An 11-year-old boy has inspired his community in El Paso, United States, to do acts of kindness after a mass shooting happened in their area.
Ruben Martinez challenged members of his community to do 20 good deeds each, in honor of the people who died in a mass shooting last Saturday, Aug. 3.
Rose Gandarilla, Ruben’s mother, shared her son’s idea on Facebook last Monday, Aug. 5.
“My son has been having some bad anxiety after yesterday’s event,” she said. “After some discussion, he came to me asking if I would help him do the #elpasoCHALLENGE.”
“He challenges each El Pasoan to do 20 good deeds. One in honor of each person killed in yesterday’s shooting.”
Ruben gave several examples of good deeds people could do such as visiting a nursing home, paying for someone’s meal and donating to families in need.
The challenge has since inspired people from inside and outside El Paso to do good deeds for others.
The Rio Grande Valley FC Toros, an American professional soccer team based in Texas, visited kids in a juvenile center in response to the challenge. The team shared the moment on their official Twitter account yesterday, Aug. 7.
We are taking on the #ElPasoChallenge ❤️ Here is our first act of kindness. Our #RGVFC players visited the kids of the Cameron County Juvenile Justice Department to give them some inspirational words of encouragement. pic.twitter.com/clb58S5TAf
— Rio Grande Valley FC Toros (@RGVFC) August 7, 2019
Other Twitter users also showed their good deeds recently. A certain @HittersTwittter bought a new volleyball net to replace the broken one in their community’s park. Meanwhile, one @kim_hord gave a bus driver a bottle of cold water.
Gandarilla’s post on Twitter regarding Ruben’s challenge has gained over 5,100 retweets and over 10,000 likes, as of this writing, proof of how the community stands strong despite the tragedy. JB
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