Kids bring pure joy and innocence to our lives. Their soul doesn’t metamorphose between the barriers that humankind has created. One such act of kindness is served by a young third-grader in Michigan. An act that speaks loud about the clean heart of the little ones who couldn’t bear the money matters of the institution to come between the basic needs of his friend. Take a deeper look at Cayden Taipalus’s story, a young third-grader studying at Challenger Elementary School. In 2014, the then-third-grader took things into his own hands for the good. The Golden Heart of Cayden Taipalus has touched millions of souls across the globe with is remarkable campaign launched for low-income families to pay off lunches at school.
Although why did he need to do that, you may ask? The kid witnessed a heartbreaking incident at his school, where his friend was served a cheese sandwich rather than a hot meal, due to an account shortage. Cayden’s heart shattered into a million pieces when he saw such scenes at his school and decided to correct the matter.
Cayden Decided To Carry Out A Beautiful Act of Kindness
The kid took this matter to his mom, Amber Melke-Peters, and asked why his friend was served a sandwich rather than a meal. He also asked what he could do to stop such events at school. As Cayden and his mother talked over they came up with the idea of running a campaign called “Pay it Forward: No Kids Goes Hungry” a fundraising webpage targeted to gain funds for the low-income families at school. So No kid felt lesser in comparison to others.
Cayden reached out to his family, friends, and neighbors to pay off debts for his best friend’s lunch. Moreover, Cayden and his mom went on to sell bottles and cans to get extra funds until the neighborhood discovered the funds’ page. The sweet little Cayden raised over $ 7,000 with his impeccable online campaign. The campaign skyrocketed in Hong Kong, where people made a large number of donations to his strong voice.
The Campaign Was A Great Success
Cayden went on to pay his friend’s debts and asked the lunch ladies to add extra funds to the accounts of children who needed funds. This little step of Cayden was the happiness of thousands of families. His mother stated “Doing the least can turn into something huge and go a long way. Paying it forward is a great deal.” The school officials stated that each child is offered a juice box, a sandwich, and a fruit when they cannot afford the hot meals. Nearly more than 30 percent of schools in Livingston County opt for free lunches.
Even though, Cayden was stubborn about offering delicious hot meals to each student at school. He was furious to get that little smile of happiness on every kid’s face at his school. Peters says she is extremely proud of her son’s idea to raise funds for the unable-to-pay students. His heart is pure and filled with the motive of seeing the smile of his best friend. Peter never asked Cayden who inspired him to take such a step. However, his great efforts paid off many families’ smiles and happiness for the rest of their child’s school days. Cayden measured money as the token of Happy Meals at school and his initiative definitely touched hearts permanently. A little act of kindness changed the entire school meal pattern for kids. Cheers to Cayden and his mom for such a great campaign.
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Sources
- “Eight-Year-Old’s ‘Heart of Gold’ Helps Pay Off Student’s Lunch Debt.” ABC News. March 3, 2014.
- “8-Year-Old Pays Off School Lunch Debt After He Sees Friend Denied A Hot Lunch.” Shareably. Patricia Lynn. June 21, 2017.