12 year old Ashley Sutton is probably not your average tween. She says, “I’m weird. My friends think I’m like middle aged.”
As proof..the fact the Ashley turned down a shot at eight presents this Chanukah. She asked only for The Twilight book series. Ashley Sutton says, “I don’t really feel the need to have material possessions.” Like she told us, “I know, I’m weird.”
Ashley Sutton is instead, far more focused on giving this holiday season. She and her mom donated food today to the North Texas Food Bank. They’ll also give 9 hours of their time over the next two days, working toward Ashley’s community service requirement for next year’s Bat Mitzvah. She says, “To really get in the mood for holiday spirit, it’s kinda giving back to the community…”
Ashley Sutton may be more like fellow tweens than she thought. A 900 person survey conducted last month on Quibblo.com found 48% of its tween and teen users planned to give back to their community this year by donating food or money. 15% were going to volunteer their services. All this pint sized help comes at a perfect time for the North Texas Food Bank. Its food donations are flat, but it’s need is up: about 35 percent. Jan Pruitt, who is the president and CEO of the North Texas Food Bank says, “What it means is that in our next generation, there’ll be people to pick up where we’ve left off.. And I think it’s one of the most important lessons people can teach their children.”
David Gibson agrees. He brought his 5 year old daughter, Amy, with him to drop off food his company collected over the holidays. “It’s a teachable moment. Kind of an exciting time to get her involved.”
10 year old Matthew Cole knows exactly what volunteering is. “It means you’re giving your time to do something else.” Matthew says it’s cool filling food boxes for the hungry. Ashley Sutton agrees, though true to her wise beyond years ways, doesn’t really consider it giving. “It’s not like I’m bending over, breaking my back. It’s really easy. You just reach in, get a few cans, make an assortment, put in a box and hand it to someone.”