For six of his eleven birthdays, local fifth grader Will Hutson has opted not to receive gifts from his family and friends. Instead, he asks them to donate drinks and snacks, which he then delivers to the Forney Police and Forney Fire Departments.
In 2015, after a family friend collected pet food donations for an animal shelter for her birthday, Will decided he wanted to do something similar. His grandfather was a firefighter, so finding a way to show love to first responders was a natural move for him. Each year now, Will, who wants to be a Marine like his father one day, still has had a birthday party. But instead of a table of gifts for him, it is filled with everything from Gatorade to chips and salsa to Twinkies! Along with the help of his parents, Billy and Ginger Hutson, Will takes the food donations and any food that he purchases with birthday money he receives and delivers them to the local police department and both local fire stations.
Last Sunday, October 4, Will made his 2020 deliveries – the biggest deliveries he has been able to make to date. Each officer and firefighter he encountered was blown away by his generosity and thanked him for being so thoughtful. Will was able to make his personal recordbreaking donation with the help of contributions from about fifteen other families. His hope is to keep this tradition alive “forever” and eventually expand to include other local law enforcement and first responders.
While most eleven year olds would be vying for a new Nintendo Switch or the latest virtual reality game system, Will is happy with his choice to bless others on his birthday. “I don’t need presents,” he says matterof-factly. He adds that we all should be thankful for our local heroes. What this selfless young man may not realize is that he, also, is a local hero.
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