CONROE, Texas — A Conroe 6th grader was hard at work Friday morning just as he is every week. It’s part of his weekly job of feeding fellow students in need.
Matthew Reel isn’t your typical 12-year-old.
At 8 years old, his birthday wish was to make food packets for the homeless.
Today, as part of his nonprofit, he’s feeding kids in his school district who won’t have much food when they go home for the weekend.
“There were kids my age that weren’t getting food when I have food all day every day," Matthew said.
Matthew provides breakfast, lunch and dinner for 25 families every weekend of the school year.
“They can’t really focus on their work because they’re thinking am I going to get to eat when I get home," Matthew said.
He drops the food off at the school, and counselors put the food in a backpack for the kids to take home.
His first stop on his weekly trip is Houser Elementary, then on to Vogel Intermediate where counselors put the food into student’s backpacks.
“I think it’s so big for him as a 12-year-old to have a heart and to be able to reach beyond himself and see that hey, even in this position, I can do something to change the world, change the community, change my school system," said Racquel Johnson, Vogel Intermediate Counselor.
Matthew does his shopping on Wednesday, packing on Thursday and drop off every Friday.
Next year, he wants to expand to 50 families, but it doesn’t stop there.
“I want to have the U.S.’s first sustainable backpack program that’s run by kids," Matthew said.
His goal is to help feed the entire district one student, at a time.
If you would like to help Matthew's mission, visit http://matthewsbirthdaywish.com/.
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