Cayden Taipalus, 8, is a good kid with a golden heart who lives in Michigan. Cayden, a third grader at Howell’s Challenger Elementary, took matters into his own hands after witnessing a friend being refused a hot lunch due to a lack of funds.

When Cayden watched his classmate have a cheese sandwich for lunch instead of a hot one because his money was low, he was perturbed. Cayden’s mom, Amber Melke-Peters, recalled that he was still visibly distressed when he got home from school.

So that he would never have to witness something similar again, he asked his mother how he could aid his friend. Cayden responded to this problem by creating a fundraising website titled “Pay It Forward: No Kids Goes Hungry.” Cayden created a website to solicit donations from those close to him; he planned to use the funds to reimburse his buddies for lunches they had previously charged but not yet paid for.

And that wasn’t all Cayden did! He even solicited recyclables from neighbors in order to supplement his income. After Cayden paid off his classmates’ lunch obligations, he asked the lunch ladies to put extra money into the accounts of the children who were short. Cayden has successfully raised around $7,000.

This amount has been used to provide hot lunches for almost 300 children. He hopes to keep doing this until no kid ever goes hungry for lunch again.

“I couldn’t be more proud of my son,” Amber gushed. To have such an incredible understanding at such a young age astounds me. He’s got a golden soul, that guy.