Can a 7 Year Old Help End Local Hunger?

Last week I took my daughter Jacqueline to meet the staff and show here around at Renewal Food Bank while I was picking up some materials for an event that night.  I happened to be picking up a quantity of plastic piggy banks to give to people to collect spare change for the food bank.  Of course Jackie wanted one - and was real excited to start filling it up (she emptied the coins in my car's ashtray immediately).

The next morning when I picked her up, she was carrying her piggy bank.  I asked her what she was doing with it and she obviously didn't want to say.  Being a gently prying parent, I continued to ask and finally she said "I want to take it to the principle to see if we can get the school involved."  I was AMAZED.

I know I had nothing to do with putting that in her head - and I don't think her mom did either.  I think that's pretty cool for a 7 year old.  What's even cooler is that she DID go try to talk with the principal, who wasn't in.  But she left him a message AND has followed up with him TWICE this week.  Apparently he needs to check with and get approval from school administrators and has not heard back yet.

It may not actually happen, but there is really good potential for one first grader at Puesta del Sol Elementary (the Spanish language immersion school in the Bellevue School District) to get an entire school and possibly all the schools in the district involved in the efforts to fight local hunger.

When I asked her why she wanted to help Renewal Food Bank, Jackie shrugged her shoulders and said "I think EVERYBODY should have enough to eat."

I'm really proud of my little girl.

[caption id="attachment_189" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Jackie Kennedy with Chris Ballew of The Presidents of the United States of America and Caspar Babypants May 2011"][/caption]