Sean and Liegh Anne Tuohy, the real-life couple portrayed in the movie Blindside, share the following story in their book In a Heartbeat:
There is a little-known congressional program that awards internships to young people who have aged out of the foster care system. These are kids who were never adopted, and are no longer eligible for state support.
[A senator we've met] employed one such man as an intern. One morning the senator breezed in for a meeting and discovered that his intern was already in the office, reorganizing the entire mailroom. The senator said to the intern, "This is amazing—the mailroom has never looked so clean. You did a great job."
A few minutes later the senator saw that the intern had tears streaming down his face. [He] said, "Son, are you okay?"
"Yes," the intern answered quietly.
"Did I say something to offend you?"
"No, sir."
"Well, what's wrong?"
The young man said, "That's the first time in my life anyone's told me that I did something good."
The Tuhoy's comment, "A little bit of attention and a kind word—that's how little it takes to affect someone's life for the better."
