U.S. school teachers don’t just teach students government required curriculums and send their students off.
They sometimes have to fund supplies and endeavors out of their own pockets.
They console their students in times of crisis and watch as these children are subjected to the terrible things that exist in this world like abuse or poverty.
Kimberly Bermudez is one of those teachers. She teaches at Fuentes Elementary School in Chicago where she and her fellow teachers often dish out their own money to pay for things like underwear, soap, and school supplies for their students.
Many of her students come from low income and immigrant families that struggle to provide even the most basic necessities.
Bermudez was on a flight to Florida to visit her parents when she struck up a conversation with her seatmate telling him how much she loved her job.
“Teaching is my passion. When he asked me the greatest challenge that I face I was honest with him,” she wrote on Facebook.
She told him that it was “heartbreaking” to see her students experience hardship like homelessness and hunger.
The worst part about it is is that their parents try as hard as they can to make a better life for their children but sometimes their efforts just aren’t enough.
“You can’t control what happens at home,” Bermudez, 27, told The Washington Post. “These parents are amazing. They will go without for their child.”
He then asked for her contact number explaining that his company often donates to schools likes the one where she teaches.
Then an amazing chain of events began to occur. The man behind her handed her a wad of cash and told her to “do something amazing” and sat back down.
“I realized that there was $100 on top, and started to cry. I thanked him and told him how I would buy my students books and give back to the community. I didn’t count the money from that man, but I would later find out that he gave me $500,” she explained.
Bermudez was in shock.
And even more so when the man in front of her turned around and gave her $10, Another man across from her handed her $20.
She reassured the men that she wasn’t telling her story to solicit money and that it would go towards helping the students at her school.
Bermudez says she plans to buy books for her students since many of them complain that they can’t read at home since they don’t have books.
She also plans to use the money to buy backpacks and other school supplies.
She later shared her story on Facebook where it ended up going viral.
“When the world seems crazy there are always good people. I am thankful for the good people in this world. No child should ever go without anything,” Bermudez said. “This experience made me want to do more for the kids, and use my gift of speaking to help others in need. I want to pass this story around, and thank those strangers and their amazing hearts!”
She hoped that sharing her story would start a chain reaction so that others would reach out and help people in need, even if it isn’t a school in Chicago.
Her wish ended up coming true.
Her school confirmed with Upworthy that they have received more than $4,000 in donations since Bermudez’s story went viral.
But Upworthy brings up a good point that her story is proof that our country fails to offer equal resources when it comes to educating our students and that teachers and people with generous hearts are left to fill those gaps instead of our tax dollars and fair policies.
With each passing administration, we face different hot-button issues that aim to divide us.
Meanwhile the issues we all care about, and can likely agree upon, like infrastructure and education funding continue to be ignored.
It’s unacceptable to think that children in this country don’t have school supplies or books while corporations can write-off season tickets and fancy lunches as a business expense on their taxes while income inequality continues to rise.
Something we should remember when we vote for our local, state, and national representatives.
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