Devon Melton, 12, was at home one evening when he heard his mother crying. She is battling breast cancer and he thought she was in pain so he went to help her.
However, when he reached the doorway he heard his mother discussing the family's finances. She was worried because her husband had lost his job and she was scared they would lose their home. They had bills to pay. She had medical expenses.
Frightened, Devon ran to the living room. His mother followed him out and asked him if he was okay. They talked. Devon told his mum he was okay and she comforted him as much as she could, telling him God would look after them.
However, Devon knew his mum was just trying to make him feel better. He had to do something.
So he logged onto Craigslist to try and figure out a way to raise money for his family.
He was browsing on the site when he noticed lots of items being given away for free. This gave him an idea. What if he organised a garage sale and sold these items to raise money for his family?
Devon not only sourced items on Craigslist, he also walked around his neighbourhood asking for items to sell. Most houses gave him something. Some gave him money.
Here is one of the messages he sent on Craigslist:
Hi this is Devon I am the one that messaged you on Craigslist. My mom is amazing she and my dad take care of my two brothers me and my sister. She has breast cancer and I heard her crying one day after she had her surgery. I thought she was hurt so I went to her door I heard her say I'm losing everything because I am sick we are about to lose our home electric gas and dad lost his job.
My mom deserves the best and I want to help her because she helps everyone.even with her sick she still works at the food pantry at our church she says people have to eat and God blessed us to be part of a ministry that can feed people.I just wish it was mom's turn to be blessed with a timeout like she says she needs.
I hope we can get things together and I can really help my mom.
After sending this message to a seller on Craigslist, the seller got on the family's Facebook page and praised the boy. The family has now been inundated with offers to help.
It's so heart-warming to hear stories like this. Communities rallying around a family in need never fails to make us all feel good about the world and this little boy is just amazing.
We can only pray for a son like him.
If you'd like to help in any way you can visit the family's Facebook page or their Fundraiser page.
Now that this family has a little financial relief, we can only hope that Devon's mother can focus on getting better.
Do you have a similar story to this? We'd love to hear about it.
