12-year-old finds purpose making toys for shelter animals

I posted this story for two reasons. First, it shows how easy it is to discover a genuine purpose for your life. If a 12-year-old can find purpose doing something this simple, so can you. Second, the young man is repurposing discarded toys — a double win!

When 12-year-old Zach Hartman sees something broken and discarded in the trash, he tries to think of a way to give it a new purpose, WTVT-TV reported.

For example, he repairs torn stuffed animals and turns them into toys for dogs and cats living in animal rescues and shelters. By inserting squeakers inside and sewing them up, the toys bring joy and comfort to scared and lonely pets.

Now Zach is teaching honor students at his elementary school how to do the same thing — something else adults can do to multiply their purpose while connecting to a younger generation and teaching them a valuable life skill.

Thanks to the students’ effort, more than 400 stuffed animals have been repurposed and donated to the Humane Society of Tampa, the station reported.

“”I think it’s awesome because volunteering is a great way to show that you can help out in your community,” Zach told WTVT. “These students are volunteering for my project.”

In turn, they are making their community a little brighter, which is what genuine purpose always does.

Just think of the impact similar projects could have:

• Rescuing stuffed animals and toys for kids in homeless shelters.
• Refurbishing board games, replacing missing parts and repurposing them for youth shelters, hospitals and even homes for seasoned citizens.
• Repairing and washing clothing or shoes so they can be reused by single parents who have a tough time buying clothes for their growing children, especially when the kids outgrow it within a few months.

Imagination + effort = purpose and, in some cases, repurpose.