Talk about a true inspiration!
When Rickee Stewart visited our show in honor of World Teachers Day, Rach could hardly keep from crying -- and you may be in the same boat in a moment.
Rickee is a high school business teacher in Utah, and she treats her students as if they’re her own.
“I call them my kids,” she says. "And I really, truly feel that way about each one of my students."
And because she cares so much about them, she pays close attention -- which is how she realized that many of the students in her school were facing serious hardships. (She realized some of them were saving their school lunches to give to their younger siblings.) She knew she wanted to help.
But she didn’t realize how severe of a problem she was facing until she spoke to the school principal.
She was surprised to learn how many of the students are part of severely low-income households -- and that some of them are even homeless.
That’s when Rickee started making moves.
She spearheaded a school pantry where students in need could come for food -- no questions asked.
"If kids need food, if they’re requesting food," Rickee assures, "they get it."
But she didn’t stop there.
When it came time to register for her wedding, she didn’t ask for for traditional gifts. Instead, she registered for coats -- for the students.
"The more we just kind of put this out there," Rickee says in amazement, "the more we got in return. It was amazing."
So with the help of strangers from around the world, Rickee received 1,200 winter coats for students in her school. Wow!
But with 2,100 homeless children in her school district, there are still a few more coats to go before winter hits -- so we had to help!
We worked with Burlington Stores to give Rickee TWO surprises. Check it out in the video above!
