How to be Humbled by a 9-Year-Old

Boy, talk about feeling small.

Not for any really serious reason. This is not false humility talking. I mean, the rest of us really did deserve the honors -- we're talking lifetimes of work and involvement, careers dedicated to helping the community.

But there's this thing about relativity. Relative to Armani McFarland, the rest of us looked just a bit sick.

I just got back from the Catholic Community Services breakfast raising funds for the agency and honoring a bunch of folks for their work helping CCS. There was me, for all the news stories and columns I've done over the years about CCS and the Food Bank. There were representatives of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Weber State University and, last but never least, the sisters of St. Benedict.

Quite the lineup. The sisters have done more good for Northern Utah than any other three groups I can think of. What a group to be part of.

But we all, as I said, looked a bit sick compared to Armani McFarland, 9.

Last fall Armani heard about the desperate need for food for the poor in Weber County, so she organized a food drive and collected 1,000 pounds of food for the Joyce Hansen-Hall Food Bank. She collected nearly 500 backpacks for the CCS annual drive to supply packs full of school supplies to low-income students.

Armani McFarland

Then she collected 460 coats.

She did all this by hitting up family, friends, companies and on and on. Having done a bit of fund raising myself, I know how hard it is to just ask people, blind, for money or stuff. It would be triply hard for someone under 10-years-old, to whom adults can look rather large and imposing.

Armani has her own blog at http://www.onecanmakeachange.blogspot.com/. Check it out. I'm sure she didn't personally haul all those coats around on her bicycle. She did a great job of inspiring a raft of friends, strangers and businesses to get involved in the effort.

I'm honored to have been thanked so wonderfully by the CCS folks.  After giving me my award Marcie announced that someone made at $10,000 donation to the St. Martha's Project in my and my mother's name. St. Martha's Project provides layettes to low-income mothers who have babies in local hospitals, a project my mother worked on for years sewing small quilts.

Mom was always an inspiration, so that was an especially touching gesture.

But I still felt a little silly, personally, to be thanking folks for an honor recognizing stuff I've already done. How do you say "Well, now I'm retired and goofing off" when a 9-year-old is just starting out in life and already kicking your butt?

So I came home and mailed a check to Marcie. She's invited me to come down and volunteer at the Food Bank and as soon as I get my retirement schedule figured out, including Union Station, I'll will be doing that.

Because, really, a 9-year-old? Doing all that?

If you want to try to keep up with that 9-year-old, feel free to send a donation to the Joyce Hansen Hall Food Bank, 2504 F Avenue, Ogden, 84401.