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Change can often come on the shoulders of a single person wanting to make a difference.

That’s what we learned once again last week when a Blooming Prairie Elementary student, Charlie Penkava, donated $300 to the Minnesota Raptor Center. The gesture stemmed from a girl simply wanting to do something for a fellow Earthling — Guka, the Jay C. Hormel Nature Center’s education owl.

No person should ever underestimate the power of a single gesture supporting a cause, especially when it comes from the heart. The $300 will most definitely help, as the Minnesota Raptor Center continues its mission to help those raptors that become injured.

“Every little bit helps,” said the center’s Christine Snell. “It was so heartwarming. We take in birds all year so it’s going to a really good cause.”

But the money is only part of it. What’s just as important as the donation is the example a nine-year-old has set that should serve to remind people that gestures carry weight. Charlie did what she did because she loves owls and she wanted to do something kind for them. It was just the guidance of a heart wanting to do a little good.

It’s something that should be taken to heart that even a little bit of good in the world can have wide-ranging effects and can help carry forward even more good deeds.

In our world today, people — and animals — are craving the sunshine that little deeds can bring.

Charlie is not the first, nor will she be the last person to step forward with a good deed, but it should be taken to the soul and added to the chain of other deeds that make this world a better place.

We commend Charlie for her donation to the Minnesota Raptor, but we are equally impressed by the fact she simply did it without having been told to.

It’s a reminder that even the youngest of us are capable of creating a bright and lasting change.