Instead of having his parents spend money on his birthday party, Ashtyn, a eighth-grade homeschool student, asked for donations and used the money to purchase food for the homeless in Middletown.
Ashtyn and several of his friends cooked 156 sliders and added bags of potato chips, snacks and bottled water to the meals. They passed them out to 78 homeless Friday night at the downtown City Bus Terminal, a popular place for the homeless to congregate.
The boys and some adult volunteers, including his mother, Laura Bennett, and Jeri Lewis, a Madison Twp. mother and downtown advocate, also asked those who received food if they wanted to pray. Lewis said about half of them agreed.
Ashtyn was hesitant at first, but soon became “a natural,” Lewis said. “It was neat watching him walk into that purpose in a total God way.”
His mother has taken her children to downtown Cincinnati to feed the homeless breakfast, and she said Ashtyn always possessed “a passion” to serve the homeless.
But she was surprised when he traded his birthday party for an opportunity to help strangers.
“Are you sure you want to do that?” she asked.
“Absolutely,” he said.
So he took $150 and bought what was needed to prepare the meals, and some of his friends donated Oreo cookies and breakfast bars and protein bars that were added to the carry-out meals.
“It was so inspiring and encouraging to see my son serving in that capacity,” his mother said.
Ashtyn also was joined by his brother, Parker, 9, a fourth-grader.
Ashtyn said he originally considered buying fast-food meals, then realized he could serve more people if they prepared the meals. He also enjoyed talking to the homeless and hearing some of their stories. He said one man was thankful for a hot meal because he had a job interview the next day.
“It was an experience I’ll never forget and it was great doing it with my friends,” he said. “Great just helping people in need.”
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