Life lessons learned early

Dear Editor:
As a parent and educator, I believe that teaching children to do things to benefit others is a vital life lesson that can neither be over-emphasized nor taught too young. A small item in the February 27 edition of The Morgan Messenger confirmed that other local parents believe the same. In fact, it showed how one local parent is teaching her children the importance and value of putting philanthropy at the center of their working model of capitalism.

On page 20 was a picture of Charlotte Williams with some of the food she has purchased for the Morgan County Backpacks program with money she earned by making and selling neck warmers.

Most readers probably glanced at that and continued reading down the page without any idea how truly significant that item is, nor what’s behind it. I know more of the back story on this from her mother, Eileen Haggerty.

The seven-year-old girl does this on her own initiative in her spare time and bought enough food to fill many backpacks in the program under the directorship of Morgan County Starting Points. Because of her industry and purposeful sharing, many local children who would otherwise face a weekend without food now take home a backpack full of healthy foods.

I’ve also observed her older sister Kendal creating and selling custom pillows to raise funds for Friends Fur Life Rescue.

I applaud Eileen Haggerty for doing what it takes to help her daughters develop their own opportunities that combine doing what they enjoy with making and marketing top quality consumer goods which they sell, having purposely earmarked a portion of their profits to support causes that are meaningful to them.

This bright shining example of American Capitalism, as it was intended to be, gives me hope for our nation even in these dark, difficult economic times.

Susan Kemenyas
Berkeley Springs