The effect of the Giraffe Heroes program on students can be profound. My name is Kathy Frazier and I’m an elementary/middle school gifted teacher in Kent, Ohio, USA. Let me tell you about just one of the many kids I’ve guided through the program.

Kyle was in my third grade class and after a class discussion on homelessness, said, "My mom, my sister and I stayed in the homeless shelter right here in our city for a whole month. It's a very nice place, but I think maybe they could use some blankets too." He looked around the class. "What do say? Do you think we should help them?"

The class was inspired by Kyle. Before the bell rang they decided to do “Project Blankets.” The next day they created a plan and in no time they had made a big donation box and created posters and announcements.

But it didn’t work. After two weeks of promoting their project, the blanket box held only two blankets . The kids were frustrated and disappointed. It was time for me to ask, “Why do you think kids aren’t donating to our project?”

It turned out that most of the students in the school didn’t have any extra blankets at home nor the money to buy new ones. There were a lot of long faces in the room until Kyle again spoke up.

"The Homeless Shelter needs other stuff besides blankets. Why don't we give them a call?"

The kids got a list of needed items such as light bulbs, Kleenex, and tooth-paste. They changed the project name to “Project Stuff." Now everyone could contribute and the donation box began to fill up.