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\nTeachers have an incredible impact on our lives. Of course, how positively our teachers affect our lives depends on how devoted they are to their jobs. It\u2019s those teachers who love what they do and care about improving the minds of the next generation that can really do great things for their students. A lot of the time when someone becomes passionate about improving their education, it\u2019s because they had a teacher who got them excited to learn.
\nVia Cava was that teacher for a lot of her students. There was nothing that she cared more about than her job and helping to shape young minds. Her passion was working with special needs students to give them the help they weren\u2019t always getting at school. She was a truly great woman, and when she passed away, her loss was felt by many in the Dumont school district.
\nHowever, while everyone admired Cava, there was a huge secret that she was hiding. The truth didn\u2019t come to light until after Cava passed away, but when it did, it left the entire school district lost for words. This is one teacher who continued to surprise everyone long after she was gone.
\n[post_page_title]An inspiration[\/post_page_title]
\nTeachers are some of the most important people we\u2019ll ever meet in our lives. School shapes not only our childhoods, but also our futures, and that\u2019s all because of the work these people put in to educate us.
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\nVia Cava understood how important her job was. This teacher from New Jersey did everything she could to help her students, and it paid off. People viewed her as an inspiration, but there was a lot they weren\u2019t aware of. It was only when she passed away that the truth was revealed.
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\n[post_page_title]Hard times[\/post_page_title]
\nCava\u2019s always had a desire to help others. It\u2019s likely because she\u2019s lived through a lot of hardships herself. She knows how important a helping hand can be when things are rough.
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\nCava grew up during the Great Depression when stock markets were at an all-time low. The economic instability at the time made life incredibly difficult, and the teacher spent many years struggling to cope without the money. The Depression completely changed her life more than anyone realized, even in the decades after it had ended
\n[post_page_title]Tight with money[\/post_page_title]
\nThe Great Depression had shown Cava just how precious money is. After the stock markets improved, the teacher continued to be tight with her money, never allowing herself to splurge on the things she wanted.
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\nWherever possible, she\u2019d use coupons and save herself a bit of extra money, and everyone noticed. They figured that she was simply being overly cautious and that it was all a result of the way that she\u2019d grown up. She\u2019d learned to be economical from a young age, and nothing was going to change that.
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\n[post_page_title]Avoiding luxuries[\/post_page_title]
\nAlthough her friends understood her desire to save money, they couldn\u2019t understand why she was so strict with herself. She wouldn\u2019t even consider buying herself any luxuries, no matter how desperately she needed them.
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\nRichard Jablonski, one of her friends, remembers a time when she wouldn\u2019t pay for hearing aids, despite an increasing need for them. He didn\u2019t understand why she was so adamant that she couldn\u2019t buy them, even though they weren\u2019t unreasonably priced. If she was going deaf, surely hearing aids were a worthwhile purchase
\n[post_page_title]Forming friendships[\/post_page_title]
\nAs a teacher, Cava wasn\u2019t desperate for money. She didn\u2019t need to cut costs wherever possible, because she had a regular income. She\u2019d been doing the job for years and striking up good relationships with every new class she taught.
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\nOne student who she became close with was James Kennedy, who ended up becoming a principal at one of the schools in the Dumont district. He was only a seventh-grade English student when they met, but their relationship lasted for years outside of school.
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\n[post_page_title]Doing whatever it takes[\/post_page_title]
\nPart of the reason that Cava and Kennedy became so close was that he could see how much she cared about her students. He saw her as an inspiration, and was in awe of the lengths she\u2019d go to just to keep her kids happy.
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\nCava would do things like arrange after-school clubs to keep kids entertained and learning, as well as assist them with post-graduation prep. She spent her life devoted to her students, and Kennedy wondered if there was anything she wouldn\u2019t do for them.
\n[post_page_title]Changing her focus[\/post_page_title]
\nAlthough she began her career as a regular teacher, she soon found that her attention was better focused on those with special needs. So, she started teaching these children instead.
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\nShe ended up working with them for 45 years before retiring in 1990. As someone who always wanted to help out those in need, it made sense why she\u2019d decide to work with special needs children. For them, learning isn\u2019t so easy, and a lot more patience and persistence is required to help them out. That summed up Cava perfectly.
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\n[post_page_title]A beloved teacher[\/post_page_title]
\nHer friends figured that Cava was perfect for the job, especially thanks to her compassion. Although there were times when she could be a little strict – just like any teacher – she always had her kids best interests at heart.
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\nIt was rare for someone to meet her, whether student, parent or faculty, and not fall in love with her. She radiated a charm that was easy to get along with. However, the whole time that she was winning people over, she was hiding a secret that would change things forever.
\n[post_page_title]Lighting up the room[\/post_page_title]
\nNo-one that knew her would have ever thought anything was amiss with Cava. As Jablonski says, she had a way of \u201clight[ing] up a room\u201d which always left them awestruck by her.
