No one should be lonely during the holidays. It would be wonderful if we could all reach out to someone in need of a family for Christmas, invite them over for a little turkey.
One class of high school students made the decision to “adopt” their professor this year after they heard she usually spends the holiday alone.
Professor Wharton is an incredible Texas educator who casually shared with her Composition 1 class she doesn’t have anyone to share Christmas with.
“Both of my parents have passed away. And my sister, my only sibling, passed away,” Wharton told BuzzFeed News. “I don’t have immediate family. I do have some cousins, but we aren’t real close.”
The teacher didn’t think too much of her passing comment and she didn’t expect her students to think much of it either.
But one of her students, 16-year-old Belinda Ramirez, could not let it go. Rather than let her teacher spend the holidays alone, Ramirez sprung into action.
With the assistance of her classmates, Ramirez planned a little Christmas gathering of sorts on the final day of the semester and exams.
“So we all got together to surprise our professor who usually spends Christmas alone,” Ramirez wrote on Twitter. “It really is the little things.”
Watch as this amazing professor is given the Christmas surprise of the year! She certainly seems like a wonderful lady!
The video has gone viral on social media, with over 100K retweets in just under a week since it was shared. Since then, others have reportedly wanted to offer love and gifts on Professor Wharton.
This is where this story gets much better. “As much as Professor Wharton would love to receive gifts and letters, she would rather the generosity go to a bigger cause,” Ramirez tweeted.
That cause happens to be making donations to the American Cancer Society or simply “reach out to others who are alone,” Wharton said. “That can have an impact in our world.”
It seems she has already had quite the massive impact as well. If you’d like to make Wharton’s wish come true, please go and visit the American Cancer Society’s donation page.
Or there’s always the other option — reach out this season to someone in need.
