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Subscribe to RSSBrendan Haas, the 9-year-old Kingston, Mass., boy who gave a fallen soldier’s family a trip to Disney World, has done it again.
During an appearance on ABC’s “Good Morning America” Thursday, anchor Robin Roberts told Brendan that the Walt Disney Co., ABC’s parent company, would award him and his family an all-expenses-paid trip to Disney World. Plus, she said, Disney would provide VIP treatment not only for Brendan’s family, but also for the family of 2-year-old Liberty Hope Steele, whose name Brendan pulled out of a hat to award the first trip. Her father was killed in Afghanistan.
Brendan responded to Roberts in a Skype interview: “We can’t accept a trip to Disney but we have many more people who would like to have an all-expenses paid [trip] through the raffle, so we can do another raffle.”
Earlier: Boy, 9, gives away Disney World trip to family of fallen soldier
Haas earned the first trip through a trading contest through the "Soldier for a Soldier" page he and his mother, Melissa, set up on Facebook to help out a military family. He got the idea from the story of a man who traded up from a red paper clip to a house.
After Brendan's TV appearance, fans posted remarks on his Facebook page such as, "You are so amazing and have such kindness and a big heart" and "You are an inspiration to me."
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Leave a Comment:
Wow !!! This kid just makes me realize that there still are good people in the world.
Maybe there is hope for the future after all.
I wish he were old enough to run for president.
Way to go Kid!
This is so unfair! I WANT A TRIP TO DISNEY WORLD!!! PUT MY NAME IN THE HAT! xD
Why is this so unfair? What did you do to deserve your name in the hat? Just curious.
Even if he isn't old enough let him run. He couldn't do no worse than what has been there all ready. And I'm not talking about anyone specific.
Newswinner101, are you daft. Or just a Troll. What's unfair is these little kids growing up without their Fathers and Mothers. I'm sure any one of them would kick Mickey in the jimmy and willingly never enter Disney World if it meant their parent came home.
The boy restores my faith in humanity...too bad the internet trolls outnumber kids like this.
They won't if I have MY way about it, SpyderGirl, heh-heh-heh...(revs up a chainsaw).
This young man is being raised by such wonderful parents! 'So refreshing to hear stories like this instead of the bad and the ugly that we normally hear of.
We could all learn something from this kid.
we could all learn to help this young man in his quest anyone have any ideas
This is what makes me proud to have given 27yrs of my life in the service/defence of this nation.
This young man deserves the "Freedom Medal"!
oldotto2, THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE!
U.S. Navy, 1979-84
oldotto2 & Michael 267231: THANK YOU GENTLEMEN FOR YOUR SERVICE TO OUR COUNTRY!! Blessings to you both and your families.
Thank you both for your service! And you're right, boys like this is what this country is all about.
Having compassion for the needs of others shows strength - not weakness. Once again, this young man sets an example that some adults don't get. We're all in this nest together. Good work!
Michael-267231: My love and respect goes to you and all of our wonderful vets!!
Brendan Haas, you have a heart of gold. I think you should be the President of these United States.
Your love for fellow man is much greater than any person running our country. God Bless you always and I totally admire you for your unselfish kindness and the love you share with another human being(s) who will not be raised by their father(s) because they laid down their lives for us.
Thank you Brendan, you're awesome!
Young Brendan gives me real hope that some children in the USA are caring and willing to give something of personal value to others. Well done Brendan Haas.
His parents must be bursting with pride. Good job, mom and dad.
Brendan has the most wonderful set of parents. Not only once, but twice, he has thought of someone other than himself. Way to go Brendan!!!!
I read stories of young boys and girls performing acts of kindness for others, often strangers. Maybe we should turn the world over to them. My generation (I'm 60) is not doing a very good job.
lived in philly.. had a young teenager, who with his own money, made sandwiches and walked the streets feeding the homeless... his name TREVOR, Brendan reminds me so very much of him Trevor now has a big charity going..
Fills your heart and makes you want to be a better person. Great role model for all.
I bet all the billionaies read this and are gonna start giving their money away. Peole like this give me hope that everyone doesn't worship the almighty dollar and material possessions
if these billionaires start giving money away it woould be wonderful, just as long as it's not a photo op
gramconnie - I am sorry you feel that way because the men that are in business and do make a great deal of money are very generous. The one that are not generous are folks like Al Gore, the Hollywood folks of today, the folks that are busy putting down these quiet ones. You do not see all the good that is being done by these individuals because they do not announce it. They do not feel a need to pat themselves on the back. Mitt Romney donated over $4Million last year to various charities but our Veep Joe Biden gave $300. That is an example. Donald Trump is always donating to many causes and raising money for many causes. He works hard behind the scenes for make a wish. Then the rest of America is very generous - and for that we are most greatful because in America everyone counts. One person that does nothing generous in his life but sit like Scrooge on his money is John Corzine. He does not contibute to anything. He is a billionaire. I am sure there will be someone with more money than we have will donate and start some sort of foundation for this very thing. Brendan may even be consulted. Don't put down every person that has made it in this world.
Iv'e always heard that an average person like me donates more to charity than the millionaires and billionaires percentage wise. Noone paid me 8 million dollars for my babies pictures and they aren't any less special than Jessica Simpson's baby. This country is so out of control. Paying all these celebrities ridiculous wages to act stupid But then you get this idiot saying we are all jealous of their money. If taking off your clothes doing sex vidioes and not cutting the embilical cord from momma Kris is being a good business women Don't want any part of it
Gracieb14, I'm sorry you had to turn a public celebration of a child's generosity into a biased political commentary on who gives what - especially since it's loaded with distortions. Concentrate more on your own giving, and you would have less time to worry about seeing what you want to see in the donations of others.
