In the novel “Monkey Island,” by Paula Fox, an 11-year-old boy becomes homeless after his parents abandon him. He is helped by two homeless men, social services, and a special  man named Gerald, who hands out cheese sandwiches.

After reading the book in class, John Sheridan’s sixth-graders got to “be” Gerald for a day.

With the help of 1-800-Volunteer.org, John’s 50 students from Elmcrest Elementary in Liverpool recently teamed up with 50 students from Ed Smith Elementary in Syracuse to volunteer at human-service agencies.  John hopes the experience will help the students count their own blessings, as well as inspire them to help people who may not be so fortunate.

John’s goals as a teacher are to help his students better understand children their age in other school districts, and inspire them to help others through volunteerism. The students in both districts learned about the similarities and differences in each other’s lives by writing back and forth, interviewing each other and visiting each other’s schools.

“When I was a kid, I never really ventured out of my home school district,” John explains. “I was inspired to become a teacher because I love helping people. I want to give my students a chance to see life from different perspectives and experience what other people face in their lives. I want to inspire them to help. I think this is important enough that all schools should be doing it.”

United Way’s Volunteer Center helped John find volunteer opportunities for his students where they can make a difference. The students will use United Way’s new 1-800-Volunteer.org service to keep track of their volunteer hours and see their accomplishments.