New Hampshire boy donates $11 from piggy bank to fire department: ‘Thank you for protecting our town’
Fifth grader Jackson Gilchrist told 'Fox & Friends' he didn't think his humble gesture would be on TV
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}New Hampshire fifth grader Jackson Gilchrist felt the call to give back to his community by donating his entire piggy bank funds to his local fire department.
Gilchrist rounded up a grand total of $11 — everything he had — and penned a handwritten note to the Salem Fire Department, thanking the firefighters for their service.
Jackson Gilchrist explained that he felt compelled to donate his $11 in piggy bank funds to the fire department because they "do a lot for us."
"Thank you for protecting our town and putting out all of the fires and saving our lives," he wrote.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Gilchrist and his mother, Dayna Gilchrist, joined "Fox & Friends" on Wednesday morning, alongside fire chief Larry Best, to reflect on a small gesture that had a very big impact.
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"He did it on his own," Dayna Gilchrist said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Jackson Gilchrist (center) with his mother Dayna Gilchrist as well as fire chief Larry Best joined "Fox and Friends" to celebrate the fifth grader's kind gesture to the Salem Fire Department, on April 6, 2022. (Fox News)
"It was out of his own little heart … He [kept] saying to me, ‘Mom, I just wanted to write a letter and thank them.’"
Young Jackson Gilchrist explained that he felt compelled to donate his $11 in piggy bank funds to the fire department because they "do a lot for us."
"I didn’t think it would go on live TV," he said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Here, a photo of the letter that fifth grader Jackson Gilchrist wrote to the Salem Fire Department in N.H., thanking firefighters for their service. (Larry Best)
The Salem Fire Department might receive plenty of other donations from the community already — but Best said that this one was a little different.
"It was a special donation," he said. "Just to know that it came from Jackson, who’s a fifth grader — in this day and age, that he wanted to thank the firefighters for what we do."
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"We’re just here doing our jobs and providing service to the community, and it was special to us," Best added.
The fifth grader noted that he learned about the dangers involved in firefighting in school and repeated the "stop, drop and roll" safety protocol.
Jackson Gilchrist (center, in white T-shirt) and family pose with Salem Fire Department members in Salem, N.H. (Larry Best)
Best joked that young Gilchrist is "on their list" for recruiting when he’s of age to join the department himself.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The fire department recently shared a press release praising Jackson Gilchrist for exemplifying the department's mission statement: "We're here to help."
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"Jackson’s simple gesture is really not so simple," the statement reads. "It reminds each one of us what it means to be a member of the fire service: the smallest gesture can mean the world to another."