Students show us what empathy looks like with Helping Hands

Some students saw that their parents needed a break, or maybe a few extra dollars for groceries. One said, "My mom shines like a diamond."

Others learned about a stranger in the community who had health issues or had experienced a great loss.

There were many reasons why more than 150 young people wrote letters to Helping Hands, a program run by the Wisconsin State Journal. But there were two common themes: kindness and empathy.

State Journal staffers read all of the letters, and we're better for it. While we would love to give all of the letters' subjects $200, we had to narrow the list to 32. 

The recipients' names were not printed unless the State Journal had permission to do so, and some letters were edited for length.

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Dear Helping Hands,

If I had $200, I would give it to a family whose mom, a single mother, has non-curable breast cancer. The kids are very nice. The family could use financial help with medical bills and other needs, and this would help so much.

Natalie Mayne, eighth grade, Iowa-Grant

Note: Four other students wrote about this family.

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Dear Helping Hands,

If I had $200, I would give it to a wonderful friend of mine. This person is going through very difficult times, not only at home but at my school. She is often not included in group activities. It not only hurts her, but it hurts me. Her dad doesn’t get home until three in the morning because he is working so late. She has the responsibility of cooking dinner for her siblings and helping take care of them. Putting a smile on her face would mean the world to me. Her family is way too special to deserve this.

Eighth-grade student, Iowa-Grant

Note: Four other students wrote about this family. 

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Dear Helping Hands,

If I had $200, I would give it to this sweet girl that I know. She is my best friend. She is always so happy even though she can’t pay for a meal after a cross-country race for her and her brother. Her dad is her only parent and she has four siblings. That’s a lot of kids to feed and buy clothes for. She is still the happiest girl I know. She doesn’t even have a winter coat, nor does her little brother. I really want to help her family, so she doesn’t have to be cold in the winter and she has food in her fridge. I want to bless her family this Christmas.

Eighth-grade student, Iowa-Grant

Note: Two other students wrote about this family. 

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Dear Helping Hands,

I think my mom is deserving of the $200. First, our family is low on groceries and eating cereal for dinner is normal for us. I have to babysit and I want to relax, but my mom can't afford it because she pays rent and the electricity for the house. She is sweet, kind and helpful and a hard worker. She tries her best for me, my little sister and my little brother.

Fifth-grade student, Northside Elementary, Sun Prairie

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Dear Helping Hands,

I think my mom is deserving of the $200. First, she always works hard and is always kind and is never mean and works hard to put food on the table. Also, she is always cleaning up the house with no help and never stops, even with her back injury. Finally, she is loving and is always giving out hugs to us.

Fifth-grade student, Northside Elementary, Sun Prairie

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Dear Helping Hands,

I think my mom is deserving of the $200! She works really hard to buy groceries for me and my three siblings, she is constantly having to buy more. Also, she’s really kind, on our birthdays and Christmas she tries to get most of the things on our list. She goes to work every night for seven to 12 hours to get money to make sure the family bills and rent is paid. And still makes sure dinner is cooked before she leaves, and I want to give back to her.

Evelyn Worgull, fifth grade, Northside Elementary in Sun Prairie

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Dear Helping Hands,

I think my aunt is deserving of the $200. She's been helping my grandma take care of me and my little sister and my big sister. Also, she takes me to fun places when I have good days and she also takes my little sister too if she has good days too. Finally, when my mom died she wanted to help take care of me and my little sister. 

Fifth-grade student, Northside Elementary, Sun Prairie

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Dear Helping Hands,

I think my great uncle is deserving of the $200! First, he needs heart surgery and can't pay for it and needs the money so he can pay his bills. And he is super friendly. Every time he would see someone he would say hi and that's very kind. Also, he has Parkinson’s and the money could help with his bills.

Fifth-grade student, Northside Elementary, Sun Prairie

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Dear Helping Hands,

I am writing to nominate my aunt because she deserves it more than anybody else! First, my aunt has had a rough few weeks because she had to pay for her husband's funeral. Even though this was hard, she got through it all and showed up to every party I have, even though it's been tough. She regularly volunteers her free time to dog-sit for friends and neighbors, asking just for a little bit in return. Her lovingness for both people and animals is just one more example of her nice self.

Fifth-grade student, Northside Elementary, Sun Prairie

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Dear Helping Hands,

I have learned about a woman who was living in a shelter. She shows kindness when she volunteers, but times have made it very difficult for her. She recently lost her mom who she had planned to move in with. If I had $200 I would love to give it to her so she could find housing and buy a book to read for enjoyment. I hope I can be helpful in making people happy.

