Sandi Watkins was doomed to be a failure.
At least that's what people thought.
That's what they said.
By the time Sandi got to high school she had the reputation as the biggest trouble-maker in town.
She had a long arrest record, mostly for petty crimes, but everyone knew she was on the fast-track to prison.
Teachers cringed when they say her name on their class list.
Sandi was sullen; sat slumped in her seat, and ignored everything going on around her.
She had flunked every class in high school but she kept moving up because not one teacher in her school wanted to have her back again.
Sandi was moving on - but she was most certainly not moving up.
No one tried to get to know her.
Teachers, and most kids, were afraid of her.
No one knew when she would erupt with anger, and fights were common.
By her senior year, everyone was simply counting the days until Sandi was gone.
Then Sandi did a strange thing.
She signed up for a leadership conference that was designed to get students involved in their communities.
It was only because she wanted to get out of class, but something happened that first day...
At first she merely stood against the wall and watched with disdain.
She would join the discussion groups but only mumbled a few words when it was her turn to speak.
But slowly the interactive games drew her in.
She really began to open up when her group was asked to make a list of positive and negative things that had happened at school that year.
She certainly had some things to add about that.
You could see the surprise on her face when the other kids in the group actually listened to her.
She kept talking.
Her group told Sandi her ideas made a lot of sense.
They began to treat her like a leader. Suddenly everyone realized Sandi was really smart and had some great ideas.
The next day Sandi continued to share her ideas, signing up to be part of the Homeless Project Team.
It was clear she knew something about poverty, hunger and hopelessness.
No one was more surprised than Sandi when they elected her to be co-chair of the team.
Okay, maybe the teachers were more surprised - appalled actually.
They insisted Sandi couldn't do it, that it was ridiculous to put something so important into Sandi Watkins' hands.
The principal held firm, however - telling them they might be surprised.
I'm sure he was hoping he was right.
Sandi and her team put together a Homeless Scavenger Hunt.
They went to the Homeless Shelters to find out what they needed most.
Then they made a list of things they planned to collect, assigning the most points to those items the shelters needed most.
She found out the homeless rarely get dessert, so she gave high points to cookies, brownie & cake mixes, etc. High scores also went for blankets and coats.
Two weeks later, 100 kids hit the streets of their town, followed by support vans to carry their haul.
4 hours later they met back at the school to load everything into a school bus and take it to the shelter.
There was a slight problem, however.
By the time the school bus was loaded, there was room for only one person - the driver.
Every seat, every square inch of floor, all the way to the ceiling, was packed with what they had collected. Coats, blankets, clothing, food, a lot of desserts - it was the most the Shelter had ever received.
The shelter residents had huge smiles on their faces as they filed out to help unload the bus.
They cheered Sandi and her team.
The paper was there to take pictures and tell stories.
Sandi was a hero. A leader.
She was definitely a changed person.
The rest of her senior year she actually talked in class.
She made good grades.
She put together 2 more projects for the Homeless Shelter, each time bringing them what they needed most.
There were no more arrests.
Sandi graduated in the spring and went on to college - with glowing recommendations from many teachers at her school.
Every year she leads 4 projects for the Homeless Shelters in the town where she goes to school.
Here is what Sandi has to say, "I was on the fast-track to nowhere. I was the only one who could change where my life was going. It was scary but I knew what would happen if I didn't change was worse. I learned I really could make a difference. It changed my whole life. And I learned that other people could believe in me if I only gave them a chance."
Sandi asked me to share her story to let you know you can be whatever you want to be. It's always your choice. She also wanted me to tell you that a little belief goes a long way.
One adult deciding to believe in her - to look beyond what everyone else saw - set her free to be who she really was.
She's hoping you'll look around today and choose to believe in someone.
Maybe that person is someone you know or maybe that someone is yourself.
Tonights call is at
9:27 pm est
641 594-7000
Pass code 600088#
and if you want to grab the the 2 cd set- and get a FREE Science of Getting Rich-
pick up the Chaos to Cash
http://www.besthotresults.biz/
Love you all
Karl Radke
604 799 3238
At least that's what people thought.
