Starting at the daycare and preschool ages, we teach our kids that sharing is caring. Throughout adolescence when they complain about the gross vegetables on their dinner plate, we remind them, “Children in poor countries are starving.” And when our children are given a toy they don’t like, we tell them, “You get what you get, and you don’t throw a fit.” Generally, as they grow up, we frequently remind them to think about others, be grateful for what they have because there may others who have it worse, and be an empathic individual.
8-year-old Keoni Ching from Vancouver, Washington, proves that he meets the previous criteria. In fact, the Benjamin Franklin Elementary School student was recently praised for paying off hot lunch debt at seven different schools in his area, including his own school, by making and selling handmade key chains for $5 each. This past Friday, the student was able to accumulate $4,015 in total. Impressive!
“He wanted to do something that was kind and he started it outside of kindness week, so it really turned into a situation where he is taking an act of kindness and then doing it year-round,” Principal Woody Howard of Benjamin Franklin Elementary School explained.
The youngster came up with the idea to pay off lunch debt after he heard about San Francisco 49ers Defensive Back, Richard Sherman, and his generous $27,000+ donation to cover students’ cafeteria dues.
But being eight-years-old with no job of his own, Keoni opted to sell something in order to earn the cash he needed. Keychains instantly popped into his head.
“I love keychains. They look good on my backpack,” he explained when asked why he chose keychains of all things.
The boy’s handmade keychains were well received, and he had orders placed even from other countries. Keychain after keychain sold until Keoni earned the $4,015 he needed to pay the lunch debt!
“We have sent keychains to Alaska, Rhode Island, Minnesota, Arizona, all over the country. There was one lady who said she wanted $100 worth of keychains so that she could just hand them out to people. … There were several people who bought one keychain and gave (Keoni) a hundred bucks. It was absolutely amazing how much support the community showed for his whole project,” the boy’s mother, April Ching, said.
Keoni’s generous deed will mean so much more to students and their parents that he will ever realize. Getting hot lunch at school is a privilege, and some students’ parents are unable to keep up with the costs.
“Lunches here are about $2. But if you have two or three kids and for whatever reason, you’ve missed (paying for) a week of lunch or breakfasts, that adds up pretty quickly. This type of a gift takes a little bit of pressure off of your family.”
Keoni was definitely raised right! His big heart will certainly pay off in the near future.
Check out the video below to hear more about the act of kindness.