Quinn Nott, third grade, Northside Elementary, Middleton

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Dear Helping Hands,

I have a friend who is always caring for others. She adopted two amazing kids who have many special needs requiring a lot of care, appointments, and some hospitalizations, so she can no longer work. I would love to recognize and celebrate her kindness. We can all learn from her on how to be nice. If I had $200 I would give it to her so that she could finally do something nice for herself.

Riley Hartwell, third grade, Northside Elementary, Middleton

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Dear Helping Hands,

I have a family friend. She recently lost her two sisters and was diagnosed with cancer. She has had many hard times. She is a really nice person to other people and I want to make her feel special. If I had $200 I would give it to her so that she could have a special dinner with her friends and family. Cancer is scary and sad, and I want to make her feel better. I believe she deserves to feel loved.

Claire Emerick, third grade, Northside Elementary, Middleton

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Dear Helping Hands,

I know of an older woman who had a stroke. She needs a lot of help, but has very little money. Her family has been trying to help, but it is very hard on all of them. She could use some love and support. If I had $200 I would give it to her so she could find a safe place to live and someone to help her with all of her medical needs.

Levi Jacobson, third grade, Northside Elementary, Middleton

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Dear Helping Hands,

I have a friend who is in a wheelchair. She has had the same wheelchair and talker for as long as I have known her. If I had $200 I would want her to buy a new talker so she could communicate with us. She loves to laugh. If I was able to help her I would feel happy because then she could tell us how she was feeling and we could talk to each other. I hope I can make her feel happy, too.

Sincerely,

Elena Terrill, third grade, Northside Elementary, Middleton

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Dear Helping Hands,

I would like to nominate my mom. I have been in my mom's life since she was 15 or 16 years old. She cares for me as a single parent. My mom has told me stories about my dad, but he is never really around our family. My mom has to do everything by herself. She cares for us and loves us, and she always says, "Somebody may not like you, but God loves you no matter what. Do not change yourself." My mom is my world. I love my mom. She cares about everything, my clothes, my hair, my shoes, my love for dance, and for me to do good in school. 

Fifth-grade student, Kennedy Elementary, Madison

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Dear Helping Hands,

I would like to nominate my mom because I know she is struggling. She has to work two jobs and she just lost her daughter, so she is trying her hardest to make us smile. She is a single mother of 4 kids and I think an extra $200 would do her good.

Fifth-grade student, Kennedy Elementary, Madison

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Dear Helping Hands,

I am writing to ask for you to help the family of Chad Davidson, who passed away at a young age. His family needs help to pay for his funeral and hospital bills. He has two small kids. I think they really need some help and I feel bad that they don’t have their dad.

David Cummings, fifth grade, Lodi Elementary School

Note: Owenn Brown and Dexter Gort also wrote about this family.

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Dear Helping Hands,

I would like to help this family in need. This mother has two young children. One of them is a baby who has a heart defect. I think it would help her and her beautiful family. It is really hard and stressful for her. I would love to help her because I would be so scared if my baby was facing this. If I was in this situation the littlest thing would help me. So I can see how she feels. One kid is hard work, but two is really hard and one with a hurt heart is super hard.

Emory Brandt, fifth grade, Lodi Elementary School

Note: Stella Becker also wrote about this family.

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Dear Helping Hands,

I think a mother right here in Lodi who has cancer needs some help. Her family needs help paying for medical costs and other expenses. I feel sad for this family. I really want them to have a little break from all the hard stuff going on, and maybe a little boost is just what they need.

Aubri Greer, fifth grade, Lodi Elementary School

Note: Also writing about this family were RyAnn Becker, Ethan Brown, Ingrid Cloyd, Kyle Edwards, Ryland Harris, Beckett Hofstetter, Easton Jahnke, Kainsley Mack, Vinny Meyer, Lizzy Nolden, Aiden Lasco, Lizzy Nolden, Kyler Olivero, Josephine Spranger, Aston Trawinski and Sam Walsh.

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Dear Helping Hands,

I think my neighbor could use a helping hand. She is a very nice person and always trying to help anyone she can. She lives alone, she is struggling and she drives lots of places. I know she could use some gas money for her car and mower. I know she would appreciate the money. Me and my friends try to help her by shoveling her driveway and sidewalk for her.

JT Hill, fifth grade, Lodi Elementary School

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Dear Helping Hands,

I think that a family I know could use a helping hand. Their mom is a day care worker and she has less and less people each year. Now she gets five people a month. On top of that, she has two kids, one of them has spina bifida and needs physical therapy. The other child needs speech therapy. There are a lot of expenses, and all of their money goes to food, gas and bills.

