11-Year-Old Brenden Foster Leaves Legacy; Inspires Food Drives Nationwide
Just imagine what you might do if a doctor said you have only two weeks left to live.
For 11-year-old Brenden Foster of Bothell, Wash., who was given that prognosis earlier this year after learning he was suffering from leukemia last December, the answer was probably not what you'd expect.
"He's always thought about the better of others, wanting to help others," said his mother, Wendy Foster. "He's never complained about having to go through this, ever."
In just two weeks, an 11-year-old boy, too sick to even work a paper route, has raised tens of thousands of dollars and brought in truckloads of donations to local food pantries.
He's left a legacy and he's 11," his mother said. "He's done more than most people ever dream of doing just by making a wish and speaking his mind."
"We're going to get together tonight with about 15 people and make 200 sandwiches and then bring them downtown tomorrow," said Jennifer Morrison, one of the volunteers.
It was just the beginning. His story touched people so deeply that it spread, inspiring food drives from Los Angeles to Pensacola, Fla., to a school in Ohio -- all in this past week alone.
Foster lived long enough to see his dream come alive, before dying in his mother's arms Friday morning.
"Follow your dreams, don't let anything stop you," Foster said.
At the Union Rescue Mission, 2,500 meals have been served in Foster's honor. On the paper bags, volunteers write, "Love, Brenden" in marker to keep his legacy alive.
"When I told him he was dying, he cried," his mother recalled. "And he said, 'When I get to heaven I'm going to ask God why it had to be so soon because I had so much more I wanted to do.' Everything that he wanted to do was to help others and to benefit others."
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