Oh, Henry!

It comprised one of the most impressive donations we've ever seen.

Henry DePew of Coeur d'Alene saved and sacrificed, sacrificed and saved, and when he was done, he marched into the Kootenai Humane Society and, to the joy of the volunteer working the front desk that day, made his magnanimous contribution - in cash.

It was $12.19.

Henry is 5 years old.

Henry's story, published in Wednesday's Press, brought countless smiles to readers' faces. We hope it also kindled the flames of recognizing how good and wise it would be if more of us were like Henry.

Introduced to the concept of charity by watching a PBS special several weeks ago with his parents, Sue and Brett, Henry decided that because he loves animals in general and dogs in particular, that's where the rewards of his hard work would be directed. And work hard he does. Even at 5, Henry DePew has a list of daily chores that must be completed before he can draw his weekly allowance.

Admittedly, when D-Day arrived - Dog Donation Day - Henry suffered a case of the yips. His mom said that on the drive to KHS, Henry began speculating on how many toys that hefty sum might actually acquire. With sweet motherly encouragement, though, Henry handed over the jar containing the evidence of his efforts, and he was rewarded not just with the deep satisfaction of doing good, but with the ability to pet kittens immediately afterward.

On Henry's bedroom door is a magnetized Responsibility Chart. It's there to show daily duties like making his bed, but it's also a running log of an even more important checklist, tracking things like, Was I respectful today?

Following the DePew family's lead, we could all ask ourselves similar questions: Did we do our daily chores well? Have we learned the importance of saving money? The value of sharing with those who need our help? And were we respectful today?

Whether posted on our bedroom doors, on our office desks or in our minds, Responsibility Charts sound like a pretty good idea for a better world.