judy Salter, school cook, remembered seeing the man who delivered the
envelope enter the school. She simply thought someone’s grandfather
was early for pick-up and went about finishing her kitchen chores.
“Once we were given the money, I couldn’t believe it. I
went home and put the bill in an envelope and the envelope on my Christmas
tree. On Christmas Eve, after we had opened all the gifts, I took it
down and showed my family and told the story of the anonymous Santa.”
They thought it was great.
Lisa Scheuerell, now in her eighth year of teaching 3rd grade, cried
when given her gift. “It wasn’t the money. It was the thought
that someone cared enough to trigger special feelings in all of us,”
she said.“I just was filled with this over-whelming pride of being
a teacher. It just made the holidays wonderful.”
Salter and Scheuerell saved the money and plan to buy something very
special when the time is right. They have spent a lot of time thinking
about how they can “pay the gift forward” and follow the
donor’s example by doing something nice for someone else.
“The gift created a special opportunity, so I shared it with
my sisters,” said Kaphingst, an educator for 11 years who is in
her first year as principal.“ I just wanted them to get a little
surprise and use the money for a special gift for themselves. It was
an investment I made with the money that instantly paid back double.”
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Martin Van Patten |
Martin Van Patten, head of building and maintenance at Black Creek
Elementary, has worked at the school for 23 years and “was a student
here long before that.” He knows the community is generous and
can cite instances of giving that have astounded those connected to
the school. With the look of a man who is about to let everyone in on
a big secret, he said,“This same thing happened 20 years ago.
A guy dropped off an envelope for the principal with the same instructions
and a wad of $100 bills.”
“I kept that 100 until this Christmas. When we got this year’s
appreciation, I put the two bills together and paid for the materials
I needed to finish off the fireplace in my basement.”
Everyone agrees that this gift has made an impact on their own personal
giving practices.
Reflecting on what she still thinks was a Christmas miracle, Kaphingst
summed up what Salter, Scheuerell, and Van Patten all said is a feeling
shared by their colleagues:
“It really isn’t important who the donor is, or for that
matter, what the size of the gift was. It’s that the donor’s
generosity made a true and powerful statement about his feelings toward
educators and education.”
The school year may almost be over, but for staff at Black Creek Elementary,
Christmas cheer still lingers throughout the building and in the hearts
of the employees.
Posted March 25, 2007