13-year-old boy inspires others to find their purpose by giving
By Britt Leoni
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NAPLES, Florida (WBBH) — At 13 going on 30, Paul Campbell is known for having the answers to most of life’s questions.
“Find what you really want to do with your life, and if you do that, you will find happiness, and you will find peace,” Campbell said.
He’s wise enough to know how he likes to spend his time. He’s wise enough to know how not to spend his time.
“Not to gamble, because that’s bad,” Campbell said.
Most of all, Campbell is wise enough to know what most of us spend our entire lives searching for… his life’s purpose.
“Nobody deserves to lose their life early because of being homeless,” he said.
Campbell first learned what homelessness was at 6 years old. That’s when he decided to take matters into his own hands.
“‘Mah, I want money.’ She’s like, ‘What do you need money for?’ I’m like, ‘They need money so they can eat,'” Campbell said.
The family decided to take Campbell’s passion for helping the homeless and start with a sock drive.
Seven years later, he has donated 8,000 socks and clothes to St. Matthew’s House in Naples.
“I get to hand things out, I get to drop things off, I get to do all these things,” Campbell said. “This has enabled me to do so much more outside myself.”
“Such a little guy for such a big heart, you know it’s great,” said Rachel Fratterelli, Shelter Intake Manager of St. Matthew’s House in Naples.
When it comes to each of us asking what our own purpose may be, Campbell proves we can’t go wrong by looking inside our hearts and outside ourselves.
“I’m just hoping to kind of like pass this torch to my kid or any other kid who needs that kind of purpose in their life,” he said. “They can find it through doing what they love. Helping somebody. Helping many people. It’s just awesome.”
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