They say some children have old souls and know how to use their love in a way that we don't. It's true that before kids learn that things can go wrong — that people can break their hearts, and leave, and not everything goes their way — they can experience pure, unadulterated joy in a way that we no longer can. For example, this 6-year-old wants to make people smile. But here's the catch: he already knows that life can't always go his way. In fact, 6-year-old Georgia native Jaden Hayes has already lost both of his parents, and has had to deal with more pain in his life than most of us can imagine. Despite that pain, Hayes wants to make other people smile.
He and his aunt, Barbara DiCola, have started "The Smile Project" in an effort to collect smiles even in the bad times. DiCola told WSBTV, “I was getting him ready for bed, tucking him in, and he says ‘Auntie, I’m so tired of everybody with frowny faces. We need to make people smile.'”
DiCola told him to sleep on it, and the next morning he woke her up flooded with ideas. That's how The Smile Project was born. The pair (DiCola and Hayes) bought cheap fun trinkets and passed them out in downtown Savannah to anyone who wasn't smiling. So far Hayes has collected 275 smiles and counting.
Here's The Smile Project founder himself:
Passing out things to make people smile:
Posing with local celebs:
We could all learn a small lesson for Jaden Hayes and ~share a smile~ with someone today.
Images: WTOC Don Logana/Facebook
