After beating cancer, one little boy decided to give back to his community. And he’s only seven-years-old! Still, he donated thousands of toys to the hospital and shared them with all the kids in need!
Cancer Survivor’s Dream
Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri recently received a considerable donation – from a seven-year-old no less! Little Tripp Hughes filled a whole truck with toys after beating cancer, wanting to give back to children still in treatment. He also wanted to help out the hospital. During his stay at Children’s Mercy, Hughes always felt welcome and cared for. “They’d offer anything to make us just feel as at home as possible,” the boy said. “So, we just wanted them to also feel the way that they made us feel.” Plus, Hughes knew exactly what they needed: toys! “They’re running low on toys, because they let the kids take some of the toys home with them, so we just want to help,” he said afterward.
Despite recently returning home from the hospital, Hughes didn’t want anything for himself. He only wanted to give back – and his mom, Krista Hughes, felt more than happy to help. “We knew he just didn’t need anything, and so from there I just kind of tumbled into what can we do to help give back?” Krista wondered. So, the two started a toy drive! By the end of the journey, they had more than 4,400 toys to donate. That’s more than 100 boxes full of plushies, cars, and dolls!
Soon enough, Tripp and Krista dropped them off at the hospital. And you can only imagine the children’s reaction!
Spreading Positivity
As you might imagine, Tripp felt very excited to deliver all the toys to the little boys and girls in need. The children at the hospital felt over the moon about their luck! Meanwhile, the doctors and nurses simply could not believe that a little boy wanted to give back so much. “I love it. He just went through a really tough time in his life and his thought was, ‘How can I give back and help other kids that are going through tough things?’ So I think that’s amazing,” Children’s Hospital representative Gregg Rosenboom said.
While there, Tripp also had the opportunity to ring a bell to celebrate his last treatment for cancer! Now, he wants the story to spread. Yet, it’s not for fame or pleasure – it’s to make this world a better place. While donating is easy, many don’t realize just how much giving back to the community can affect the world. “I just hope this inspires other kids to do other helpful things,” Tripp said.
