Who can you make a difference for?

A man was walking along the beach where thousands of starfish had been washed ashore after a storm. As he walked he noticed a boy picking up and gently throwing them back into the ocean.

Approaching the boy he asked, “Young man, what are you doing?”

“Throwing starfish back into the ocean. The surf is up and the tide is going out. If I don’t throw them back, they’ll die,” the boy replied.

The man laughed and said, “It's a wonderful gesture young man, but there's miles of beach and thousands of starfish, your efforts won't make any difference.”

After listening politely, the boy bent down to pick up another starfish and threw it into the surf. Then, he smiled at the man and said, “I made a difference to that one.”

In life we often do nothing because we think that the little bit we can do to help others is simply too small to make a difference.

But I learned from my dad, a man who did a lot of volunteer work over his later life, that even if you can do something that will help one person, whatever time you invest is time invested well.

I think of my dad a lot and the many many wonderful life lessons he taught me over my life.

Every conversation we ever had had a story somewhere in it. He was always planting good seeds, hoping they would grow into something that would benefit me sometime in my life.

He worked for ADAWS for over 20 years.

ADAWS is an 11 day 'live in' program supporting young people to safely withdraw from alcohol and other drugs.

Dad started there when he retired at 65 and volunteered there 3 days a week until age dictated he stop.

For his farewell they painted a portrait of him which still hangs in the halls to remember his constant contribution to the staff and youth who passed through there.

You've been gone a while now Poppy but you are remembered every day 🧡🧡🧡