When asked to shovel the sidewalk in front of his house, Kaylen Redford went above and beyond and continued down the block to shovel his neighbours’ walks as well.

“A gentleman came out and asked if Kaylen and his friend had been told to do all the walks and when they said no he handed them $20 and said thank you very much,” said Deanna Redford, Kaylen’s mom.

Deanna said she is very proud of her son for his next actions. Instead of wanting to spend the $20, Kaylen took his money to school and donated it to his classroom fundraiser called ‘Christmas Child’.

“He didn’t even tell me he was taking the $20 or what he was doing with it. He just took it to school and donated it,” said Deanna.

The fundraiser aims to raise money to be able to buy gifts for other children who may not otherwise have gifts at Christmas.

“He does a lot of things like that. If he finds out that somebody doesn’t have something he’ll give it away just so the other person can have it.”

Deanna said Kaylen just wants everyone to enjoy things as much as he does.

Kaylen’s school has multiple fundraisers planned and Deanna said her son plans to take part in as many of them as he can. He wants to collect socks for the sock tree which then go to the less fortunate.

“Kaylen always goes above and beyond just to have that feeling that he gave someone something and they loved it. He knows what that feeling is like and he wants to give it to other children,” said Deanna.

Kaylen first got interested in charities when his family began sponsoring a World Vision child.

“When he learned that this boy lives in a mud hut and has no toys he realized that a lot of people don’t have what he does and he wanted to give back,” said Deanna.

Family members of Kaylen’s frequently describe him as a good-hearted kid.

“I’m very proud of him and this definitely touched my heart. He’s the kind of kid who might have three pieces of chocolate and he will give away two and a half.”

kpalardy@reddeerexpress.com