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7 Words that Will Break Your Heart - One Boy's Journey to Help Victims of Ian

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“It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

Although they’re not recorded in the Gospels, Luke tells us in Acts that Paul attributed these nine words to Jesus Himself — and one 7-year-old boy seems to have taken that lesson to heart.

“They need it more than I do,” Dominic D’Andrea told Fox News when asked why he was donating the entire content of his piggy bank to Florida’s relief efforts in the wake of deadly Hurricane Ian.

Mom Jaclyn D’Andrea said she took a video as a “proud mom” to show her husband after Dominic told her what he wanted to do with his savings, “never anticipating for it to take off the way that it did.”

“Why did you do it? What made you say, ‘I will give up my piggy bank to other people?'” Fox News host Pete Hegseth asked the young man Sunday after a video of him and his jar full of money went viral.

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“‘Cause they need it more than I do,” he answered.

“But I bet you still want that scooter and that Corvette, right?” Hegseth then asked, referring to a comment D’Andrea had made in that earlier video regarding what his original plans were for the roughly $200 he’d managed to save so far.

“Yeah,” the boy responded — a little sheepishly, it seems to me.

There is nothing, however, for this young man to be sheepish about, and Hegseth seemed to understand that.

Could you see yourself doing this as a child?

“It’s amazing to see that kind of perspective and generosity from a 7-year-old,” he said.

(You can watch the entire video interview here.)

Dominic’s gift wouldn’t have been much of a sacrifice if he hadn’t decided against the Corvette or electric scooter, of course. The fact that he was giving up something he still wanted for himself is what made his generosity a virtue.

And — no surprise here — it would appear that the apple didn’t fall far from the tree.

Jaclyn said she would be taking Dominic’s money and other donations they’ve received, buying supplies locally, and then driving them to the Fort Myers area to give out to those in need.

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The sheriff’s office in Lee County, Florida, when Fort Myers is located, shared video Friday of some of the damage caused by Ian when it made landfall there last week.



Readers interested in helping can donate via Venmo @Jaclyn-DAndrea-17 and on Zelle at 708-370-9491.

After all, it’s more blessed to give than to receive.

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George Upper is the former Editor-in-Chief of The Western Journal and was a weekly co-host of "WJ Live," powered by The Western Journal. He is currently a contributing editor in the areas of faith, politics and culture. A former U.S. Army special operator, teacher and consultant, he is a lifetime member of the NRA and an active volunteer leader in his church. Born in Foxborough, Massachusetts, he has lived most of his life in central North Carolina.
George Upper, is the former editor-in-chief of The Western Journal and is now a contributing editor in the areas of faith, politics and culture. He currently serves as the connections pastor at Awestruck Church in Greensboro, North Carolina. He is a former U.S. Army special operator, teacher, manager and consultant. Born in Massachusetts, he graduated from Foxborough High School before joining the Army and spending most of the next three years at Fort Bragg. He holds bachelor's and master's degrees in English as well as a Master's in Business Administration, all from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He and his wife life only a short drive from his three children, their spouses and his grandchildren. He is a lifetime member of the NRA and in his spare time he shoots, reads a lot of Lawrence Block and John D. MacDonald, and watches Bruce Campbell movies. He is a fan of individual freedom, Tommy Bahama, fine-point G-2 pens and the Oxford comma.
Birthplace
Foxborough, Massachusetts
Nationality
American
Honors/Awards
Beta Gamma Sigma
Education
B.A., English, UNCG; M.A., English, UNCG; MBA, UNCG
Location
North Carolina
Languages Spoken
English
Topics of Expertise
Faith, Business, Leadership and Management, Military, Politics




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