heartwarming story

**rosey7415** · 12-27-2008, 10:53 AM

this is great. i imagine that it happens everywhere. we are growing some future wonderful and caring adults.

maybe it is because there are no more little ones in my family.......but this was a feel-good-story for me. sort of hope in these terrible financial time of thinking of those that have less. you go girls!! ( btw, i have no idea who these kids are.)

Sisters donate year's worth of change to Neediest Families

DAVID CUDDY/The Standard-Times Stephanie Mis, 10, and Sydney Mis, 8, sit in the lobby of The Standard-Times after donating $188.83 to the Neediest Families Fund on Friday. The sisters from Berkley collected loose change for a little more than a year.
By Jennifer Lade
Standard-Times staff writer
December 27, 2008 6:00 AM
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And over the course of a year, even nickels and pennies can add up, as Stephanie Mis, 10, and Sydney Mis, 8, discovered when they delivered the jug of change to The Standard-Times for the Neediest Families Fund on Friday. They had raised $188.83.

"It makes me feel good," Sydney said.

Just over a year ago, Peter and Debbie Mis decided they would help their daughters collect money throughout the year, to be given to a charity around Christmas. The girls were familiar with recycling cans and collecting loose change for fundraisers for the Girl Scouts, of which they are both members. But this time the money raised would be for someone else's benefit.

"The lesson for them is the sense of understanding that you've just got to take care of everyone else," Mr. Mis said.

"We keep reminding them about how the conditions of the world are right now ... There's a lot of people who are tremendously less fortunate than we are."

So the girls started collecting money at every opportunity for an undetermined charity.

"Any loose change around they house, they would just take ownership of, and they would throw it into this milk jug that we had," Mr. Mis said.

A year is a long time for kids to remain focused on a goal, but when Stephanie or Sydney's motivation flagged, Mr. and Mrs. Mis were there to keep them going.

"With a parent's prodding, we kept the focal point on how important this was," Mr. Mis said.

It was only recently that the family decided the money would go to the Neediest Families Fund, after reading stories about the families in The Standard-Times. Their knowledge of the recipients made the donation more personal, Mr. Mis said.

"Now there's a greater understanding of the big picture as to what this is all about."

At end of year, they were surprised how much money they had collected — enough to buy a handheld Nintendo DS system, Stephanie discovered. But the sisters never wavered in their commitment to give the money away.

"There wasn't any second thought," Mr. Mis said.

The family is ready to make their donation an annual tradition, he added.

"Now the pressure's on to do more next year."