3 inspiring stories of generosity

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1.    Cooking for free for the kids 

   Bruno Serato moved from Italy to USA in 1980 as a poor immigrant who didn't speak a word of English. He began his career working as a dishwasher. Working hard, he dreamed of owning his own restaurant. He achieved his dream with hard work and dedication. He now serves Italian food in his own restaurant called the White House in Anaheim. Celebrities and politicians have eaten at his restaurant. But his favourite customers are the ones that he feeds for free - the so-called "motel children" of Orange County. They are the children whose parents are too poor to afford them decent, regular meals.


   The story began on April 18th, 2005. Bruno's mother came to visit him from Italy. As part of her tour of California, they visited the Boys & Girls Club charity in Anaheim. There, they saw a little boy eating potato chips. The director told them that those chips were all he had for dinner - his family was too poor to afford him a full meal. His mother then came up with the idea that started it all - to give the children who need it food from Bruno's restaurant. Bruno, inspired by her idea, then decided to start his own charity that offers free meals to children in need. He called it Caterina's Club, after his mother.

   Every night, the White House makes a meal of fresh pasta and sauce and sends it to the kids at the Boys & Girls Club in a van. Bruno has given away hundreds of thousands of meals so far. Some nights his restaurant struggled, having more children to feed than paying customers. But Bruno kept going and says he will never stop giving to the children, as it is his passion in life.

2.     They won the lottery - and gave the money away


   Allen and Violet Large, a loving elderly couple from Nova Scotia, Canada, won $11.2 million in the lottery. But instead of living happily ever after in luxury, they decided to give their winnings away.

  Worried about scam artists and content with their average, peaceful lifestyle, they decided that the money would bring them unnecessary stress. They helped their family with some of the money and then divided the rest of the money between churches, organizations fighting cancer, Alzheimer's and diabetes, the Red Cross, the Salvation Army, cemeteries, hospitals, also their local fire department.

The couple has no regrets. "What you've never had, you never miss", Violet said. They are happy just to have each other.

3.      Growing food to give away 



  When Katie Stagliano was in third grade, she planted a cabbage in her garden. After a lot of  hard work, it grew into an impressive 40 pounds. She decided to donate it to a soup kitchen. The cabbage was big enough for the meals of 275 people. Katie was amazed at how many people she could help with just that one cabbage. It inspired her.

  At only 11 years old, she got the idea to start her own nonprofit organization called Katie's Krops. Katie's Krops grows food and gives it away to soup kitchens. The organization has 6 gardens, where they grow thousands of pounds of lettuce, tomatoes and other vegetables, all of which they donate to people in need.

   Everyday, Katie tends to the plants, managing to take care of them while also playing tennis, swimming and maintaining the highest GPA in her class. Luckily, she has a lot of help - her idea has really brought her community together. The seeds for the plants are donated by the organization Bonnie Plants and the organization Fields to Families has sent a professional gardener, Lisa, to help care for the plants. Katie's family, classmates and local volunteers also help by working in the gardens.

   Katie encourages everyone to help in any way that they can. She reminds people that even the smallest effort can make a big difference. Katie's Krops is also accepting applications from other kids aged 9-16 who want to start their own charity garden. The winner will be awarded a grant to help fund their new garden. You can read more about Katie and her organization at the Katie's Krops website.