CASA
Baltimore regularly recognizes its volunteers for the work
they do. These special volunteers are called "Starfish"
based on the moral of the following story.
THE STARFISH STORY
Once
upon a time, there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to
do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach
before he began his work.
One day,
as he was walking along the shore, he looked down the beach and
saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself
at the thought of someone who would dance to the day, and so, he
walked faster to catch up.
As he got
closer, he noticed that the figure was that of a young man, and
that what he was doing was not dancing at all. The young man
was reaching down to the shore, picking up small objects, and
throwing them into the ocean.
He came
closer still and called out “Good Morning! May I ask what it is
that you are doing?"
The young
man paused, looked up, and replied “Throwing starfish into the
ocean.” “I must
ask, then, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?” asked
the somewhat startled wise man.
To this,
the young man replied, “The sun is up and the tide is going
out. If I don’t throw them in, they’ll die.”
Upon
hearing this, the wise man commented, “But, young man, do you
not realize that there are miles and miles of beach and there
are starfish all along every mile? You can’t possibly make a
difference!”
At this,
the young man bent down, picked up yet another starfish and
threw it into the ocean. As it met the water, he said, “It
made a difference for that one.”
