A Las Vegas teacher found herself in tears this year as she read the Christmas wish lists of her students. English teacher Cheri Guy is teaching her first year at Desert Pines High School, which hosts an annual “Wishmas,” where students share their Christmas requests and the 300 staff members use their own money to try to fulfill them. While every student doesn’t always get exactly what they want, they get something. The students attending the school are economically disadvantaged, with many living in single parent households.

Guy was surprised by some of the requests she read. “Slippers,” one student wrote. “I would like some black slippers to protect my feet from the cold.” Another student asked, “For all the wishes to be granted.” That request particularly struck Guy, who knew many of her students were facing poverty and enormous challenges. “We have a lot of kids who are in the foster system, we have a lot of kids who are living in poverty,” she told Today. Speaking to The Washington Post, she said, “We do everything we can within our power as staff to help every student feel loved. A thousand wishes and a staff of 300 people would be almost impossible, especially on the salary of educators.” Guy decided to turn to her TikTok account, and asked her followers for help. Clearly emotional during the video, Guy shared about the school’s Wishmas program and then read some of the students’ requests, starting with the wish to have all the wishes granted. “Maybe we could do something to try to make some of these things happen,” she said in her video, asking her followers to reach out to her if they’d like to help.

Guy’s video was viewed over 100,000 times and she received hundreds of responses from people who wanted to help. People have helped by buying gifts off an Amazon Wish List she created, sending money to her directly, or even stopping by the school. Guy has made multiple trips to the local post office to receive packages and has had her apartment full of packages.  The Washington Post reported that the school had received 600 gifts, with more on the way. The deadline to receive packages is December 15, though the school will deliver any packages received after the deadline after the school’s break. School principal Isaac Stein called the response “amazing.” “I think it’s what our community and what our nation needs to see.” He praised Guy and his teachers’ efforts. “We’re seeing everybody step up. Ms. Guy is really a reflection of our staff members and our team here. She is representing who we are.”

Speaking to a local news station, Guy said, “I’m humbled by it. I’m humbled because I do get emotional when I talk about my kids.” She added, “It’s a little cliche, but little things add up to huge differences. And this is going to make a huge difference in a lot of students’ lives. And every single one of us has the opportunity to do that. And that’s what teaching is really. And I think it goes back to what teachers are at their core. We care about our kids.” Speaking to Today, she shared why the door to her classroom has a sign that reads “One person can change a world.” “It used to say, ‘One person can change the world,’ but I changed it to ‘a world,’ because it’s not about changing the whole world. That’s what overwhelms us. But if you can just think about, ‘What can I do for one person?’ That’s changing a world — and if we could all do that? Just imagine what our society would turn into.”