There was an old man who walked on the beach each morning. Early one morning, he walked along the shore after a big storm. The vast beach littered with starfish as far as the eye could see. In the distance the man noticed a child approaching. The child paused every so often and as he grew closer, the man could see that the child was bending down to pick up an object and throw it into the sea. 

The child came closer and the man called out, “Good morning! May I ask what are you doing?” The child paused, looked up, and replied “Throwing starfish into the ocean. The tide has washed them up onto the beach.” the child replied. “When the sun gets high, they will die.” The old man replied, “But there must be tens of thousands of starfish on this beach. I’m afraid you won’t make a difference.” 

The child bent down, picked up a starfish and threw it as far as she could into the ocean and said, "I made a difference for that one.”