Worcester 12-year-old donates hundreds of Easter Baskets to homeless kids

WORCESTER – Worcester 12-year-old Josh Sowden has been trying to make Easter special for children experiencing homelessness after going through a similar hardship himself. After months of hard work, he accomplished that mission.

WBZ-TV first introduced you to Sowden earlier this year. His goal was to get enough donations to make 175 Easter baskets for children in homeless shelters.

Thanks to nationwide support and help from volunteers, Sowden constructed and donated 300 baskets and an extra 100 Easter eggs.

After his story initially aired, donations began to pour in. People sent items from around Massachusetts, but also places as far away as Las Vegas and Canada.

Sowden received over 70 Amazon packages on Super Bowl Sunday alone.

Last weekend, with the help of 25 volunteers, Sowden and his family put the baskets together.

Of the 300 baskets, 60 went to babies. The 100 extra eggs were donated to a non-profit called Community of Love and Support Project. That is the same organization that helped the Sowden family when they were homeless.

"After our story really kept blowing up, we got over 300," Sowden said. "To know that all those people wanted to help and be a part of it and make it grow felt really nice."

Sowden then dropped the baskets off at different homeless shelters across the state. That's where the Worcester Railers hockey team joined in.

With the help of their mascot Trax, Sowden and some of the players made the rounds, surprising kids at various shelters.

"Kids came down so we handed the baskets to them, they got a picture with Trax if they wanted. It was actually really cool knowing those kids were happy," Sowden said.

This is just the beginning for Sowden. His family said they plan to become an official non-profit organization by next year so they can provide even more children with Easter baskets.