Please, give your UNBIASED opinion, regardless of political affiliation. (sarcasm on the side)
Look, there are millions of people that give publicly and anonymously all over this country (Republican and Democrat, religious affiliations of all kinds, races of every color). Because of judgemental people like yourself who takes only bits and pieces of information to twist (the Al Gore, Hollywood folks, Romney and Biden comments, etc) we sully the good comments and good wishes on this board.
You have no idea how much charity is out there by people who are known and those unknown. The person you look down upon that has shabby clothes that brings a peanut butter sandwich every day could be a millionaire that supports a scholarship at the local college. The spiffy yuppie with the latte and the sports car that teaches at Sunday School could be bilking money from the company every day and stealing a penny from the 'take a penny' pile to put in his pocket.
Unless you know completely, you don't know. (And that includes the John Corzine comment)
CBLANKSTIR - your comment is so right, I will only say this re the ROmeny Biden comment - before anyone compares what each man donated - compare their declared incomes first (Biden made less than a Million last year).
Wouldn't it be nice if Disney would award trips to the familes with children of all fallen soldiers, they could set aside one weekend each month to provide these trips and make it special for those families.
I agree with you - it would be nice for them to have something give them a smile!! Thank you to Brendan for your kindness and generosity. Thank you to those who serve/served this nation, both living and fallen!
For those who have a family member serving our country and aren't aware: Disney actually offers decent discounts to military families (i.e. WDW 4-day pass for $138 instead of $243 plus disc on lodging). The also have a "Heroes Work Here" initiative for veterans.
This a lot more newsworthy than Kim getting flour thrown on her or losing some of her material thing from the airline or her whole life in general
We could all learn something from this kid. This young man is being raised by such wonderful parents who have taught him kindness, to think of others rather than himself and that the world is a place where people help each other. He took that knowledge, acted on it and changed the lives of not only one family but two. Well done Brendan, well done.
May we all look to change the world in small ways.
Nice job, Brendan. Now cut it out kid. You are making the rest of us look bad! LoL
Bernie Madoff could have used parents like this!
Please, someone, arrange for this kid to tutor Mr. Romney for the next several months. It might take hundreds of hours but some of the kid's compassion & generosity might rub off on Mitt. No, on second thought, forget it. He won't ever get it & the kid has much better things to do with his time. Romney will never have the slightest idea about how the 98% live and think. His bubble is inpenetrable.
Why do so many people insist on bringing politics into a forum that has NOTHING to do with politics!?
This young man has done something incredibly selfless.
Lead by example, rather than denigrate someone else.
Brendan... YOU should have received the Medal of Freedom from President Obama, but he chose to give it to an old drug user Bob Dylan.
You are an inspiration for not only your peers, but for ALL to look towards.
Lets lower the minimum age for the office of the Pesidentcy and get Brenden on the ticket. You get my vote. At such a young age already having people look up to you. Keep up the great work!
Gracie, I did not feel that gramconnie was putting anyone down. How did you get that impression from her post? And, by the way, assuming you are not his accountant, how would you know what Corzine, Gore or any of the "Hollywood folks" are giving to charity? Maybe, like those who you revere, they just go about it quietly. How can you know who does give, and who doesn't? I don't know if you are America's stingiest person, or its most generous, and you don't know that about me, or about anyone else.
Chuck in the case of Biden and Romeny - their tax returns have been published. and NPR did a piece comparing the donations from each after folks made noise about Romeny donating Millions and Biden being cheap, they pointed out how hard it would be to donate millions if you did not earn millions.
I suspect you are correct about a lot of the others mentioned that they do go about it quietly.
Thanks for that INFO Holly. I think that I actually do care about politicians and office-holders and the extent to which they have charitable tendencies. I appreciate your taking the time to reply.
There are alot of children out there who have great spirits and big hearts. Personally I think that if our leaders in office would spend more time talking with the children of this country then some of the adults we would be in a much better place then we are currently.
This kid is a Saint. Whatever he wants in life, I pray he gets it.
Does everything have to be about politics? Where does one turn a story about a generious little boy, into a political conversation? Think of things in a positive way, and argue later. This is not about politics or who Obama gave an award to. Obama is allowed to give awards to who he wants. Obama must be giving away something to the right person, because he is the President. Now focus on children, not political issues. This is not the place to state your political views. Find a fit page, and post your comments there. Otherwise, stick to the story, of the little boy giving away his Disney vacation to the child of a fallin soldier. Comment on the little boy, and keep your political views to yourself, because it is pertaining to the subject matter.
Amanda I was not focusing on political issues in my comment but since you brought it up. I think children should have a voice in how our government system operates after all they are the leaders of tomorrow and if children like this young man hold a public office someday I can't help but think what a better world we would be living in.
This child has the biggest heart. I am pleased to see that our future is in the hands of generious people. Prey this little boys grows up to be a leader, because he will lead with compassion.
Boy what the White House can learn from this child....Let a Child to lead the way..
White House.....don't stop there, the Senate and House of Representatives (which should be renamed, House of Self-Representation) and our local state officials should learn from this. Who knows maybe the lobbyist, no that's asking too much.
Heck, I may even do something nice for a change....way to go young man.
Also business leaders and businesses. In fact business leaders need this lesson more than our political leaders - since we keep saying the private sector should lead the way.
either this kid has everything in life or he dont like disney...
At least he not a drug dealer from Panama. That would be crazy.