Wyckoff 9-Year-Old's Campaign To Feed Hungry Kids Goes Viral

WYCKOFF, N.J. — Jake Scoropanos had a simple plan: Give as many hungry kids as he could something healthy to eat on the weekend.

Scoropanos started a Go Fund Me campaign six days ago and has already nearly raised more than $1,100 — just shy of his $1,200 goal. The money will be given to the Center for Food Action to purchase Weekend Snack Packs for kids. The page has been shared 129 times on social media.

At first, he wanted to donate his Christmas money, but then his parents encouraged him to aim higher. So he did. Then he tried raising $450 — enough to purchase 100 snack packs.

But it wasn't enough.

"He said to himself, 'Why should I limit myself to that goal?'," said Caren Scoropanos, Jake's mother. "Then the page went viral."

Scoropanos is a third-grader at Lincoln Elementary School. He got the idea for the campaign after watching a YouTube clips of Michael Bonner on the Ellen show. Bonner is a teacher at South Greenville Elementary in North Carolina where every student receives a reduced and free lunch. Many of them are homeless.

"Jake saw that and sprung into action," Caren Scoropanos said. "That inspired him."

The family wants to keep the campaign going even after the goal is met. The family is also looking for volunteers to help create the packs. They will each have cereal, a fruit cup, juice box, a microwavable meal, macaroni and cheese, a snack bar and milk.

People the family does not even know have donated to the campaign.

"What an amazing lesson that is for him," Caren Scoropanos said, "that if you put yourself out there to do good, look how much good you can do. It’s a reaffirmation that people are good and generous."

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Jake Scoropanos — Courtesy of Go Fund Me