What’s Your Wish for Good?

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of UPS. All opinions are 100% mine.

Did you take a look at my feature last week about the UPS #WishesDelivered campaign? It’s such an important campaign and I’ve enjoyed following their hashtag on Twitter. They’ve teamed up with a football legend to make some Ohio little leaguer’s dreams come true. (Their reactions are priceless.) They’re helping send 180 tons of school books to South Africa over the next three years. They also shared the story of how one man donated a kidney to a fellow UPS employee. Its stories like this that make me step back from the holiday shopping craze, the never-ending to do list that seems so important and really think about the season we’re in. It’s a season of dreams, of wishes and of people coming together in their community to make it a better place. Last week I shared how my wish for our community was for their immediate needs to be filled, and how one local organization is helping with that. They saw a need in our community: hunger and clothing items to stay warm in the winter, and are doing something about it.

Teachers Making a Difference

This week I want to focus on people who are important in my children’s lives – their teachers. A teacher, whether fantastic or not so much, makes an impact on my kids and how they feel about learning. Too often it seems that the teachers who are not making a difference are in the spotlight. My wish is for that to stop and for attention to be placed on the ones who give of themselves 110%. My daughter has a teacher who absolutely loves her for who she is. It’s her theater teacher who inspires her to live out her passions, to love life and fully embrace it. It’s this teacher who after hours, when the school is locked up for day, is rehearsing for an upcoming musical. She’s working with kids until well past dark, to help them craft their skill and put on a show they’re proud of. She’s personal. She’s relatable. She’s someone kids can look up to.

My oldest son has a teacher who inspires him to write and is constantly complimenting him on it. She doesn’t just say “write an essay about…” and leave it at that. She writes her own piece of art and shares it with the class so they know what she’s looking for. It shows them that a) she can write (kind of important) and b) lets them know what she expects. She’s fun. She’s quirky. She’s inspiring. She’s that teacher every kid hopes they get for English.

My youngest son started off this year at home doing online school and it ended up not being a good fit for him (or us). We put him in a charter school, much to his dismay, and crossed our fingers this year would be bearable for all of us. Sixth grade is hard enough, right? Well, we hit the teacher jackpot and he adores his teacher. She’s funny, has a lot of energy and makes the classroom a great place to learn.

What’s your wish? Do you have your own wish for good? If so, share it on Twitter or share a photo on Instagram using the hashtag #WishesDelivered. You can also visit the #WishesDelivered Site and submit a story that way. If you do, please share it with me in the comments section below because I would love to see it! 

For every #WishesDelivered story or wish shared, UPS is donating $1 to one of their charity partners (Boys & Girls Club of America, World Food Programme, Toys for Tots Literacy Program, The Salvation Army, The UN Refugee Agency), up to $150K total donation.

Remember the 180 tons of school books being sent to South Africa I told you about? Here’s the man responsible for it. This is his story, how he has made an impact on students in South Africa and one girl’s wish for Mr. Brown granted. Grab a tissue. You’ll need it.