A 10-year-old boy is saving up money to help donate to the Greater Chicago Food Depository, NBC Chicago’s Sandra Torres reports.
This Thanksgiving, 10-year-old Ray Lavko is on a mission.
He's been saving money in his cashbox, with the hope of collecting $1,000.
That money would not be kept to himself, but rather would go toward helping families who may be struggling to put food on the table.
"With this money, I want to donate it to the Chicago food depository so people will have food, who don’t," said Ray Lakvo, whose parents say he's had a heart for those in need since she was about four years old.
"He’s always been really concerned about people who don’t have a place to live or food to eat," said Ray's mom, Alexis Lakvo.
Ray's focus to help the Greater Chicago Food Depository began last year, when he saw a mailer from the non-profit, asking for donations.
"He asked me some questions, we talked about it and then he disappeared," said Mrs. Lavko. "It turns out, he had been going through his cashbox counting the money he had saved for birthday gifts and holiday gifts. He came down and he announced he wanted to donate it."
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And while he had $180, Ray wanted to donate more. So with the help of his parents and other family members, he ended up raising a total of $800.
"Every dollar that’s donated helps us buy three meals," said Camerin Mattson, Communications Manager with the Greater Chicago Food Depository. "The $800 that he did last year was 2,400 meals, which is amazing!"
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Now this year, Ray is at it again. But this time, he wants to do an even bigger fundraiser for the nonprofit.
"It makes me extremely proud of him to know that he’s concerned about the welfare of others," Mrs. Lavko told NBC Chicago.
To help Ray reach his goal, you can visit his donation page here, on the Greater Chicago Food Depository website.
"It’s awesome that even at 10, he’s spreading the word that this is an issue and we could do something about it," Mattson said.
