Editor, Gazette-Journal:

Something very interesting happened to me the other day while I was waiting in line at the bank with my mom. There was a man in front of us who kept looking at me and smiling. After he left, the teller said the man left a hundred dollar bill for me!

I was very excited but I wanted to know why a stranger would do something so nice. The more I thought about it, the more I felt like doing something creative with the money as well. I started to think about ways that I could use the money to help people.

All week I noticed that the grown-ups were talking about the shooting at the school in Connecticut. Parents and teachers tried not to tell kids much about it because they didn’t want us to be frightened, but I heard about it anyway on the radio on the way to school and I read about it on the internet. I felt that it was very sad for the kids who were killed and their families, but I felt kind of sad for the shooter too because he probably wasn’t in his right mind.

I went online to try to find ways to help the people at the school in Connecticut. I decided to give my money to the Canine Comfort Dog Fund, which is sending comfort dogs to help the classmates of the kids who were killed. I know that if something that terrible were to happen in my school, I would want a comfort dog to visit me and my friends.

The wonderful surprise at the bank the other day made me think about how awesome people can be. I wish I could thank that stranger not just for the money but for the lesson he taught me about passing on the spirit of Christmas.

Allison Hughes

Age 10

Port Haywood, Va.