The Important Power of ONE

One morning, after a violent storm had passed, a man walked along a beach littered with thousands of starfish stranded in the sand. The tide had gone out, leaving them behind—drying, fading, helpless.

In the distance, he saw a young boy walking slowly, stopping every few steps. Each time, the boy would bend down, pick up a starfish, and gently toss it back into the sea.

Puzzled, the man approached and asked, “What are you doing?”

The boy replied, “The tide brought them in. If I don’t throw them back, they’ll die.”

The man looked around at the sheer number of starfish. “There are thousands. You can’t possibly save them all. You can’t make a difference.”

The boy paused, bent down, picked up another starfish, and threw it into the water.

“It made a difference to that one,” he said.

Then he bent down again.

• The Starfish Parable

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If you’ve ever visited the Heartprint office, you may have seen them: simple signs taped to the inside of our office door - the part that only our team can see. They’re not fancy. But they’re powerful. 

Every time we walk out into the world, they remind us to be that ONE person.

It’s not always easy to describe what that means, because it isn’t a job title or a skillset. It’s a way of seeing the overlooked, hearing the ignored, and helping them find what allows them to breathe. It’s choosing to believe in someone when they do not know how to believe in themselves..

We’ve seen it happen more times than we can count: one person - just one - can make all the difference, even in our own lives. For you, maybe it was a teacher who didn’t let you give up. Maybe it was a neighbor who noticed you when no one else did. Maybe someone showed up and stayed when life was falling apart.

That’s what we try to be at Heartprint. Not superheroes. Not magic. Just people who show up. Who find potential where others see problems. Who listen. Who believe. Who help turn on the light inside someone who felt they’d live alone forever in the dark.

When someone starts to believe in themselves, everything changes. It doesn’t erase poverty, or pain, or difficult homes - but it does plant something substantial: hope.  A path.  A belief in the possible. Finally, a belief in yourself. 

Imagine that lightness of spirit when you are put back into a place where you can breathe. Like the starfish. 

It matters to that one. 

Every day, we go into our Hearprint world with our own personal plans to be that one person. For someone.  At least one someone. 

And if each of us steps into that role, just once in a while, imagine how many lives we can touch. How many starfish can we return to the sea?

That’s the why behind everything we do.  That is the ephemeral that lifts up all of the physical. 

And this month, you have a beautiful opportunity to be that ONE person, in a way that multiplies.

Because this is when our community comes together for Match It May. It’s simple, really. When you make a donation, there are others - quiet heroes behind the scenes - who have already stepped up and said: 

 “We’ll match it.”  

Dollar for dollar.   

That means your kindness doesn’t just help one person—it helps two. Or five. Or ten. 

It’s your chance to step into “that one person” role:  the encourager, the believer, the quiet supporter who helps carry someone forward into life.

Hearts matching hearts.

That’s what this month is all about.

And for us here at Heartprint, it means we can keep saying yes to one more home, one more child eating well, one more mother in a training program. Your gift becomes the reason someone out there gets to feel seen, supported, and believed in.  You keep us going - so we can keep going. 

And thank you for being that one person. Again and again.

With gratitude,

Your HP team