Brian Cummins

New Jersey: In honor of a former student who battled cancer, Vernon High School teacher Brian Cummins organized a Lids for Kids drive, collecting 632 new hats for cancer victims at St. Joseph's Children's Hospital in Paterson.

Ohio: 8 children who set out to make a difference by collecting glasses for the visually impaired know a lot about the subject: All were born blind.

NEWTON , Vernon Township High School teacher Brian Cummins said a former student's battle with cancer at 14 years old was the driving force behind the philanthropic efforts that helped earn him Educator of the Year honors for 2006.

Cummins, 52, a special education teacher for 29 years, ran 200 miles from High Point to the Cape May Courthouse in less than a week and raised $18,000 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.He also started a program called "Lids For Kids" that helped provide 400 new baseball caps for children who lost their hair during cancer treatment.

"She was one of my heroes," Cummins said Wednesday, adding that the student overcame her battle with cancer."She never complained.Her spirits were always high."

The Grand Lodge of New Jersey, Free and Accepted Masons gave its annual Educator of the Year award to Cummins, which comes with a $5,000 grant for him to use however he sees fit.
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The Sussex County Board of Chosen Freeholders honored Cummins at its public meeting Wednesday with a proclamation acknowledging his receipt of the award.
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Each lodge submitted teachers within its district that it believed deserving of the award, meaning Cummins could have been one of more than 120 names submitted.Eventually each of the 20 districts submitted one name.

Leon Cassidy, of the fraternity's Hardyston Township lodge, and others nominated Cummins.
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Cassidy quoted one letter writer who used an Eleanor Roosevelt quote to describe Cummins" "'The most important thing in any relationship is not what you get, but what you give.' It seems to be the notion that Brian lives by."

Brian Cummins, a special education teacher at Vernon Township High School, encouraged Barber to become involved.Cummins, also of Vernon, was one of about 175 volunteers helping at Monday's competition. A high school cross country coach and a runner himself, Cummins spends a lot of time with sports.But helping with Special Olympics is a special experience for him."You look at the kids, whether they had a medal or not, they were thrilled just to compete," he said."Competing should be the thrill of sports, not the winning or losing." Cummins served as a gate-keeper for Monday's competition."We encourage the athletes and point them in the right direction to make sure they go through the right gates," he said.