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Kids! of the Month
Amazing Kids! is proud to highlight the Amazing Kids! of the Month! Each month, we showcase kids who are accomplishing amazing things. We hope that by telling their special stories, we will inspire other kids to accomplish their own amazing achievements. Amazing Kids! of the Month for April, 2005: Amazing Young Tsunami Relief Fundraisers, U.S.A.
"It is so amazing what these boys have done for children they don't even know. It is gratifying that they know the importance of helping others while looking for nothing in return. It is amazing how they have inspired thousands of other children. We are very proud of Brendan and Ryan. We hope that their example can continue to reach other children and encourage them to ask the simple question, 'How can I help?'" Dorianne
Hennessy, talking about her son Brendan Hennessy and his friend Ryan
Ricco (both age 8)
Founders of Little Hands, Big Hearts/Operation Dreams Middletown, New Jersey “We have been learning about the tsunami wave so we decided to help the people who lost some of their family. We are really sorry for them. You too can also help other people. You just have to use your kid power.” Amanda Davis, age 6
"The best feeling was counting all
that money ... knowing it was going to a good cause."Amazing Tsunami Relief Fundraiser Mountlake Terrace, Washington “If
you want to do something
special you should work hard for your goal. After
a few weeks my sister and I felt happy for what we have
done for the kids in need. If you
give up, you will never reach your goal. If
I could say something to the kids that we helped, I
would tell them I
have been working for you so that you can feel better.”
Justin Davis, age 8
Amazing Tsunami Relief Fundraiser Mountlake Terrace, Washington Jared Goodell, age 13
Amazing Tsunami Relief Fundraiser Walpole, New Hampshire
Welcome to our April 2005 Amazing
Kids! of the
Month story, featuring the super efforts of several amazing
kids from across the United States. As you'll read, the message
from this month's inspiring story comes through loud and clear:
Never
underestimate the power of a child! Each of these kids went the extra mile to collect donations to help the children who were affected by the devasting tsunami in South and South East Asia this past December. As you read their stories below, we sincerely hope you will find inspiration, hope and comfort knowing that our future is in the good hands of amazing kids like these, tomorrow's citizens. Perhaps they'll inspire you, young and old alike, to find ways of getting involved in helping others, whether it is in your local neighborhood or in our global community in which we all live. And don't forget, if you, or a young person (or persons!) you know, has an amazing project you are involved in, or a special skill, talent or ability you want to tell the world about, be sure to let Amazing Kids! know about it! Teachers are invited to nominate their entire classroom and the amazing projects they are working on too! Simply complete our new online nomination form for the Amazing Kid! of the Month award, or email us!
 Related
Links
Amazing Young Tsunami Relief Fund Raisers: Brendan Hennessy and Ryan Rico, age 8, Founders, Little Hands, Big Hearts and Operation Dreams; Middletown, New Jersey
Brendan
Hennessy (left) and Ryan Ricco (right),
founders of Operation Dreams;
8 year old best friends who live in New Jersey Here
is Brendan's and his friend Ryan Ricco's amazing story, as told by
Brendan's mother: "Brendan Hennessy and Ryan Ricco are eight year old boys with hearts of gold. They are best friends in the second grade at Holy Cross School in Middleton, New Jersey. "While sitting on the bed with me, Brendan was watching the tsunami unfold in South and South East Asia in late December, he turned and said, "Mommy, what can I do to help?" I asked him what he would like to do. His response was quite profound. "Everybody know that Mommies and Daddies take care of food and water, houses and medicine....But who takes care of the kids?""Meanwhile
Brendan's best friend Ryan was wondering the same thing. He wanted
to know what things were left for them to play with. Were they
able
to go to sleep at night and have good dreams? Is there anything I
can do
to make them happy? "Perhaps
this was the first time Brendan and Ryan truly saw the human dimension
of a
natural disaster. They saw the faces of kids their age
and
wondered, 'What if it was us?' They knew in their little
hearts that they wanted the kids to smile and have sweet dreams again. "So,
together, they started an organization called Little Hands Big Hearts.
"Operation Sweet Dreams," their tsunami relief project, was on the way. They began with a letter writing campaign
based
on their freshly
used Christmas card list. They asked friends and family to donate
either
a teddy bear or a blanket for the kids. After doing some
research,
they found an orphanage in Sri Lanka situated on four miles
of
beach in Trincomalee, ground zero for the tsunami. It is called
The
Grace Home. (www.youshalllove.org) And
although it is an all-girl orphanage, it also houses a school,
medical
center, day care facility and home for battered women and
children. It is located in a section of Sri Lanka
not
necessarily favored by the government, so aid to them would be a
little
slower if any at all. They truly needed help.
The boys and an amazing Middletown, New
Jersey Girl Scout troop with the
"After a
local newspaper article and coverage by the TV news about the
boys’
grass roots effort, in
five days their web site, www.littlehandsbighearts.com,
had over a thousand hits from moms and kids saying that they too
wanted to help. Over eight thousand school children from
across
the country are now participating, and we now realize the wonders of
what two little
eight year old boys can do....anything!
Brendan
and his friend from school, Patrick Walsh, open the latest delivery
of donations. This one from Chicago, Illinois! "Located
in a tractor trailer donated by the Middletown, New Jersey, Fire
Department, the boys have over SIX THOUSAND stuffed animals along with
hundreds of bags and boxes
of blankets, sheets, art supplies and books. However, this is
where
the great story turns sad. The boys had been promised free
shipping by the Admiral Denton Foundation from Alabama. And
although a local
transport company has graciously donated the transportation to the port
in New York, the shipping company has rescinded the offer
leaving Brendan and
Ryan and the children of Sri Lanka at a loss but not deterred.
