As we all know community service is a graduation requirement at Westhampton Beach but how many of us would do community service if it wasn’t required?

For a 3rd grader in Michigan, community service wasn’t a requirement – he was just a normal third grader eating his lunch when he helped some of his classmates.

Cayden Taipalus was inspired to help a classmate after seeing the boy in front of him on the lunch line have to put down his hot lunch because he didn’t have enough money in his account. That day, he went home and told his mother how upset it made him that his classmate didn’t have enough money for lunch.

His mother and he came up with the fundraising program “Pay it Forward: No Kid Goes Hungry.” Cayden started calling family, friends, neighbors and returning cans to raise money for his cause. His mother also put the campaign on Fundrazr.com and 920 people have raised $27,188 of their $30,000 goal.

Not only have they paid off every overdue account his school, he has paid for another 4,000 lunch accounts in Livingston County, Michigan.

So the next time you’re complaining about getting you community service hours in think of Cayden who barely knew what community service was and changed over 4,000 students’ and families’ lives.

A small act of kindness can go a long way.

If you would like to donate go to https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/7htY4?fb_action_ids=10152259329014106&fb_action_types=fundrazr%253Astory_update&fb_source=aggregation&fb_aggregation_id=288381481237582