I never knew how rewarding it would feel to help a family 4,560 miles away from my home. I never knew how much of an impact I could make on that single family; a family bound to deprivation and defeat. I never knew.

From the moment I walked into French class the beginning of my sophomore year, I knew almost instantly that I belonged there. My teacher, Madame Weiser, is a kind and caring woman, and was the person who sparked the interest within me to aid a family abroad, no matter how many miles apart.

Back in 2011, my teacher travelled as a tourist to Mali, a country settled in West Africa with a large French-speaking population. She didn’t expect to adopt an entire family, but fate had other plans. Madame met a nice man by the name of Monsieur Diarra, a chauffeur who had showed her the way through the arid lands of Mali.

Mali is currently a war-torn country and unsafe for tourists to visit, leaving little work for chauffeurs. Monsieur Diarra’s family, fearing that hopelessness was imminent, was suddenly lifted from the depths of desperation. Madame Weiser realized how Monsieur Diarra’s family struggled on a daily basis, for he had a wife and four children to provide for as well as their grandmother, so she made a final decision to send the family as much money as she could raise every month.

Now, three years later, Madame Weiser has still kept up her fund, collecting money from family and friends as well as students to support the cause. The cause has become more than just my teacher donating to her adopted family abroad. It has become so much more.

As president of French Club at my high school and a French Honor Society member, I decided, along with the president of French Honor Society, that our clubs should work in junction to raise money for the family in need. Back in November, the club and honor society worked together to plan a car wash at a local gas station, and the turnout was phenomenal. We raised over $1,000, an accomplishment that could not have occurred without cooperation between the two organizations. You see, we too have become a family—a family helping another family.

Within the next week, we will be holding a fundraiser at Chipotle. Every customer who states that they are supporting the French program at our high school will be donating a portion of the cost of their meal to our family in Mali.

From my experience, I've learned that making an effort is worth more than anything, but making an impact—now that’s priceless.