1993-1994 Harry Singer Foundation National Essay Contest
White Hats: People Who Are Trying To Make A
Difference
Teacher: Michael Nynas
Deer River High School, Deer River, Minnesota
1st
Marvin ScottVerbeck 2nd
Lindsay Mannelin 
3rd Erika E. Grossell
"Responsibility
is so much sweeter when it's free will that causes one to help people."
Steve Pietila, Deer River High School, Deer River, Minnesota
"Examples
of irresponsibility can easily be found in government, the media, business,
medicine, and everyday life. If you dig a little deeper, however, you can also
find many good examples of responsibility in all of these areas."
Mara Bergeron, Deer River High
School, Deer River, Minnesota
Kari Wahlstrom, Deer River High School,
Deer River, Minnesota
"My
father is an example of someone who watches out for himself, and other people,
too. He went to Florida after Hurricane Andrew. In Florida there were many crews
helping to clean up. My dad went to the Everglades to manage a crew. He stayed
for three weeks, and would've helped longer if possible. Helpers there battled
many things, very large mosquitoes, dangerous animals, no electricity, extensive
heat, things many were not accustomed to. My dad also had a language barrier to
overcome; his crew spoke Spanish. In these situations one can find many
responsible individuals eager to give "their all" to help."
Lindsay Mannelin, Deer River High School,
Deer River, Minnesota
"A
boy in our community died of cancer. Before he died, when he was too sick to go
to school, his teacher did something exceptional. She tutored him every night
and spent time with him, she gave her free time to care for a dying
student."
Lindsay Mannelin, Deer River High School,
Deer River, Minnesota
"In
1978, a retired meteorologist decided to volunteer at an after-school tutoring
program in Collier County, Florida. He felt that more could be accomplished in a
smaller group and extended an invitation to a handful of kids. He soon had a
regular group of four elementary age girls meeting Saturday afternoons for
tutoring. They are now successful college graduates and give credit to him for
the inspiration that changed their lives. This man proves that one person who
cares can make a difference. He taught the necessity and rewards of hard work
and discipline."
Sara Peterson, Deer River High School,
Deer River, Minnesota
"There
are many examples of individual citizens acting responsibly. For example, look
at the story of Earle Fisher and Al Mengo. Four or five times a week, they
volunteer their time to the Harlem Hospital. They feed, diaper, rock, talk, and
sing to the babies in the pediatric ward. Many of these infants are [without]
parents, addicted to crack and HIV positive. Earle and Al are just two of the
three hundred individuals who donate their time to Harlem Hospital."
Mara Bergeron, Deer River High School,
Deer River, Minnesota
A
fourth example of good responsibility is shown to us by the Xerox corporation.
Xerox is highly regarded for its responsibility to the company and to the
community. A company as large as Xerox doesn't become a powerhouse in its field
by being irresponsible. What could Xerox do for the community, you might ask?
Besides their countless billions of dollars being regenerated into the community
and their endless leadership, they also provide another important aspect. Xerox
allows employees with three years of service to take a leave with full pay to do
community work."
Marvin Scott Verbeck, Deer River High
School, Deer River, Minnesota
"Little
Tikes has also contributed to the improvement of childcare by designing and
building stimulating childcare centers on-site of their company. Little Tikes
discovered that the care center was not only needed, but was also good for
business."
Kirsten Sinkola, Deer River High School,
Deer River, Minnesota
"When
cleaning up the Exxon oil spill in Alaska, Proctor and Gamble donated Dawn
dishwashing liquid to clean oil off of animals. That was a terrific example of
someone who really had nothing to do with the incident, but helped shoulder the
responsibility."
Jeremy Lattimore, Deer River High, Deer
River, Minnesota
"Friends
of my family are foster parents. They especially like housing babies. They took
in a baby that had hydrocephalus----water on the brain. [The child's] medical
bills far exceeded any compensation they received. They also took in, and
adopted, a crack baby knowing [he] may develop AIDS."
Lindsay Mannelin, Deer River High School,
Deer River, Minnesota
"Another
program which is sponsored by local churches and organized service volunteers,
is called Mom's Day Out. It gives free [or at] minimal cost, childcare
to parents in need."
Kirsten Sinkola, Deer River High School,
Deer River, Minnesota
"It
[a trip to Chicago] was for a program called MAD, which stands for Make A
Difference. Our main objective was to do just that. In order to make a
difference, we helped build houses for the homeless people. At the end of the
week, I remember seeing a little girl who was going to be living in one of those
houses. She was smiling from ear to ear, and I knew that we were partially
responsible for her happiness."
Kari Wahlstrom, Deer River High School,
Deer River, Minnesota
Kirsten Sinkola, Deer River High School,
Deer River, Minnesota
"The
Caring and Sharing Store is an annual event that allows children to
take home Christmas presents for their parents."
Erika Grossell, Deer River High School,
Deer River, Minnesota
"Deer
River is a small community with a population of about 1,000 inhabitants. From
hese 1,000 inhabitants $250,000 had to be raised to finance a new community
playground. They community held countless fund raisers; local organizations such
as churches and businesses donated their time, effort, and money; and even the
students helped by collecting recyclable trash and making cookbooks which they
sold in the local grocery store...putting my time and effort into building the
playground helped me to learn the importance of responsibility. To me this
proves that men and women, young and old, can be responsible members of
society."
Marvin Scott Verbeck, Deer River High
School, Deer River, Minnesota
'These
people in the community have a responsibility to each other. If they didn't I
don't think the town would have that bonding that a lot of other communities
[lack]."
Darrick Brown, Deer River High, Deer
River, Minnesota
"About
six years ago my youngest sister found out that she needed a liver transplant.
The moment people heard about it and about the sort of funding that is needed
for an operation like this, they took the responsibility of starting numerous
fund-raisers for her. One fund-raiser that was exceptionally helpful was started
by my sister's teacher. 'Pennies for Elana', as it was called, asked children
and their parents to donate pennies to build a mile of pennies around the
school. This fund-raiser spread quickly
Erika Grossell, Deer River High School,
Deer River, Minnesota
"Hired
Hands is the name of a program that gives mentally and physically
handicapped people jobs."
Erika Grossell, Deer River High, Deer
River, Minnesota