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Six-year-old orphan inspires sad strangers with gifts from the heart

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Jayden Hayes lost both parents by the time he was six.

At the age of six, Jayden Hayes is an orphan, left under the care of his aunt. He admitted he is still sad over the fact his parents are gone, but he believes people shouldn't be sad and frowning all the time. It is understandable that the young boy knows what grief looks like, and he is doing wonders with how he feels and sees the world differently.

Highlights

By Hannah Marfil (NEWS CONSORTIUM)
Catholic Online (https://www.catholic.org)
8/12/2015 (8 years ago)

Published in Marriage & Family

Keywords: Smile, Sadness, Grief, Smile Experiment, Jayden Hayes

MUNTINLUPA, PHILIPPINES (Catholic Online) - As he is tucked in bed by his aunt, Barbara DiCola, Jayden was inspired to do something to make people smile. He explained he was tired of seeing people sad and gloomy, so he went to downtown Savannah with small toys, like rubber duckies and dinosaurs, to hand out to people he thought were sad or down.


Jayden's "Smile Experiment" really did make people's days better, as they were approached and given small tokens by the boy who lost both of parents.

"It's to make you smile," he says.

According to DiCola, the activity also did something for Jayden, as he was rewarded with hugs and kisses from strangers. She explained that seeing people smile made the brave little boy more of "a ray of sunshine" that he has always been. Even during his mother's funeral, he was not all frowning despite his heart broken.

Although most people smiled back at Jayden and his wonderful little gifts, there were some overwhelmed by the kindness and happiness shining through Jayden that they cried. During coverage from a news outlet, a woman chased Jayden and gave the boy a warm hug after she was shocked with tears.

Jayden stated he collected more than 500 smiles and plans to go for more and beat 33,000. He believes he can.

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Deacon Keith Fournier Hi readers, it seems you use Catholic Online a lot; that's great! It's a little awkward to ask, but we need your help. If you have already donated, we sincerely thank you. We're not salespeople, but we depend on donations averaging $14.76 and fewer than 1% of readers give. If you donate just $5.00, the price of your coffee, Catholic Online School could keep thriving. Thank you. Help Now >

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