It’s the 21st post. I guess this feature can start drinking? What’s that? Oh, you’re here for the good news. Well, let’s get to them then!

This is so true. As you saw in the title, this post is about the awesome kids we have. I always tell my students that they are never too young to be great.

Let’s start with a fourth grader who noticed her classmate was choking and went on and correctly performed the Heimlich maneuver.

“On the fifth try, the breadstick dropped out of his mouth and onto the table,” Jim Miller, Central Elementary School’s principal, told WBGZ radio. “She saved his life.”

Ah, so, 4th graders are around ten years old, if I have my math right. When did she learn this?

Emily’s father taught her how to perform the maneuver when she was seven years old, according to Miller.

Oh. Well I’m glad she was able to pick it up at that age.

It’s almost Christmas time so you know it’s easier to find stories like this. 11 year old Matthew Newcomer is donating hundreds of toys to other kids. He’s a simple one. When asked why, he said:

“Service to the community is more important than service to self,” Matthew explained. “That’s why I’m doing it.”

Oh, well excuse me, Mr. Newcomer! But wait, there’s more!

“I really don’t know why I did it,” he said. “I think it was just when I was young, talking with friends and realizing some of them didn’t have toys. I thought, ‘I can get toys for them.’”

Uh-huh. BUT WAIT, there’s one more thing:

What Matthew is doing is a veritable Christmas SWAT operation, scouring the area for toys that he collects year round and then gives to the charity Toys for Tots when the holidays arrive.
Matthew started taking up his collection in 2006, when he was only 4 years old.

Now, his dad sheds some light on what possibly triggered this giving spirit in Matthew. Also, this year, Matthew, with help from his dad, built a magnificent train set. Folks can come by and play with it. Cost of admission? One toy for donation. Pretty cool, Matt.

Alright, well I gotta run. I hope you enjoyed these kids. I’ll have to do a teens post sometime.

-DALANEL