With everything happening in the world, it’s nice to see how kind people can be sometimes.
Take eight-year-old Cayden Taipalus, for example. His kindness made sure his friends could enjoy hot meals at school.
Cayden, who goes to Challenger Elementary in Howell, Michigan, took action when he saw his friend being denied a hot meal at school one day.
His friend got a cheese sandwich instead of a hot meal because there wasn’t enough money in his lunch account. This upset Cayden, so he talked to his mom, Amber Melke-Peters, about how they could help.
They decided to create a fundraising webpage called “Pay It Forward: No Kid Goes Hungry.”
Cayden asked friends, family, and neighbors to donate money so he could pay off his friend’s lunch debt. But he didn’t stop there. According to ABC News, he also started a recycling effort to raise money himself. He asked the school lunch staff to use this money for kids who needed it.
Since Cayden started his project, he has raised over $41,000. This means he has provided lunches for hundreds of students! He wants to make sure no child has to go without a hot lunch during a long school day.
Cayden’s mom is incredibly proud. She told ABC News, “I am so very proud of my son. He is only 8 years old, and to grasp the concept around this is just amazing in my eyes. He has a heart of gold.”
What started as a strong feeling in Cayden’s heart turned into a project that could make sure many kids get hot meals at lunchtime.
A lot of people commented on the fundraiser to say how happy they were about Cayden’s act of kindness. One person wrote: “We contributed to this and think it is a wonderful project you chose to do. I hope that someone has nominated your project to the Make a Difference program. Cayden, you have truly made a difference.”
They also said: “You have done a wonderful job of helping a lot of kids. You wouldn’t think in a land of plenty that there would be hungry kids, but the reality is, for many children, what they get to eat at school may be their only meal of the day. It is heartbreaking. They say it takes a village to raise a child, and this is a way of us helping to raise a few kids and let them keep their dignity.”
Cayden’s kind hearts stands as a testament to the power of empathy and the positive change that can stem from the actions of a caring and determined person, no matter how small they are!