XNUMX-year-old boy from Maryland helps thousands of people during a pandemic

Kavanaugh Bell not only founded his own non-profit organization called Cool and Dope, but also hopes to end bullying by 2030, and is also sending trucks with emergency supplies to the reservation, which is considered one of the poorest in the United States. Writes about this People.

Photo: instagram.com/cooldopeliving

Cavanaugh Bell is an unusual second grader.

While most of his peers spent their summer carefree, a seven-year-old boy from Maryland worked hard to deliver a trailer filled with supplies to the Pine Ridge Reservation, South Dakota, which is considered one of the poorest in America.

Bell founded his own non-profit organization, Cool & Dope, to combat bullying. Last week, he stepped up his efforts to help those in need by loading a 53-foot (16-meter) truck with supplies and delivering them to the reservation ahead of winter.

“I try to do what’s best for them. I'm just trying to make them smile big," Bell explained.

He says he first learned about Pine Ridge when he returned from Colorado with his mother in 2018. On the way, my mother told him about this reservation.

“Well, maybe we should do something for them, since they ended up in such a wilderness,” the boy thought then.

Bell says that along with the physical isolation, he was shocked by the way most of Pine Ridge's residents struggle with poverty, increased suicide rates and health problems.

According to the nonprofit organization Re-Member, the suicide rate among adolescents on this reservation is 150% higher than the US average, 97% of the population lives below the poverty line and earns less than $ 3500 a year, only 19% live to 50 years and about 85% of families of the Lakota people suffer from alcoholism.

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With this information in mind, the second grader identified what essentials were missing on the reservation and created a video message asking people to donate through their Amazon Wishlist, GoFundMe page, or in person from their pantry.

He later booked a truck and gradually began to receive items, including hygiene products, non-perishable food, cleaning products, as well as diapers, clothing, shoes and bedding.

“It’s just a blessing to help them,” said Bell, who is part Native American. “I try to make sure they have everything they need to survive because this is their only land and they are [like] my family.”

After his first delivery on July 10, Bell noted how “amazing” it was, so he decided to repeat the experiment. And this effort will be even more important as winter approaches and the flu season comes amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

“A terrible winter is coming. There's going to be a mix of flu and coronavirus, so I thought, why don't I just give these people clothes to keep them warm and make sure they, like us, stay warm and can live happily? - the boy admitted. “Because it’s 2020 now, and I don’t think anyone should live like that.”

“It’s not fair that we have a wonderful and happy life while they suffer in the wilderness,” Bell laments.

The boy's efforts, of course, did not go unnoticed. Alice Phelps, a Pine Ridge resident, told People how locals appreciate everything Bell has done for the reservation.

“He believes he can save the world, and I believe him,” Alice says. “He just says, ‘No problem, let’s do it,’ and Bell doesn’t take anything as a challenge, I like that spontaneity about him.”

The boy says that he not only helps Pine Ridge, but also devotes his time to a non-profit organization. He founded it after he heard many reproaches that he was too young to volunteer.

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Among other things, Bell set out to completely eradicate bullying by his 18th birthday in 2030, as he often suffered from it himself.

“I was bullied for doing work faster than others,” he explains. “I felt bad and I didn’t want the kids to feel the same, so I asked my mom if she would be sad if I died.” But then I told her I wanted to start my own nonprofit.”

For those who might be inspired by this story, Bell has this piece of advice: “I just want to teach people that they can make an impact, no matter their age. It doesn’t matter how old you are—eight, ten, or 74 like my grandmother—you can do good things!”

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