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Twins fundraise for children with cancer
This is the second year in a row Bradley and Jackson Park have made it their mission to raise money for the nonprofit Caring for a Cause.
MCDONOUGH, Ga. - A metro Atlanta school is raising money to help the families of children with cancer. This is the second year McDonough Methodist Academy teamed up with the nonprofit Caring for a Cause. This year, two kids raised half of the entire donation themselves.
Bradley and Jackson Parks are like any third-graders. They love "Star Wars" and "Mario Party," but they also have a passion for helping others.
"It’s not fair for other kids to have to stay in a hospital every single day, and that’s why we try to help them get out sooner, so that’s why we got all this money," Jackson Parks said.
The twin's mom, Lindsay Parks, found out about their fundraising last year when she tried to give the boys money to donate at school.
"And he said, ‘No Mom, I gave all of my allowance,’ and as a mom, it is the most sincere thing - hearing that from your child," Parks said.
The boys were also donating their ice cream money, but they wanted to help more.
"They said ‘We wish we could do more’ and I said ‘You can, but you’re going to have to earn it.’ It means more when you have to earn it," she told Good Day's Lindsay Tuman.
They did just that last year and raised $1,000. This year, they decided to double their efforts.
"Normally people wouldn’t think that they would be mowing lawns at this age," Bradley Parks said.
"No, we did way more than that. We picked up sticks, helped our papa fix his gate, and a lot more stuff like that," Jackson said.
Their dad, Jody Parks, saw the effort the boys put in, not just to raise money, but to help others in the process.
"I’m a big believer in a person can give a lot of money over time and not necessarily do charitable act, and somebody without any money can be charitable by doing tasks for others - whether it’s mowing lawns or just sitting with someone elderly, giving some company or her father needed help with the yard and different things like that," he said.
The boys raised half the donations for the entire school. They said it's to help other families. They've seen the impact of childhood cancer themselves through a family friend.
Their parents are not surprised about their boys' efforts.
"They’re pretty caring kids, and they're hard workers," their dad said.
"They’re good little boys, and we really try to teach them to be selfless," Lindsay Parks said.
The boys don't want their efforts to end here. They're already gearing up for next year.
"We’re going to raise $3000 next year," Bradley said.
The Parks family says they hope this will help raise more awareness of childhood cancer. And they hope to see more schools go gold during September to raise awareness as well.