Sometimes your kiddos do things that make you stop in your tracks and look at them with amazement. Recently, I had that stop in your tracks moment with my oldest. His school held their fundraiser kickoff and when I picked him up from school, he could not wait to tell me all about the prizes for selling. For every magazine sold, his school would earn money to fund field trips throughout the year too.
He began to tell me about all of the benefits of selling, which included the $100 bill for selling a certain number of magazines and the $225 that the top seller in the school would win. He declared, “I WANT TO WIN!” Which of course in my mind I thought, “You and every other kiddo in your school want to win!” He proceeded to say that he wanted to win so he could donate the prize money to “the poor and those affected by hurricanes.” My eyes began to water and I had that proud parent moment.
He began asking me to take videos of him asking people to buy magazines and asked me to share with all of my friends. He made posters, played piano, created magic tricks, and more! He was on a mission! His classmate Marin even helped him out with his goal. Instead of selling magazines to earn prizes, Marin and her sister Morgan purchased theirs from Landon to help him reach his goal.
Last year we told him that anything that he puts into his savings account we would match. My husband and I decided that donating deserves a match too! Then my husband let him know that his company will do a 2:1 match for donations to non-profit organizations. We finally found out that he WON! He was the top seller in his school!
He read website after website until he found a charity he wanted to donate too! He decided on AmeriCares as they provide support to the poor as well as those affected by hurricanes. With his prize money, our match, and my husband’s company’s match, he will be donating $2,100!
In a time where kids are called entitled and spoiled, where Mother Nature is wreaking havoc, and tragedies are happening around the world, my husband and I are proud that our tiny human being is spreading love and hope. I wish my husband and I could take all of the credit, but his school, Mother Teresa Catholic Elementary, has taught him so much about caring and helping others.
“I wanted to donate money to help the poor and the people who had hurricanes. I wanted to help people who are sick and do not have shelter.” – Landon