A plate full of food to fill an empty belly is what every child needs to power through the school day. But, for some families, paying for that food can be difficult, as Melissa Fillman's daughter witnessed first hand when she was only six years old.
She watched as her friend was forced to give back her lunch when she didn't have the funds to pay for it.
"It was heartbreaking to find out at that time that if you couldn't afford a lunch you had to put your lunch back," Fillman said.
The experience moved them to create the organization Kindness is Magic. The organization is partnering with four local districts to help pay down student lunch debt.
Recently the organization partnered with the East Penn School District, which does not make children return lunches if they do not have the funds. However, the district has accumulated a large lunch debt. East Penn is over $10,000 in the negative, and Wescosville Elementary School, where the latest fundraiser was held, had over $500 in lunch debt.
"We designed a T-shirt with our service dog Mario on it and we sold the T-shirt to raise funds," said Marissa Quinn, community service advisor at Wescosville Elementary School.
Partnering with the Community Service Club at the school, the team of 25 fourth-graders was able to raise enough money to eliminate the current debt.
"Right now it's another bill for them to have to pay, so if we can help with that and we know, it's less for the parents to have to worry about," Quinn said.
Organizers say the community came together to take something off parent's plates to help fill students' plates, and taught everyone the importance of looking out for one another.
"It's fantastic that the children themselves are the ones that really are empowering each other to give back to each other and just making the world a better place," Fillman said.