Aberdeen Roelke, fifth grade, Lodi Elementary School

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Dear Helping Hands,

I think my 5-year-old friend could use a helping hand as he recently had surgery. His parents could use the 200 dollars since they have to pay for all the hospital bills. He’s so young and I really want him to live a good life. He would be so happy as well as his parents. He's an awesome little boy and could definitely use a helping hand.

Willa Pool, fifth grade, Lodi Elementary School

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Dear Helping Hands,

I think my mom should get the 200 dollars. You wanna know why? Because we need to rent a house and I also want to have my own room to share with my sister because we live with another family and 4 people sleep in a bedroom and so my mom can rest. My mom takes care of me and my sister. When I get sick she is the one who is always there for me.

Fifth-grade student, Northside Elementary, Sun Prairie

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Dear Helping Hands,

My amazing mom deserves $200! First, she is so hardworking. She goes to school every day Monday through Thursday. Second, she goes to work just like normal grown-ups do. She works at night and she works hard to feed three kids every day and never does anything fun for herself. Can you imagine doing that every day and never doing anything for yourself? That would be bad, right? So I think the money will help buy her a beautiful dress and makeup. She always puts a bright smile on her face when she wakes me up she says, “Wake up beautiful” and I think that it's so nice of her to say that. Finally I think my mom shines like a diamond.

Fifth-grade student, Northside Elementary, Sun Prairie

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Dear Helping Hands,

I'd love for the money to go to my mom. She always greets me even when she is grumpy. She always shows love to me. She makes me feel visible. She is so great inside. Her heart is sometimes insecure, and it makes her cry, but I help her get back up. She's great at doing all good things. She pushes me to do all my work. She will do anything for me. She has been thrown a lot and been treated badly, and sometimes I get really mad about that. Your son loves you.

Fifth-grade student, Northside Elementary, Sun Prairie

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Dear Helping Hands,

I believe that my grandparents deserve $200! Both my grandparents are disabled. My Papa has something called MS which causes him to have a hard time walking. He has Alzheimer’s, which causes him over time to forget things and people. Meanwhile my grandmother has lung cancer and had a stroke which is affecting her wrist. Since my grandmother is still working on a computer it is hard for her since her hand was affected by her stroke. Lastly, they always show up with a smile on their face but they both are in pain. They really need an extra boost. Sometimes when I think about how someday my Papa will forget me and my family it makes me tear up. Also when I think about my grandmother having to do almost all the work in the house cause my Papa can’t.

Fifth-grade student, Northside Elementary, Sun Prairie

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Dear Helping Hands,

I have a mom who could use $200, because me and my brother have a lot of meds and the cost is extremely high and we could use a little bit of money.

Fourth-grade student, Nuestro Mundo Community School

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Dear Helping Hands,

I have a cousin who could use $200. They had a stroke and they have a lot of medical bills and their family is stressed and needs help affording the therapy they need. I would really appreciate the help.

Fourth-grade student, Nuestro Mundo Community School

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Dear Helping Hands,

I have a grandma and grandpa who could use $200 because my grandma takes care of my baby brother and my grandma and grandpa need to pay for my great grandma’s eye surgery and it costs a lot of money.

Fourth-grade student, Nuestro Mundo Community School

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Dear Helping Hands,

I am 9 years old. My parents could use $200 to pay for the house, rent and the electricity. We need the money because it's very expensive, the rent and the electricity. When my parents come home after work, my mom and dad eat and sleep and then they go to work again. My mom has 2 jobs cleaning houses and mending clothes. My dad has 3 jobs, chef and also mending clothes and cleaning houses.

Fourth-grader, Nuestro Mundo Community School

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Dear Helping Hands,

I would like to nominate my classmate, Regina McGrath, who has been bravely fighting Type 1 Diabetes since May. She is one of the strongest people I know. She always has a smile on her face and keeps her sense of humor every single day, even when things are tough. Since her diagnosis, the family has had to juggle normal life, sports, school, and constant medical care — all while trying to make sure Reggie stays healthy and safe. I know she tries so hard not to let her illness stop her, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. Regina’s family has always been the kind of family that helps everyone else. Now they are the ones who need help, and I truly believe they deserve it.

Adalyn Howe, sixth grade, Lodi Elementary School

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Dear Helping Hands,

If I had $200, I would use it to help my friend, who recently lost his father. His dad was tragically shot. My friend also has a younger brother who is only six years old. This loss has deeply affected them, and I, along with their other friends, have been thinking of ways to support them. My friend is one of the kindest and toughest people I know. He has been a great friend to me for the past three years.

Miles Werwie, eighth grade, Sennett Middle School, Madison