At the Christmas Posada last month, Puente handed out 27 cozy new sleeping bags to farm workers, courtesy of Ms. Martinez’s kindergarten class at San Francisco’s Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy. The students raised more than $1,000 for Puente in four hours, selling baked goods and lemonade to passersby on a Saturday in November at the corner of 18th and Castro Streets. As a service-learning project, it was a big success. Everyone pitched in, from the students, who blew bubbles and poured lemonade, to their parents, who furnished the homemade treats and supervised the bake sale. But the larger point was not lost on Marisa Martinez’s students. “It’s not just about the classroom. It’s about how we help other people. That’s the best thing I can ever do as teacher – to spread that message: there are always people in more trouble than you are,” says Martinez, who lives in Kings Mountain and is raising two young children of her own. Martinez’s students are not affluent. Many are adopted or in foster care, low-income, or born outside the U.S. So learning about the farm workers who need donated bedding to stay warm was a powerful lesson for them. Martinez herself has spent a lot of time with migrant populations. Back in New Mexico, her home state, she would go down … Continue reading Why I give to Puente: Marisa Martinez