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\nHer friend noted that people usually walked away smiling after having a conversation with her because she had a way of making them feel better about themselves. She definitely knew how to make people look on the bright side, and it made her a valuable asset in both her personal and professional life.
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\n[post_page_title]Uncanny memory[\/post_page_title]
\nNot only was she incredibly kind and loving towards her students, but she rarely ever forgot a face either. Kennedy praised the \u201cuncanny memory\u201d that she had when it came to her kids, even when she hadn\u2019t taught them in years.
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\nHe also loved how positive she was, despite growing up in particularly tough times. From the way she acted with people, you wouldn\u2019t think she\u2019d suffered during the Great Depression. However, that time in her life had affected her much more than anyone had realized.
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\n[post_page_title]All is revealed[\/post_page_title]
\nEventually, there came a time for her secret to be revealed. However, it wasn\u2019t until she passed away that the truth was discovered.
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\nIt turned out that she\u2019d been refraining from spending her money for one particular reason, and it was because there was something special that she wanted to give to her school district. Everyone who knew Cava was aware of her generosity, but this wasn\u2019t something they\u2019d ever imagined possible. They thought they were being tricked when they discovered exactly what the teacher had left behind.
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\n[post_page_title]A big donation[\/post_page_title]
\nCava wasn\u2019t saving all her money for a rainy day. Instead, she was putting a little bit away each day so that she\u2019d be able to gift a donation of $1 million to the school district after she passed away.
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\nShe\u2019d set up a savings account where all her money would go so that when she could no longer teach the students, they\u2019d still have the help they needed. Schools can always use extra funding, particularly for their special needs departments, and Cava was determined to give it to them.
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\n[post_page_title]Sharing her plans[\/post_page_title]
\nAlthough she\u2019d kept her plans to herself, there was someone Cava had entrusted with her secret before her passing. She\u2019d told Emanuele Triggiano, the Superintendent of the Dumont school district, about her intentions to donate $1 million, but he hadn\u2019t believed her.
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\nIt\u2019s not exactly something that happens every day, and it\u2019s a lot of money for one woman to raise by herself. However, after he received all the official paperwork, he realized that Cava had been deadly serious all those years ago. He couldn\u2019t quite believe her immense generosity.
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\n[post_page_title]What people expected[\/post_page_title]
\nPeople all across the district were amazed by Cava\u2019s donation, but they weren\u2019t surprised. Although the amount that she\u2019d raised was astonishing, her decision to share that wealth with the school district was precisely what they expected of her.
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\nThey knew that her students were her world, so it made sense that she\u2019d want to help them even after she was gone. No-one could believe that she\u2019d saved up so much money, though. Given how tight she\u2019d always seemed with cash, they never imagined her to have any savings.
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\n[post_page_title]Helping those in need[\/post_page_title]
\nIt\u2019s taken a long time for Via\u2019s money to make it into the hands of the school district – seven years to be precise. Now that they\u2019ve finally gotten a hold of it, though, they\u2019ve set plans in motion to put it to good use.
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\nFrom 2019 onwards, there will be a post-high school scholarship equating to $25,000 given to one special needs graduate every year. The hope is that they\u2019ll be able to maintain these scholarships for many years by setting up a fund to keep them going.
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\n[post_page_title]Making a difference[\/post_page_title]
\nThanks to these scholarships, children with special needs will continue to get the help they need, even after they finish high school. This can have a considerable impact on their lives, and it\u2019s all because of the kindness shown by Cava.
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\nIt\u2019s not only her students that have benefitted from her big heart either. Jablonski also received a gift from his friend because of everything he\u2019d done for her during their long friendship. This wasn\u2019t something he\u2019d be able to cash in at the bank, though.
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\n[post_page_title]Caught by surprise[\/post_page_title]
\nThe reveal of Cava\u2019s savings came as a huge surprise to Jablonski, especially as the administrator of her estate. Despite the thirty years that they\u2019d been friends, he\u2019d never realized just how much money she was sitting on.
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\nJablonski had certainly been lost for words when he discovered the truth, but it just made his feelings toward Cava grow even more. He felt honored to have been friends with this incredible woman, and being included in her will was the icing on the cake.
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\n[post_page_title]Passing it down[\/post_page_title]
\nThe school district may have gotten $1 million, but Jablonski got something just as great. In her will, Cava named her friend as the new owner of her house, including everything inside it.
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\nThat\u2019s a lot to leave one person, and Jablonski couldn\u2019t get over how generous the former teacher had been in her will. He\u2019s since given the house to his son, who now has somewhere to live with his wife and kids. We\u2019re sure Cava would have appreciated him giving his grandkids a nice home to live in.