Chief Billy Kennelly, Lincroft Station, MTFD Dennis McGinnis, Founder - Jason's Dreams for Kids Lt. Jeff Lantz, Fire Co. 1 - Station 8, MTFD Roman Biernacki - Jason's Dreams for Kids Chief Greg Papaliou - Chief of Department, MTFD
receiving the Presidential Achievement Award
"Brendan
and Ryan have decided that Little Hands Big Hearts needs to continue
into the
future. They are becoming a registered 501(c)3 charitable
organization
with the goal of children helping other children. An
admirable
accomplishment from two second grade boys. Just when
you question
what's wrong with this world, you meet two kids who are showing you
what's
right... "As
parents, you raise your children to be good people. It is so
amazing what these boys have done for
children they don't even know. It is gratifying that
they know
the importance of helping others while looking for nothing in return.
It is
amazing how they have inspired thousands of other children. We are
very proud of Brendan and Ryan. We
hope that their example can continue to reach
other
children and encourage them to ask the simple question. ."How can I
help?" "All we can say as proud parents is....stay tuned to see what these two amazing little guys do next." Here is the latest news on their collection
efforts according to Brendan's mom: The
boys' parents are still arranging the transportation of the
donations to Sri Lanka. Because they have
a 40 foot container full of items they need to have them shipped by sea. They thought they had secured a donation from
a
major ocean freight carrier but the
offer was taken off the table for
some
reason. The boys are now seeking
donations from other carriers or donations from individuals and also
thinking
about holding a concert with some local music groups to raise money to
pay for
the shipping container and port fees. If you'd like to make a donation to help
support Little
Hands Big Hearts and their packaging and shipping costs, please make your
check payable to: Little Hands Big Hearts Mail to: For more information, send
an email to: info@littlehandsbighearts.com
Additional Amazing Young Tsunami Relief Fund Raisers: Below are some additional inspiring stories of amazing young Tsunami relief fund raisers... Kayla Lightner, age 8; Decatur, Georgia Kayla's teacher, Mrs. Sherion Armstead, writes: "In response to last December's devastating tsunami in South and South East Asia, Kayla organized various fundraising initiatives for a total of 1,000 students and their families at Navie J. Harris Theme School in Decatur, Georgia. Her homeroom class of 21 students raised over $500 by themselves! There are 44 other homeroom classes who are still collecting and tallying their funds. The compassion and dedication of this one very caring child has sparked an interest in community service like no other single effort that I have seen in many years of teaching." Amanda and Justin Davis, ages 6 and 8; Mountlake Terrace, Washington
Justin and Amanda's mother writes: Amanda
Davis, age 6, and her brother Justin
Davis, age 8,
immediately got to work learning about the tsunami disaster in South and
South East Asia as soon as they heard about it in the
news. They learned about earthquakes,
fault
lines, volcanoes and the devastation that took place half way around
the
world from the December tsunami in South and
South East Asia. After
learning that so many people (especially children), were without homes
and in
need of food and supplies, Justin and Amanda wished they could help,
but
didn’t know if two kids could do much. They
both discussed it with their
parents and decided that they would draw pictures of what they
thought was happening half way around the world. Their
plan was to show the pictures to friends and
neighbors and ask them to donate to the Red Cross. In return,
they would give them one of
their art pieces as a token of their appreciation.
In just the first half hour, Justin and
Amanda raised $50.00 alone! They figured that it would buy about
50 or more loaves of bread--or one giant loaf
for 50 families!
 Amanda and Justin's gallery of tsunami
drawings, given to their All of Justin
and Amanda's time and effort trudging through Jared Goodell, age 13; Walpole, New Hampshire When 13 year old Jared Goodell saw an ad in his school
bulletin asking students to help raise money for victims of the tsunami
in South and South East Asia, he volunteered. He joined a
group of other kids from his school in setting a goal of
collecting $1,000.00. When Jared saw that fundraising was going
slowly, he came up with an idea to dress as Santa Claus and collect
donations during lunch hour. He figured that the best time of day
to get students to donate was during lunch when they might have extra
change left over from their lunch money. (And who better to
donate to than Santa?) Because of Jared and the other students'
efforts, the school raised a grand total of $1289.00!! The
donation was sent to the American Red Cross to be distributed to the
tsunami victims. The American Red Cross later sent the amazing
young fundraisers a thank you letter.
According to his Auntie Tracey, the most important thing
that Jared learned from his experience is that you can
make a difference! She says he would like to
continue fund raising, but he doesn't have any definite plans right now
because he is busy with schoolwork. He recommends that you make
sure that you are able to devote enough time to reach your goals when
starting your own charitable project and that you
don't give up!
When Auntie Tracey asked Jared what the most inspiring
moment of his experience was, he stopped for a moment and then
thoughtfully replied, "The best feeling was counting all
that money ... knowing it was going to a good cause."
Way to go, Brendan, Ryan, Kayla, Justin and Amanda! You are an inspiration to us all. You all have so much to be proud of! There are a lot of children in South and South East Asia who are smiling, all because of your hard work and big hearts. Keep up the amazing work!
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