Finn M. is 9 ½ years old. He is a third grader at Central Park Elementary in Bentonville, and is already a contributing member of the Northwest Arkansas community. Finn gets involved by volunteering with others. He enjoys giving his time to help those in need. When he grows up, he wants to either design toys (because he has a lot of great ideas) or be a mechanic because it combines his two favorite things: cars and helping people.
In October, Finn volunteered at the Springdale Downtown Runaround 5k. He handed out water to runners, and cheered them on with his hand-made sign.
His church gives him another opportunity to help the less fortunate. Laundry Love is what they call their volunteer program to feed and help people wash their clothes in laundromats around Springdale. Finn loves handing out dryer sheets and lemonades, but his favorite part (besides meeting and helping new people) is actually putting the quarters in the machines.
“Volunteering is one of my favorite things to do,” he says. “It makes my heart happy when I help other people.” He recently volunteered for the first time at the NWA Food Bank with his mom, Lauren McCarty.
“We think it’s really good for him to give some of his energy back to others, and to realize how lucky we are,” says Mrs. McCarty. “We don’t want him to take for granted being able to wash our clothes at home, or go to the grocery store when we need to.”
“It’s just fun. It makes everyone feel good,” Finn says. “We fed so many people, and I met some new friends. I got to be the label man that put the stickers on the boxes.”
When he’s not in school, playing sports, or volunteering; Finn enjoys playing tug-of-war with his dog, Skip. He rescued the dog from a shelter, and named him Skip because a shoulder injury gives him an extra skip in his step.
“He’s really strong,” Finn laughs, “sometimes I win, and sometimes he does.”
When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. Then be a hero, like Finn, and give it to someone who is thirsty.
For more stories of our kid heroes who volunteer, click here!
If you are at least 8 years old and you want to volunteer at the Food Bank like Finn, ask your adults to sign up online at: NWAfoodbank.org