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\n[post_page_title]One of the greats[\/post_page_title]
\nCava\u2019s generosity will be remembered for years, just like several other incredible people from history. She\u2019s far from the first person to have donated millions of dollars upon passing away.
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\nIn 2016, former secretary Sylvia Bloom gave away $8 million to charity, which is a lot for someone in her line of work to amass over the years. Ronald Read, a former janitor, gave away the same amount of money after he passed too, sending his donations towards his local library and hospital back in 2014.
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\n[post_page_title]Leaving behind a legacy[\/post_page_title]
\nAlthough Cava might no longer be with us, her legacy will never be forgotten. People already thought she was incredible as a teacher, but her death just proved there was no end to her kindness.
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\nWith any luck, the kids of the Dumont school district will make good use of the money that Cava donated and have better lives because of it. She might not be able to teach them anymore, but at least she\u2019s shown that she\u2019ll still be watching over them, even after she\u2019s long gone.
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\n[post_page_title]Looking to the future[\/post_page_title]
\nHopefully, once the scholarships begin, the district will be able to fund enough money to keep them going indefinitely.
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\nProviding kids with the opportunity to continue learning is exactly what Cava intended when she started saving the money in the first place. She knows how hard it can be for people with special needs after they leave school because they face a lot of barriers. At least this way, it will be easier for some of them to create the future they\u2019ve always dreamed of.
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\n[post_page_title]Restricted education[\/post_page_title]
\nFor the longest time, it was almost impossible for special needs children to progress in education past high school. Back in 1995, only a quarter of these students ended up in postsecondary education after they graduated.
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\nThat\u2019s a pretty small percentage, especially given how it\u2019s increased over the years. Unfortunately, even though things have improved, there are still so many people with special needs who don\u2019t have the means to progress in education. If there\u2019s no money to provide the necessary help, there\u2019s nothing that these students can do.
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\n[post_page_title]Dealing with dyslexia[\/post_page_title]
\nThis is a major problem for students with all kinds of disorders, including dyslexia. Stefanie Smith has discovered firsthand just how restrictive her problem can be when it comes to education.
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\nHer dyslexia is so severe that it took her an entire day to complete a college admissions test, something that should only really take a few hours. She\u2019s lived with the disorder for her whole life, and it continually interferes with her life. However, that doesn\u2019t mean she isn\u2019t interested in getting the best education possible.
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\n[post_page_title]Why the money matters[\/post_page_title]
\nIt\u2019s students like Stefanie who benefit most from the generosity of Cava and other people like her. $1 million can do so much for students with special needs, especially when you consider how many of them there are in the world.
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\nIn 2016, there were 6.7 million students in public school who had some kind of disorder which affected their ability to learn. Imagine how many of these children wished to take their education to the next level, but they weren\u2019t able to.
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\n[post_page_title]Giving away money[\/post_page_title]
\nVia\u2019s story is incredibly special, but it\u2019s not necessarily unique. At least, not in the sense of people giving away money in their will.
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\nIt\u2019s fairly common around the world, with many preferring to pass their savings on to charities and other people who will benefit most from it. In both the U.S. and the U.K., it\u2019s normal for people to make a donation in their will, even if they don\u2019t give away all their money. If everyone did this, it would build up to a sizeable number.
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\n[post_page_title]Selfish actions[\/post_page_title]
\nThe reason that a lot of people give away money is that their ego motivates them. Although donating to charity might seem like a selfless act, it\u2019s a little more self-indulgent when people do it to show others how generous or wealthy they are.
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\nHowever, that clearly wasn\u2019t the case with Cava. If she wanted people to fawn over her generosity, she would have donated the $1 million while she was still alive. However, because she included it in her will, there was a different motivation behind her actions.
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\n[post_page_title]Creating a story[\/post_page_title]
\nInterestingly, the reason for acts like Cava\u2019s has been linked to people wanting to leave behind their own autobiography.
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\nA study found that participants who were asked about leaving things to a charity started to examine themselves and their lives. The decision to give away money was like documented proof of who they were and what motivated them as a person. It left behind a story that other people would interpret, whether they knew the person or not, and see them for who they were.
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\n[post_page_title]Important connections[\/post_page_title]
\nThis has been backed up by another study which asked people why they\u2019d put donations to charities in their wills. The results found that throughout their lives, these people had developed strong connections to the causes they were giving to.
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\nThese causes became an essential part of who they were, so they wanted to honor that in their wills. Rather than merely showing them to be a good person by giving money to charity, their actions were displaying another side of who they were by who they\u2019d donated to.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Teachers have an incredible impact on our lives. Of course, how positively our teachers affect our lives depends on how devoted they are to their jobs. It\u2019s those teachers who love what they do and care about improving the minds of the next generation that can really do great things for their students. A lot […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":72,"featured_media":61753,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-61737","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories"],"yoast_head":"\n