Oakland Angel

"A little help is worth a great deal of pity."

    - Anonymous

This heart-warming story about Oral Lee Brown, an Oakland, California woman, and the children she has helped is worth a read. Ms. Brown was moved to service by a little girl she met one afternoon as she was walking down an Oakland street:

"...a little girl in pigtails stopped Oral Lee Brown on the street and asked for a quarter. Brown didn't have any change, so she walked with the girl to the corner store to buy her a treat. She expected the girl, who looked about 8, to head straight for the candy. But the child instead chose staples: a loaf of bread, some cheese, and bologna. Outside, Brown asked the little girl, 'Why aren't you in school?' She only shrugged. Brown asked, 'Don't you go to school?' Her answer: 'Sometimes.' Then the light changed, and Brown watched her walk away."

Though she never saw the little girl again, Brown began thinking about the incident and realized the youngster's situation might not be all that uncommon. Her concern led her to look for a way that she could help children such as the one she had just encountered:

"She 'adopted' a first-grade class at nearby Brookfield Elementary School. There, she made a promise to the students: 'Stay in school and I'll send you to college.' "

This was a real stretch for her. She put $10,000 of her $45,000 salary into a trust fund each year in order to finance her promise to the children, but realized this might not be enough, so she supplemented her own contributions with fund-raisers. These met limited success. Eventually, she was able to attract the attention of businesses and other individuals who provided additional contributions. 

It was in 1987, that Brown made her promise to the 23 Brookfield first-graders. Nineteen of them went on to college. Since then, she has continued her work:

"...she is sponsoring 89 new students from Oakland schools, selecting them by soliciting applications districtwide two years ago from grades 5 and 7. 'The need is still there,' she says. When she meets a new group of students, she asks them...'What are your dreams? Do you want to go to college?' Typically, every little hand goes up--so Brown tries to explain what it's going to take."

Not too long ago, Brown was recognized by her fellow realtors with their Good Neighbor Award for her work with the Oakland children. The write-up appeared in Realtor Magazine Online. It's also worth a read.

People like Oral Lee Brown are what makes this country great. For every one whose work becomes known as hers has, there are thousands of others who never receive any publicity, nor do they want it. They all have one thing in common. They see a need and they try to meet it. Bless them all, for they bring light to all the lives they touch.

Thanks to Vincent at the World Magazine Blog for pointing out the link to this story.