Cayden Taipalus, 8, came home from Challenger Elementary School feeling really upset after witnessing a friend foregoing a hot lunch because of a negative lunch account balance.
As an alternative, the school provided his friend with just a cheese sandwich. The third grader sat down with his mom and came up with a plan to help. They would collect plastic bottles and cans, collect money from family and friends and solicit donations so that they could pay off all the negative balances for the entire school.
After just one week, Cayden was able to cover about 150 lunches, and with the help of some media attention, Cayden’s kindness spurred others to act.
It’s tragic that we in the US can waste money on so many things that really aren’t important. We need to reform our priorities.