A boy scout decided to forgo his much-awaited first hike to help raise money for his best friend’s grandmother who needed to undergo surgery. Days later, an SUV pulls up in front of his house to take him on a surprise adventure.
Charlie was a 9-year-old boy who dreamt of becoming a boy scout. He had heard wonderful stories about being a scout from his dad, who used to be a boy scout too.
Through the years,
Charlie had always anticipated the day he and his dad would go camping together. Unfortunately, his dreams were shattered when his dad died unexpectedly when he was only six.
It took Charlie years before he could talk about anything related to being a scout again. Only after encouragement from his mom did he re-consider joining the Scout Association.
“I’m sure your dad would have loved to have you follow in his footsteps, Charlie. He’d be so proud,” his mom, Aby, told him one day.
“Really, mom? You think dad would be happy to see me become a boy scout?” he asked.
Aby nodded her head. “Of course, sweetheart. You and dad used to talk about it for years. He’d be so proud to see you finally live it out,” she said, trying to convince her son to join.
Charlie mustered up the courage to finally sign up. He went to the organization’s office to get his uniform and sign up for his first hike, scheduled that coming weekend.
Charlie spent the entire week imagining how the hike would go: he would learn how to tie knots, make s’mores by the campfire, and go swimming with the rest of the boys. He’d make new friends and eventually encourage his classmates to join him on upcoming hikes.
On the Thursday before the hike, he visited his neighborhood best friend Matthew’s house to encourage him to join at the last minute. Matthew frowned, telling Charlie that as much as he’d love to go, he couldn’t.
“Why not?” Charlie asked. “It’s not too late to sign up. Today’s the last day!” he said.
“My grandma broke her leg while cleaning the kitchen just this morning,” Matthew revealed. “She needs urgent surgery, or she might not be able to walk properly again. I don’t know how we’ll afford to pay for it,” he added.
Charlie knew that Matthew had no one in his life other than his Grandma Betty. She raised him after his parents died in the military, and they’ve been getting by with her pension and the money his parents left behind.
Unfortunately, they couldn’t simply touch that money because it had been allocated for his education and his future, and Grandma Betty’s pension was only enough for their expenses and her maintenance medicine.
“Don’t worry, Matthew. We’ll find a way to get the money,” Charlie said, his mind racing with ideas on how they could raise funds for Grandma Betty’s operation.
After a while, Charlie declared that he would not be going on the boy scout hike that weekend. “Let’s put up a car wash to raise money,” he told Matthew instead.
Although Matthew was hesitant to accept the help, he thanked Charlie and promised they’d go on a hike together when things got better. “You’re a great friend, Charlie. Thank you,” he said.
Charlie and Matthew set up a makeshift car wash at the local parking lot. They made banners and flyers, which they sent out to their neighbors.
Soon after, people lined up to support the boys. Some strangers even gave them money without availing of the car wash, which significantly added to their fund.
Charlie’s teacher spotted him at the car wash with Matthew that Saturday afternoon. “Charlie! Why are you here?” he asked. “Aren’t you supposed to be on your hike? You’ve been talking about it for weeks!” the teacher said, surprised.
Charlie nodded. “My best friend needs me right now, Mr. Collins. The hike can wait, but his grandma’s surgery can’t. We’re trying to raise money so they could pay for it,” he revealed.
Mr. Collins couldn’t help but feel touched by Charlie’s selflessness. He immediately knew he wanted to help them in their cause, so he called their school principal to scale up the fundraising efforts and the Scout Organization to inform them of Charlie’s deed.
By the time Charlie made it to school the following week, the principal had already e-mailed their entire parents association to ask for monetary donations for Grandma Betty.
While Charlie and Matthew’s car wash raised $1020 in donations and for washing over forty cars during the weekend, the principal’s efforts raised a total of $12,000. This was enough to cover Grandma Betty’s leg surgery.
“Thank you so much, sir!” Charlie beamed after finding out from the principal that they had raised enough money to pay for the surgery. The principal called Matthew into his office, and the boy was in tears.
“My grandma’s going to be alright,” he cried. “Thank you. Thank you so much for helping us,” he said gratefully.
Days later, an SUV pulled up in front of Charlie’s house. “WOW! This can’t be true!” the boy exclaimed when he saw a line of boy scouts marching towards his front door, calling for him.
“Hi, boy scout!” they greeted him. “Are you ready for your first scout adventure?” the troop leader asked him.
Charlie’s jaw dropped. He looked back at his mom who was smiling from ear to ear. “Surprise, honey!” she said, handing him his backpack filled with camp essentials.
Charlie hugged his mom, surprised that she knew about it. They all boarded the SUV and headed to the camping grounds. “I hope I’m making you proud, dad,” Charlie whispered.
What can we learn from this story?
A kind heart helps unconditionally. Charlie did not hesitate to help Matthew when he realized he needed help. He did this even if it meant not being able to go on the hiking trip he had been waiting for without asking for anything in return.
Good friends are rare. Treasure them and show them your appreciation. Charlie proved to Matthew just how much of a good friend he was by sacrificing his happiness to help him during a challenging time in his life. True friends like Charlie are hard to come by, so it’s best to treasure them and show them they are appreciated.
Share this story with your friends. It might brighten their day and inspire them.
