SOUTHWICK – A 10-year-old boy from Southwick had a specific request from his friends for his birthday party last weekend.
Breton Provencal is shown with his friends during his birthday party. (Photo from Our Community Food Pantry)
A BMX (Bicycle Motocross) rider, Breton Provencal celebrated his 10th birthday last weekend with his fellow BMX friends in New York. Instead of receiving presents from his friends, Provencal asked that they donate food to the Our Community Food Pantry, a non-profit organization that provides food to families in need in Southwick, Granville, and Tolland.
As a result of Provencal’s request, he arrived at the Our Community Food Pantry earlier this week and dropped off around 180 pounds of food that came from 27 kids in seven states and two countries.
Sally Munson, the Director of the Our Community Food Pantry, was ecstatic to have the food donated, especially the juice boxes which are provided to a lot of their clients who have children.
“Obviously getting the juice boxes was really good for us,” said Munson. “We were thrilled.”
The kind gesture from Provencal was the result of his class at Powder Mill School winning the food drive competition. With the help of his parents, Provencal spread the word to his classmates and BMX friends that he wanted food donations to bring back to the Our Community Food Pantry.
Southwick resident Breton Provencal is seen with the food that he and his friends donated to the Our Community Food Pantry. (Photo from Our Community Food Pantry)
“He thought it would be cool if he could get donations, he’s very fortunate and he wanted to see how much food he could raise,” said Kasie Provencal, Breton’s mother. “The parents really got behind it.”
Breton was focused on doing whatever he could to help those in need.
“One act of kindness can make a billion more,” said Provencal. “I felt like I was doing something good.”
Munson was also very happy to see the mentorship that Provencal and his friends had received during this process.
“What’s nice to see is some of the parents working with these young children and bringing awareness to them of some of these things,” said Munson. “People don’t realize how much need there is out here.”
Kasie Provencal is hopeful that her son’s gesture will make a positive impact on other children.
“If we can inspire one kid, we can change the world one person at a time,” said Provencal.
Once Provencal brought the donations to the Our Community Food Pantry, Munson gave the young Provencal a tour of the pantry and explained the process to him. Munson also taught him how the food comes into the pantry, how a lot of their financial support is from donations and help is from volunteers.
When Breton Provencal isn’t trying to help others, he’s finding success on the BMX track. Provencal is currently ranked 17th in the country on a national point-level for the 10-year-old cruiser division.
