“He Loves To Help”

Eleven-year-old Elijah already knows what he wants to be when he grows up: a robotic engineer.

“I want to build robots that help around the house,” he says. “So, if you need help, or your car breaks down, it’ll get fixed. Helping people makes me feel proud of myself.”

Elijah, with his soft smile and bright eyes, knows a lot about helping people. He lives with his grandfather, Robert, and five other siblings. As the oldest of the bunch, Elijah often helps his grandpa with the other kids and with chores.

“If there’s a mess, I clean it up,” he says.

At school, Elijah is in the robotics club, where the team recently did well at a competition, finishing in second place. “It made me really excited,” he says. “I felt like I accomplished something.”

During the school year, Elijah gets two free meals a day. But during summer vacation, those meals need to be replaced … and with six growing kids and a limited family income, that’s not always easy. So Elijah and his family are thankful for our summer feeding programs — initiatives that your support makes possible.

“When I’m hungry, I get tired or I’ll get distracted,” Elijah says. “But when I’m not, I’m on-task, and I can focus … and be ready for whatever happens.”

Maybe someday he’ll build a robot to help feed hungry children!

Your gifts help to feed kids like Elijah during their summer break. Thank you!