The Widows, Orphans & Disabled Firemen’s Fund received a most unusual visitor recently. His name is Jack-Hyatt London Rosenberg. He had his fifth birthday on Halloween. And he decided to donate his entire life savings to the Widows, Orphans & Disabled Firemen’s Fund.
“This was completely on his own, his decision,” said his mother, Devora London Rosenberg. “We went with it.” Jack-Hyatt was accompanied by both Devora and his father, Michael Rosenberg, during his visit. It was clear just how proud they were of their son for choosing to give everything he’d ever saved to help others. The money, which included gifts from grandparents and pocket money for doing extra chores, totaled more than $300.
Jack-Hyatt’s interest in firefighters came about after he got to know some of his local LAFD firefighters from Station 87 through a chance run-in at the grocery store. Upon learning that there are firefighters who are on duty during Thanksgiving rather than being home with their families, her was worried about them not having a holiday meal. He decided to spend the money he had been saving up his whole life to make sure that they had a Thanksgiving dinner.
Luckily, the firefighters at Station 87 were already set for Thanksgiving. Jack-Hyatt still wanted to give his money to help firefighters, so his parents told him about Widows & Orphans, explaining that firefighting is a dangerous job and it can be hard for families when one of the parents can’t work. And so Jack-Hyatt ended up presenting his donation to the charity’s Board of Trustees in the morning before school. He was actually surprised that so many people wanted to meet him–he thought that everyone donated to help others the way he had.
What inspired someone so young to make such a big donation? Devora thinks it’s because they’ve always tried to make sure he understands “what it means to be a family and work hard for things”, and that other people aren’t always as fortunate. Indeed, when she told Jack-Hyatt that it was a lot of money to give away, his response was that he would work hard to get more but the firefighters might not be able to. “He’s a good kid. He has a really good heart.”
Michael said that “it was all about the experience” for his son, as it is one that Jack-Hyatt will certainly remember for a long time. For the rest of us, it’s a heartwarming example of true selflessness, one that perfectly captures the spirit of the season of giving.
By Jody Houser