James Pacelli, who is a fifth grader at Northshore Elementary School in Brandon, recently decided to use his bike to raise money for hungry families in Mississippi.
Pacelli found time in between his schoolwork to come up with a plan to ride ten miles and ask people to donate $1 per mile.
“I saw it on the news on one of the days that the Mississippi Food Network, you know, just needs backup meals, and they needed support for feeding Mississippi,” Pacelli said. “I just thought over my plan over the night, and then the next day I told my plan to my mom and dad.”
After Pacelli pitched the idea to his parents, his mother, Katy, posted a video of her son on Facebook, and the donations began to flood in.
“I thought I would meet 500 [dollars], but I didn’t think I would exceed 500 [dollars],” Pacelli said. “It just kept going up and up every day. I would set a new goal every day, and it would always get passed every day.”
James eventually received $3,000, which equates to 18,000 meals, in donations before delivering the check himself to the Mississippi Food Network.
“It was really cool and neat to watch all the people working, and I would just like to thank them for feeding Mississippi,” Pacelli said.
You can watch the full interview with Pacelli using the video below.
