APPOMATTOX, Va. – An Appomattox kindergartner is checking the list twice as he plays Santa this season by donating toys to other children.
Five-year-old Caleb O’Brien raised $652.45 to buy 84 toys for underprivileged children.
It’s an idea he got last year from watching bell ringers collect money.
With fewer bell ringers around due to the pandemic this year, Caleb quickly got his Santa hat, bell and piggy bank to step right in.
But Caleb admits the coins were too heavy for him to carry to the bank.
“I could hold it up at like the start but then in the end, it was too heavy,” he said.
Caleb’s mother, Rebecca O’Brien said at first she was hesitant to make this major commitment.
However, she was enthralled to see her two younger daughters, Natalie and Naomi, join “Caleb’s Christmas Cheer Project” as well.
“Of course, it makes me so proud,” O’Brien said. “I don’t know what I was thinking at five years old but I’m certain it wasn’t about others, like this. So, I’m very touched.”
Caleb plans to donate toys again next year and is already collecting coins to do so.