Nolan's Wish

This was originally posted on Bubblews in September of 2014.

My son Nolan always had a desire to help those in need. If he saw a little kid at the park, he would help him get on the swing. If a puppy was running loose, Nolan would try to find the owner. If he saw a homeless person, he wanted to give them money or food.
When he was around eight years old, he decided that he wanted to be a barber when he grew up. His reason for this? He wanted to give free hair cuts to the poor. This kind-hearted boy believed that to be his calling in life, to help the poor.
Around the same age, he became acutely aware of the needy that we passed throughout our day to day routine. We live in an urban area where beggars stand outside bookshops, on street corners, within our view on a daily basis. He always wanted to help. He started asking us if we would drive around so he could give bags of food to them. He would put together a bag with a granola bar and an apple, perhaps something else. If he had spare change of his own, he would give it to them. It didn't matter that he didn't have much of his own money.
When Nolan died, we included the name of a charity organization in our city that's mission is to help the homeless and others in dire need. Many friends and family donated in Nolan's name. I've also had several friends tell me that they have given a meal to a homeless person to honor Nolan's memory.
Although Nolan's life was much too short, I do feel like he touched the lives of many including strangers who will never know his name.
I was inspired to write this post about my son after reading a post by &jmichaelvaughn this morning. Here's his post.
http://www.bubblews.com/news/8144874-a-homeless-veteran
Photo Credit: my own +Nolan +HOMELESS +Afternoon-ramblings