I recently saw a video clip of this young guy on a local daytime news channel and was inspired to research more about him and his philanthropic efforts.  Zachary “Zach” Bonner is his name and though he’s just 11 years, he has been involved in charity work since he was 6.  Hurricane Charlie had visited then and Zach collected 27 pickup trucks of water in his little red wagon, to donate to victims in the area. 

Obviously; Zach had no intention of stopping there. He created The Little Red Wagon Foundation when he was just 7 years old.  “I created a non profit so I could help kids in distressed situations.” Zach says on his site’s main page.  It looks like he’s doing just that and inspiring many along the way.

He’s collected 400 backpacks, nicknamed “Zachpacks”, filled with donated snacks, toys, and toiletries, for homeless children. He’s organized Christmas parties for homeless children living in Baker, Louisiana, and he gave Christmas presents to Hurricane Katrina victims. In his efforts to raise awareness of the over 1.3 million homeless children in this country, he organized “24 Hours”, an event that simulated being homeless for 24 hours and walked from his house to the White House – 1,225 miles.

For his next journey, he plans to walk from Tampa to Los Angeles – 2500 miles – to raise awareness of Youth Homelessness. You can keep track of Zach’s progress on the “Zach Tracker” and this young guy is worth keeping track of.  He is an inspiration to us all. Consider spreading the word about his efforts and his non profit foundation. The Little Red Wagon Foundation can also be found on Facebook, so you can easily spread news that way as well.

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I want to give thanks to my friend James who shared a note about these sites on Facebook. I was familiar with a couple of them and knew that many of my readers here at LP&P would appreciate them too. These are not your typical charity sites. They offer trivia to play and educate.. so not only are you feeding your mind, but when you make a answer correctly, you’re feeding others with your donation. Play to Give at:
http://charitii.com/
http://www.freerice.com/
http://www.freeflour.com/
http://www.helpthirst.com/
http://www.freepoverty.com/

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One of the most rewarding and unselfish aspects of the holidays is the ability to give to charitable organizations. You need only look around at the homeless and sick children to realize how fortunate you are to have everything you need, while they are lucky to have one meal a day. This is the time for children and charity to become synonymous.

Most children do not realize what they have until they still another child wanting. Your child’s school may have engaged in the Toys For Tots program, which is a worthy program. Perhaps your child made a donation of one or two toys. If not, it is important to get your kids involved, no matter how minuscule, in the charitable field. The exposure to others who have very little is a lesson every child should learn and understand.

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