Lindale boy gives savings to East Texas Food Bank, inspires others to donate

TYLER, Texas (KLTV) – Think back to a Christmas or birthday when you got money as a kid. You may have thought about the toys or games it could buy, as most might have.

But 9-year-old Hudson LeBlanc had a different plan.

“I don’t need it; I’m just a kid,” said LeBlanc.

His mom, Melisa LeBlanc, says while they were out at dinner for his birthday, Hudson suddenly asked a question that took her by surprise.

“He looked over at me and he said ‘Hey mom, are there hungry people in Lindale that don’t have enough food to eat?’,” said Melisa.

This question led to the plan to make a donation to the East Texas Food Bank, and when deciding on how much, he didn’t pull any punches.

“I looked at his savings, his birthday, his allowance and his Christmas money and I said ‘it’s about $200; do you want to do a donation?’ He said, ‘yeah, I do, I want to do all of it,’” said Melisa.

His aunt, Hannah Walker Harris, works at the food bank and helped facilitate the donation.

“Best Hunger Hero that I have ever heard of, because I don’t know what kid, on their birthday, is thinking about the needs of others,” said Walker Harris.

Soon, word of Hudson’s donation spread, and others joined in to help.

“He saw the $100 the night before and said, ‘maybe it’s double.’ So I said, ‘ok, let’s open it up,’ and it was at $1,400, and when he saw it he fell back in the couch. ‘I fainted’,” said Melisa LeBlanc.

The generosity is spreading to other parts of the country, as well.

“We had a friend in Alaska, in Fairbanks, who gave to the Fairbanks food bank because of Hudson,” said Walker Harris.

Now, with over $2,000 in donations, Hudson isn’t done quite yet, as he hopes his donation will continue to spark others to want to give back; not just to East Texas, but across the world.

“10,000 meals donated; wait, that’s as much as the amount of money I hope to raise,” said Hudson.

Melisa says that Hudson is also a Cub Scout, with some of their service missions going towards helping the food bank.

To read the post about Hudson’s birthday donation, or to donate to the food bank, view the post here.