{"id":39,"date":"2019-04-03T19:30:40","date_gmt":"2019-04-04T00:30:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/academicsumws.wpengine.com\/communityengagement\/?page_id=39"},"modified":"2026-01-06T09:14:28","modified_gmt":"2026-01-06T14:14:28","slug":"starfish-story","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/academics.umw.edu\/communityengagement\/coar\/starfish-story\/","title":{"rendered":"Starfish Story"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
<\/div>
community engagement<\/div>

Starfish Story<\/h1><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n
\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n

Make a Difference in the World<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

COAR\u2019s mission is to inspire students to serve their community. Here is a story that exemplifies the impact that service can have on others:<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Star\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A young man is walking beside the ocean and sees thousands and thousands of starfish that have washed ashore. Further along, he sees an old man, walking slowly and stopping often, picking up one starfish after another and tossing each one gently into the ocean.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhy are you throwing starfish into the ocean?\u201d he asks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBecause the sun is up and the tide is going out and if I don\u2019t throw them further in, they will die.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut, old man, don\u2019t you realize there are miles and miles of beach and starfish all along it! You can\u2019t possibly save them all; you can\u2019t even save one-tenth of them. In fact, even if you work all day, your efforts won\u2019t make any difference at all.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"starfish\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The old man listened calmly and then bent down to pick up another starfish and threw it into the sea. \u201cIt made a difference to that one.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

-Loren Eisly<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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