In the spirit of the season, a local 8-year-old is choosing to give instead of receive.
For her recent eighth birthday party, Myley McLellan asked family and friends to make a donation to an area food bank in lieu of getting gifts. According to her mother, Ashley McLellan, the family are members of the Dresden Community Church, which hosts the Dresden Food Bank.
Knowing that the food bank is in need of donations this time of year, Ashley said she wanted to encourage her daughter to give back to the community that she lives in.
"We're a very blessed family so we thought, let's take this opportunity to bless others and teach our kids that it's not just about taking and receiving all the time. You have to give back and give back to your community," said Ashley. "We thought it was a good opportunity to do that."
During her birthday celebration in November, Myley's friends were encouraged to bring food or monetary donations instead of traditional gifts. In total, they ended up getting two large bags full of food and toiletry donations and well as $105.
"She has some really great friends and their parents participated and all brought food or money," explained Ashley.
Despite her young age, Ashley said Myley was on board with the idea from the beginning.
"Myley's got a giving spirit," she said. "She's very selfless, that's just part of her nature. So it was very easy to convince her."
The family recently brought the donations to the Dresden Food Bank. According to Ashley, they had given to the food bank several times over the years, however, this was the first time Myley got to see first hand the work that goes into running the facility.
"She was just happy to participate in that," said Ashley. "We don't typically stock the shelves, we just put it in the food bank box. Myley was happy to be a part of that process, which she's not normally part of when it comes to the donation."
Ashley said that Myley felt good about what she was able to accomplish and believes she will do it again. She's also hopeful that the story will encourage other people, of all ages, to follow suit.
"We live in a very good country. Very often we have an abundance of the things that we need. When you do, consider giving back... it's easy to get caught up in material things, we've got to remember that we've got to give back," said Ashley. "I wanted to encourage her and show her what she's doing is special and as well encourage others that if someone that's eight can do it, then other people can do it too."
