A five-year-old girl proved that kindness has no age limit. When the Michigan girl saw that not all of her classmates could afford milk, she made it her goal to do something about it.
It all started when Sunshine Oelfke emptied out her Arctic Cat piggy bank on the living room floor and began "counting" the money she had saved.
Her grandmother captured the beautiful moment that made our hearts melt.
"Sitting here working my business, Sunshine dumps out a bunch of her snowmobile money on the floor and starts counting it all," she wrote in her post. "After a few minutes, I see her bag up some of it and I asked her what she was doing with the baggy of money."
"Her response put me in tears...'I am going to give it to my friend at school because she don't get milk for snack. Her mom don't have any milk money and I do' As I turned my head to wipe my eyes, I handed Sunny her backpack and in it the baggy of money went," she wrote.
Sitting here working my business, Sunshine dumps out a bunch of her snowmobile money on the floor and starts counting it...
Posted by Jackie Sue Oelfke on Wednesday, October 4, 2017
As it turns out, half of the 20 students in Sunshine's class did not get milk, which costs 45 cents a carton.
After Sunshine delivered several plastic bags filled with milk money to her class, Jackie stepped in to help her granddaughter raise milk money. She started a GoFundMe account with the hope of raising $800 to cover the cost of milk for Sunshine's entire class for the second semester of school.
Her grandmother posted an emotional video about Sunshine's kindness, that just made us all grab for the tissues.
Milk money
Posted by Jackie Sue Oelfke on Thursday, October 5, 2017
The campaign has raised far more than their goal, thanks to the kindness of strangers that were touched by this girl's selfless act.
"The money will stay with Sunshine as she progresses grades," explained Jackie, "to make sure her friends get milk, no matter where she is."
Jackie says her granddaughter drinks milk with every meal to help her "get strong for snowmobiling."
The money that Sunshine had been saving in her piggy bank was to buy a snowmobile. She was quick, however, to empty her savings to help her friend.
That's when her kindness was repaid in an unexpected way.
Nearly a month after she emptied her savings to help her friends, Sunshine received a big surprise.
Arctic Cat surprised Sunshine at her elementary school with the very thing she had been saving for, a snowmobile.
In a school-wide assembly, they presented Sunshine's prize as well as a continued example that the 5-year-old set. They brought along beanies for the students, as well as winter gear for students in need.
"We were so touched by Sunshine's generosity that we were eager to do something special for her and show our support for the Ishpeming community," Textron marketing manager Kale Wainer said. "I think we can all afford to be more compassionate and fearless, and Sunshine sets a great example for us."
Before Sunshine's big prize was revealed the company presented her with a $5,000 check to her school. With the money raised, it meant that every student in Sunshine's class can have free milk for the rest of the year and many years to come.
Congratulations Sunshine for teaching everyone what kindness really is!