That's what they said.
By the time Sandi got to high school she had the reputation as the biggest trouble-maker in town.
She had a long arrest record, mostly for petty crimes, but everyone knew she was on the fast-track to prison.
Teachers cringed when they say her name on their class list.
Sandi was sullen; sat slumped in her seat, and ignored everything going on around her.
She had flunked every class in high school but she kept moving up because not one teacher in her school wanted to have her back again.
Sandi was moving on - but she was most certainly not moving up.
No one tried to get to know her.
Teachers, and most kids, were afraid of her.
No one knew when she would erupt with anger, and fights were common.
By her senior year, everyone was simply counting the days until Sandi was gone.
Then Sandi did a strange thing.
She signed up for a leadership conference that was designed to get students involved in their communities.
It was only because she wanted to get out of class, but something happened that first day...
At first she merely stood against the wall and watched with disdain.
She would join the discussion groups but only mumbled a few words when it was her turn to speak.
But slowly the interactive games drew her in.
She really began to open up when her group was asked to make a list of positive and negative things that had happened at school that year.
She certainly had some things to add about that.
You could see the surprise on her face when the other kids in the group actually listened to her.
She kept talking.
Her group told Sandi her ideas made a lot of sense.
They began to treat her like a leader. Suddenly everyone realized Sandi was really smart and had some great ideas.
The next day Sandi continued to share her ideas, signing up to be part of the Homeless Project Team.
It was clear she knew something about poverty, hunger and hopelessness.
No one was more surprised than Sandi when they elected her to be co-chair of the team.
Okay, maybe the teachers were more surprised - appalled actually.
They insisted Sandi couldn't do it, that it was ridiculous to put something so important into Sandi Watkins' hands.
The principal held firm, however - telling them they might be surprised.
I'm sure he was hoping he was right.
Sandi and her team put together a Homeless Scavenger Hunt.
They went to the Homeless Shelters to find out what they needed most.
Then they made a list of things they planned to collect, assigning the most points to those items the shelters needed most.
She found out the homeless rarely get dessert, so she gave high points to cookies, brownie & cake mixes, etc. High scores also went for blankets and coats.
Two weeks later, 100 kids hit the streets of their town, followed by support vans to carry their haul.
4 hours later they met back at the school to load everything into a school bus and take it to the shelter.
There was a slight problem, however.
By the time the school bus was loaded, there was room for only one person - the driver.
Every seat, every square inch of floor, all the way to the ceiling, was packed with what they had collected. Coats, blankets, clothing, food, a lot of desserts - it was the most the Shelter had ever received.
The shelter residents had huge smiles on their faces as they filed out to help unload the bus.
They cheered Sandi and her team.
The paper was there to take pictures and tell stories.
Sandi was a hero. A leader.
She was definitely a changed person.
The rest of her senior year she actually talked in class.
She made good grades.
She put together 2 more projects for the Homeless Shelter, each time bringing them what they needed most.
There were no more arrests.
Sandi graduated in the spring and went on to college - with glowing recommendations from many teachers at her school.
Every year she leads 4 projects for the Homeless Shelters in the town where she goes to school.
Here is what Sandi has to say, "I was on the fast-track to nowhere. I was the only one who could change where my life was going. It was scary but I knew what would happen if I didn't change was worse. I learned I really could make a difference. It changed my whole life. And I learned that other people could believe in me if I only gave them a chance."
Sandi asked me to share her story to let you know you can be whatever you want to be. It's always your choice. She also wanted me to tell you that a little belief goes a long way.
One adult deciding to believe in her - to look beyond what everyone else saw - set her free to be who she really was.
She's hoping you'll look around today and choose to believe in someone.
Maybe that person is someone you know or maybe that someone is yourself.
Tonights call is at
9:27 pm est
641 594-7000
Pass code 600088#
and if you want to grab the the 2 cd set- and get a FREE Science of Getting Rich-
pick up the Chaos to Cash
http://www.besthotresults.biz/
Love you all
Karl Radke
604 799 3238
Mobile post sent by karlradle using Utterz.
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