HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — It is hard to see people struggling during this pandemic and not feel compelled to help. That desire to do something isn't just exclusive to adults.
Asher Leslie answered the call for help and went above and beyond to make a difference. It started with a post the 10-year-old's mother saw on the Facebook page for the Lithia-based non-profit Seeds of Hope.
The post said donations were down and help was needed. Seeds of Hope’s mission is to provide meaningful community service hours for students while providing food assistance for people in need.
Asher immediately knew he had to do something. He enlisted the help of friends in his Fishhawk neighborhood.
“We put together a flyer and made cardbox box trailers and put them behind our bikes and we picked up all the food,” said Asher.
The boy’s mother is so proud of her son.
"He put together this little flyer all by himself and then he shared it with friends," said Sabrina Leslie. "He got all his friends on board and they had a blast making their trailers out of boxes from Costco.”
Asher's creative flyer resembles an old western “wanted poster” asking for canned goods and other non-perishable food for families in need. He and his friends spent weeks riding their bikes through their neighborhood collecting donations.
Sabrina says it was a great lesson for the boys and she thinks they even surprised the folks at Seeds of Hope.
"You could tell they were surprised," said Sabrina. "We completely filled up an entire area of their donation room."
Leda Eaton runs seeds of hope. She is inspired every time a child steps up to help.
“We at Seeds of Hope would like to say thank you to Asher and all of his friends who helped fill our food bank shelves," said Eaton. "In this unprecedented time when so many food banks are being stressed to the limit we appreciate everyone’s help.”
Get ready, Leda. Asher is already gearing up to make his next donation run.
"I want to collect nore this time than I did last time," said Asher.