Sue Silverstein sent me this photo this morning; the new camera we bought Jazmine arrived at the school Friday, Sue gave it to Jazmine this morning. I gather she was very excited. This morning, I sent a box of 100 photo film papers so she won’t have to buy them once she gets going.

You might recall Jazmine, I wrote about her last Friday, and her story got an enormous response. Jazmine is a remarkable human being.

She does not care to be portrayed as a victim; she takes full responsibility for her life (even when it’s not her fault). So I won’t dwell on that, other than to say she was living in a homeless shelter and then a girl’s home for several years and has just been awarded a full scholarship to Wilkes College.

While at the shelter, she cooked for the other residents.

At Bishop Maginn, her teachers describe her as a remarkable student, a leader, and an inspiration. Jazmine talks about “growing” the pain and hardship in her life. That is what she decided to do; that is what she did.

It took me half an hour to persuade Jazmine to tell me what she could use to further her cultural and academic life. She only wanted me to get things for the school, not her. I had to make a deal with her finally. She would tell me what she wanted, and I would agree to replace the school’s vending machine.

To get her to tell me what she wanted, I agreed.

Only then did she agree to let me buy her an instant camera, just for her. She has one now.

She is very interested in photography. This lifted my heart. She’s special,  a person of honesty, character, and empathy. She is also a gifted and hard-working student.  The school helps kids prepare their scholarship applications, but Jazmine didn’t get to fill out an application. Schools got in touch with her and asked her to apply.

She made the right choices for her life. She is an aspiration and a role model.

I’ll keep my word and spent an hour or so yesterday on the phone with vending machine operators trying to figure out what vending machines cost and how to get one. I see that the new ones range between $1,000 and $10,000, depending on how big they are and how many items can be purchased.

The school may not own the vending machine or have control over it. I’ll have to find out.

If I can, I’ll go after one; I learned of a company in Syracuse, N.Y. that refurbishes vending machines.

Two of the vending machine operators I talked to recommended buying a used or refurbished machine (I’m sure I can get a discount for the school (thanks, Moise) if I try. They said I could find a good-as-new refurbished machine for between $1,200 and $3,000.

I have to think about how to do this and whether it’s possible. I won’t ask for any support until I know for sure. I told Jazmine I would try, and I will.