11-Year-Old Donates $10.03 Savings to Police in Memory of His Grandfather

dinsdag 17 september 2013

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota
by Emily Abbate 2 hours ago

I think we can all agree we've seen our fair share of too-cute-for-words kids in the last few weeks. But Max Siepert, an 11-year-old from Greenfield, Wisconsin, takes the cake for me today. Two days after the 12th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, Max walked to his local police station from a friend's house nearby and told the woman at the desk he wanted to make a donation to the police. The price tag? His savings of a whopping $10.03. The kicker? Max left before the woman could even get his name!

In an effort to identify and thank the good Samaritan, the Greenfield police department posted the surveillance footage of the boy stopping by the station to their Facebook page. With the help of the local community, the police were then able to identify Siepert.

Just wait, though, until you hear WHY Max donated the $10.03. That, and what his mother did when she found out!

Max learned about the courage of the firemen and police officers who responded to the 9/11 tragedy and wanted to help out. Max's hard-earned $10.03 was made over time by soliciting donations at backyard talent shows. The 11-year-old also mentioned that he wanted to honor the memory of his grandfather, a police officer who was killed in 1974 in the line of duty. Wow, that's just too cute.

"One day that [amount] is going to make a difference," Max said in an interview for a local news station. "If every person would do that, we would have such a great world."

Now this is a kid who was raised well. His mom was so proud of him, in fact, that she actually matched his $10.03 donation. Their donation is now destined for a Wisconsin girl in need of a kidney transplant.

Watch the entire story behind Max's generous donation, here:

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How sweet is this?

Image via NBC

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Half-Brother Arrested in Murder of 11-Year-Old Autistic Boy Has a Disturbing Past

woensdag 17 juli 2013

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AppId is over the quota
by Kiri Blakeley 11 hours ago

The case of a missing autistic 11-year-old boy, Terry Dewayne Smith, took a shockingly horrific turn when he was found murdered -- and then his 16-year-old half-brother was arrested. Now more shocking news has emerged. The judge in the case said that the teen defendant had a "history of violent outbursts." The young boy reportedly may have died from head injuries, according to his father. Ugh. Does this mean that the boy had been in danger all along?

The judge did not elaborate on the outbursts, but the teen will remain in custody until his next hearing because of public safety purposes. He had also been on probation, but the judge did not say what for.

His mother, Shawna Smith, and her partner, Dennise Bugna, were in the courtroom when the teen came in wearing a yellow jumpsuit. I can only imagine what they are going through, especially since Shawna left Terry in his older brother's care when the murder happened. Terry was found buried in a shallow grave near their home, but that was four days after the teen said he saw the boy wandering away from the house in Menifee, California.

If the teen had a history of violence, then I doubly feel for the mother, who must have had her hands full already. It's not easy to know what to do with a troublesome teen. Some grow out of it and turn out to be fine adults. Others just get worse. You can get a kid therapy, medication, and give him support, but at the end of the day, you're hoping for the best.

And praying that the worst -- something like this -- doesn't happen.

Some feel that the teen couldn't have possibly committed such a heinous act. Several people were in the courtroom to support him. One friend of the teen told the Press Enterprise:

He’s a good person and I just can't in good conscience make myself believe that he did this, or would even consider doing this.

Indeed it is difficult to believe. Terry was missing for days, while his half-brother joined in the search for him. Their aunt, Paula Smith, told the Los Angeles Times:

The boys didn't even disagree. There was no violence ever.

The teen has not admitted to anything yet, nor has he denied it, so we'll have to see how this all concludes. The heartache this family is going through has got to be immense.

Is there anything you'd like to say to the family?

Image via KTLA

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