One morning Oral Lee Brown stopped by a local store to make her usual shopping. A little girl came up to her, asking for 25 cents. Because all she had was a $5 bill(纸币), Brown invited the little girl to go with her to the store. Inside the store, Brown told the little girl she could pick out anything she wanted.
Instead of choosing candy or a toy, which would have been the first choice for most kids, the little girl immediately ran for a bag of bread. And she shyly thanked Brown and quickly disappeared around the comer.
That night, Brown couldn't sleep, deciding that she had to find the little girl to help her. She went to the school the girl would most likely attend, but she never found her. Instead, she found many other children, in less than ideal(理想的) conditions. Brown decided to "adopt (领养)" a class of 23 East Oakland, California, first-graders. She told them, "Stay in school, and I'll send you to college. " To achieve this goal, Brown began saving money, putting aside $10000 per year from her $45000 salary.
Starting that day, Brown became abenefactor, mentor(导师) and second mother to those 23 first-graders, beginning with regular visits, Saturday tutorials and parent meetings. She tracked each child's attendance and grades, bought them Christmas gifts and bought supplies. Nineteen of the students in that first class attended college, and three others went into trade schools. Those students all graduated from college in 2003 and 2004.
Brown is now on her sixth class of "adopted" students. In total, more than 125 young people have gained her help. Some of these students—now in college—report that if it hadn't been for Brown, they would never have been given an opportunity for this kind of education.
