Tiffany Leachman - Boys and Girls Clubs

Tiffany Leachman, LeaderCorps and Boys and Girls Clubs Neighborhood After School member writes an inspiring story of her AmeriCorps service:

Veteran's Day was coming up so I asked the children that I was working with if they had known anyone that was in the military. Some of them said that they had some family members that were in the ARMY. They didn't know that there were there were different branches of the military besides just the ARMY. So, it was a great opportunity to share the different branches. I'm not a military girl myself, but I knew a lot more than they did. I was able to tell them about how my sister and my boyfriend were sergeants in the ARMY, a good friend of mine was in the Navy, and another friend was a drill instructor in the Marines. They were amazed that I knew so many people in the military and were very curious of how they differed from each other.  One the girls, named, Destynay had told me that her teacher was having her class write letters to one of her teacher's friends that was overseas in Iraq. She showed me the letter and I complimented her for doing a great deed. I also encouraged the other students that were around to write letters or make cards for the people that they knew in the military because it would have meant a lot to them. Destynay came up to me and said, "Miss Tiffany I am going to write a letter to your boyfriend." I told her that I would give it to him the next time I would see him. I read the letter to check for mistakes. It was so sweet and you could tell that she was very grateful for his service to our country. I gave him the letter and it made his day. It made my day, too. I was happy to see that the children that I come in contact with think about others besides just themselves. You never know how small gestures can have a great impact on the lives around you.