There are still a lot of people going hungry in this world. This nation, even. It’s not fair – everyone should have something to eat. But oftentimes those who are starving are invisible, off in the streets somewhere or another state. What do you do though, if it’s happening in front of you? To someone you spend a lot of time with? One Detroit third-grader had that happen to him and what he decided to do next blew me away.
Cayden Taipalus was in line in the cafeteria when the student in front of him was turned down for a hot lunch because he didn’t have the money. Upset at this circumstance, Cayden went to his mommy and asked what he could do to help. What they came up with was brilliant – he started something called “Pay It Forward: No Kid Goes Hungry.” It involved donations and also taking bottles and cans to supermarkets and getting money back for those.
Many people soon caught word of what was happening and he has paid for over 300 lunches at his school now. Those are a lot of happy kids who get to have a meal without worrying about whether they can pay for it. That’s amazing and it would be great to see a lot of other schools adopting a program like this. Kids could learn the value of working together to help other people at a very early age.
It’s amazing that Cayden understood what was going on around him at such a young age. I’m even more impressed by his willingness to help get this program off the floor. Most kids his age are more interested in what the latest mobile phone game is rather than trying to foster change at a higher level. Heck, many ADULTS don’t understand what the plight of these hungry people are. Good for Cayden.
Isn’t Cayden such an amazing kid? It’ll be interesting to see what he does when he’s older. What do you think? Leave a comment below!
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