Third Place
Middle (Grades 6-8)

     My mom is helpful to the world because she tries to help others who don't have useful things like clothing. I have learned many things from her, but I think that the most important thing she taught me was being altruistic, and I try my best.

     I used to live in Mexico, a place where you see dogs on the loose and young boys and girls with dirty feet because they've never had a pair of shoes, and little girls selling homemade gelatin to make a profit. One night my mom saw a boy, about four or five, running down a rock street barefooted. She went out and told him to stop, and he did for about one or two minutes; then my mom came out with a pair of black tennis shoes with long, thick laces. She told him to try them on and it was like in Cinderella, a perfect fit. The boy's expression was one I'd never seen. As the boy left, he had a vast smile on his face.

     I'll never forget this incident. I think the world is better because she made a portion of our world happy. Every summer I go to Mexico, and every year I take something I want to get rid of, like clothes, and I give it to kids there. My mom does everything she can to help; that's what makes her the great person she is.