One morning an elderly woman was walking on a nearly deserted beach. She came upon a girl surrounded by thousands and thousands of starfish. As eagerly as she could, the youngster was picking them up and throwing them back into the ocean.

“Puzzled, the woman looked at the young girl and asked, “Little girl, what are you doing?”

The youth responded without looking up, “I’m trying to save these starfish, ma’am.”

The woman chuckled aloud, and queried, “Girl, there are thousands of starfish and only one of you. What difference can you make?”

Holding a starfish in her hand, the girl turned to the woman and, gently tossing the starfish into the water, said “Well, I am making a difference for that one!”