This Teacher Gives Her Students $20 Each, With One Rule
What started as a way to honor a sister’s memory has quietly taught hundreds of students how kindness works.
Every year, on an ordinary school day in Pennsylvania, English teacher Kristina Ulmer does something her students never forget.
She hands each ninth grader a $20 bill.
There is only one rule. They cannot spend it on themselves. The money must go toward an act of kindness, however they choose to define it, as long as it helps someone else.
The tradition began nearly a decade ago, after Ulmer lost her 29-year-old sister, Katie, in a car accident. When Katie died, she had a $100 waitressing tip tucked inside her wallet.
Ulmer could not stop thinking about it.
So she matched the amount with her own savings and decided to turn it into something living. Something shared. She challenged her students to use the money not just to give, but to notice.
“I want them to make connections to the people around them,” Ulmer told CBC News. “I wanted them to notice that people around them could possibly be struggling.”
Today, the project is funded by Horsham High School, and the acts of kindness have multiplied. Students have baked cookies for first responders, donated food to local food banks, and crocheted tiny hats for premature babies at a nearby hospital.
The lesson has followed many of them beyond the classroom.
Former student Sydney Cassel told The Washington Post that she and others still carry out the “$20 Kindness Challenge” years later.
“You don’t have to have millions,” she said. “Anyone can make a difference.”
It started with a single tip in a wallet.
And it became a reminder that generosity does not have to be grand to be lasting.
Sometimes, it just needs to be taught.
Bonus Smile:
The first kiss this newborn received from her big brother went much better than she thought it would 😂
Tiktok failed to load.Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browser