Popcorn – apparently not just for eating | How to turn popcorn into presents (besides magic)

Twelve-year-old Jonathan Werner has been a Boy Scout for over half his life – and his most recent philanthropy project was his biggest yet.

🍿 Let's rewind... Each year, the Boy Scouts participate in a popcorn-selling fundraiser, where each troop member raises money for a cause of their choice.

And Jonathan takes his popcorn sales very seriously. Over time he's developed quite an impressive pitch, regaling potential customers with the story of his history in the Scouts, as well as his reason for raising money – and it works more than an entry-level investment banker. 

This year, Jonathan sold $56,000 worth of popcorn 🤯. Impressive? Obviously. But it's what he did next that makes it worthy of a Positive DONUT story.

❤️ Family ties... Jonathan's father was in foster care for much of his childhood. After learning of his dad's struggles and loneliness as a kid, Jonathan decided to use his popcorn funds to buy Christmas presents for children in foster homes and shelters. 

• The dedicated Scout worked with local social workers to buy gifts for 138 children in need across four Minnesota counties. He also helped purchase basic necessities and personal care products for the kids, which they may not have had access to in their foster homes. 

🫶 Making dad proud: Jonathan surely touched a lot of hearts with his generosity. But the person with the most feels? His dad. 

• "I was in foster care from the time that I was five to [when] I got adopted at about 12, so like seven years of my childhood and I don't remember my Christmases ever really being very special until after I was adopted," Jonathan's dad, Steven Kolk, said. 
• "So having him do a project like this and knowing that where I was those years, I could have had somebody like [Jonathan], it would have been really special."