Fourth-grade student Joshua Fox puts his thoughts and feelings into action.
After collecting food for his local synagogue’s food drive, Joshua wanted to do more.
”I was thinking of the poor, and I wanted to give them food,” said Joshua, 9.
He had an idea of collecting food from his neighbors and to give the items to the Somerset County Food Bank.
Hillsborough ShopRite donated 75 paper bags for Joshua’s project. Joshua stapled a sheet on each bag detailing the reason for the collection, what food items were needed (drawn from the food bank’s website), when to drop off the bag and the address of the donating house so he could write a thank you note.
Monday and Tuesday, Oct. 15 and 16, Joshua rang all the doorbells on the 30 or so homes on Beechwood Circle. With bag in hand, he discussed the food and nonfood needs of the community.
”He was extremely polite, shaking hands, calling everyone sir or ma’am and politely asking for them to fill the bags and deliver them one week later on Sunday, Oct. 21,” said Joshua father, Jason.
Almost all the neighbors took a bag.
Oct. 21, Joshua found 25 full bags of food and nonfood items as well as some cash donations. Many of the paper slips Joshua had stapled on the bags had notes thanking him for helping them help others.
That evening, Joshua and his father loaded the bags into the family truck. The next morning, Mr. Fox delivered the bags to the Somerset County Food Bank where the director estimated the bags to contain about 200 pounds of food and nonfood items, Mr. Fox said.
Mr. Fox said his son has drawn a lesson from neighbors, who, “while seemingly busy all the time, took the time to listen to him and give to those in need.:
”Joshua feels very good about the effort he put into it,” his father said.
In fact, Joshua said he might ask friends at school to help him with another food drive in the spring, he said.
Joshua has been recognized by the board of trustees at Temple Beth-El in Hillsborough, his father said. Joshua serves on the Student Council at Woodfern Elementary School, plays soccer and is a brown belt in tae kwon do.
”He’s a source of great pride for our family,” Mr. Fox said.
