One in a MILLION!
This week, we are recognising the amazing work of Jamie Harkin, 18, Northern Ireland. He wrote to say…
When my English teacher sadly passed away from cancer in 2017, the whole school was in shock.
Mr Peters was one of the greatest teachers I’ve ever had.
I was put in his class from the first day of secondary school.
He had a way of teaching that helped you truly connect with the lesson.
And it wasn’t just me, he was that one teacher in the school that everyone loved.
Like a true English teacher, he had inspirational quotes all over his classroom.
From Toy Story, to some of the greatest novels, he filled us with words of wisdom.
And of course he had his own ones, too.
‘You’re not leaving until I see you smile,’ he would say.
When he first died, everyone struggled with the grief.
We held a coffee afternoon and a few fundraisers, but in my final year, before jetting off to university, I wanted to do something to remember him by. And that’s when I came up with the idea of an inspirational calendar.
A quote for every day of the year.
I wanted to remember the person he was, without it being sad.
And so, I thought this would be a fitting reminder.
Doing it all myself, I put together a collection of his favourite quotes.
Mixing it with a few that I’d found myself, it didn’t take long before I had 366 – an extra day for the leap year.
And so, I had it all designed and requested 500 to be printed.
When we sold around 100 of the Pockets of Positivity Calendars in the first two weeks, I was so happy, but may have over ordered.
However, after seeing a tweet, my local newspaper picked up on the calendars.
Soon, it was international news, and the calendars were flying out.
People from across the waters wanted one.
Now, we’ve raised a whopping £10,000 for Care for Cancer charity.
Mr Peters’ wife was overwhelmed and so grateful.
It was nice knowing that we could make her smile like that again.
Now that I’ve had to concentrate on my A-levels, I’ve had to slow down on the selling, but there are still a few left and I’d love people to keep buying.
When I leave school in the summer, I know that I have left my mark there, just like Mr Peters did.
I put in his favourite quotes