Sometimes the best gift is knowing you’ve helped another.
That’s exactly why 10-year-old Samuel Murillo-Keusch has asked his friends to bring food donations to his birthday parties instead of presents.
“Because I know that there’s lots of [people] and that they need help. And if I don’t [help] they could starve. And because my auntie works at community services,” he told The Observer.
Murillo-Keusch decided he wanted to help out the Agassiz Harrison Food Bank three years ago, before his seventh birthday, and he knew his party was a perfect time to do it. His aunt, Seraina Keusch, is a family support worker at Agassiz Harrison Community Services and said her nephew came up with the idea all on his own.
“He asked, ‘What goes on there?’ He came up with the idea. He was always very curious about my work,” she said. “It’s a selfless thing. He’s interested in where it goes.”
Little Samuel’s friends have been happy to bring in non-perishables to his birthday celebrations at the Community Recreation and Cultural Centre, said Keusch. She hopes he inspires others, both young and old, to take initiative in helping others.
“Samuel’s interest in being more socially responsible and less materialistic can be a true inspiration to others,” she said.
“He understood that it could make someone less hungry, and that meant more to him than toys he didn’t need more of. So maybe giving is just as nice as receiving? It seems this is a mindset we could all benefit from and cultivate more of.”
The Agassiz-Harrison Community Services Food Bank is open for those in need every Thursday from 10 a.m. to noon and 1 to 3 p.m.
Donations are always welcome and can be dropped any day of the week.