4/21/14 - A local elementary school student who led a project to make sure none of his peers went without a hot lunch will be featured as an âexceptional kidâ on a national television show tomorrow. 8-year-old Cayden Taipalus is a third-grader at Challenger Elementary who began raising money and putting it into the lunch accounts of students who receive reduced-cost meals. Heâll appear on The Steve Harvey Show Tuesday to talk about the program he started called "Pay it Forward: No Kid Goes Hungry." The project got started when one of Cayden's friends couldn't get a full lunch at the school. District policy is to provide students in that situation with an alternate lunch option, usually a cheese sandwich and a juice box. Cayden began collecting cans, asking for donations from friends and family, and even took his campaign to Facebook to ask the community for support. He and his mother delivered more than $60 to Challenger's food program, paying for 151 school lunches. That covered all of the delinquent accounts and put several additional meals onto each account so the students would not have to worry about going delinquent again anytime soon. In the months that followed, Cayden has received donations from all over the world and to date, has raised more than $30,000. Heâll appear on Tuesdayâs show with his mother, Amber Peters. Photo Credit NBC. (JM)
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