BonnerSprings.com

Brennen Garnett

When it came time for Brennan Garnett to celebrate his 11th birthday, his gift requests gifts weren't for the usual video games or toys.

On the invitation to his birthday party, Garnett asked his party-going friends to bring a food item that could be donated to a food pantry instead of a regular gift.

His friends happily complied, and on the day of his actual birthday, Garnett and his mother, Renee Garnett, donated seven bags of groceries to the Vaughn-Trent Center in Bonner Springs.

"I felt like I had made a good decision to not be selfish," Garnett said of surprising the center with his donation.

The idea for the unique birthday presents came from his older brother, Ian, who asked the same thing of his friends a couple years earlier on his 11th birthday. The Garnett family, which consists of three boys - Ian, Dylen and Brennan - have always tried to be community-minded when it comes to donating to charities.

Brennan attends Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic School, in Shawnee, which has special ties to the Vaughn-Trent Center. Because the school was once located in Bonner Springs before the building burned down, Garnett said his school puts on many clothing and food drives for the center. He said he chose Vaughn-Trent for his birthday gifts because he was familiar with the center and its work.

When he brought in the groceries, which were a surprise to the staff, Garnett said he was thanked profusely. He said the staff told him that the food pantry was running out of supplies and was in need of help. Garnett said that the cost of gas and the economy was partly to blame for that fact.

"It's important to me because I can know that other people not as well-off as us are doing better because of me," he said of his work with charities.

Garnett's favorite charity, however, involves clothing drives. He said he likes knowing that people are staying warm all around the area because of his donation.

Renee Garnett said that volunteering and charity was something she and her husband, David, always tried to instill in their children as they were growing up.

"We've been very blessed," she said. "We've always tried to teach the importance of caring for others and using our blessings to help other people."

She added that she couldn't be more proud of Brennan for deciding to use his birthday presents to better the lives of others.

"I was so proud of him," she said. "It's not easy to turn down a bunch of toys. It's good to know what we're teaching is sinking in."

In addition to the work he does within his school's charity events, Garnett is volunteering this summer working with younger students at Vacation Bible School and in the past has participated in the Clean Streams Project, which cleans up area parks.

While Brennan said he was proud of his donation, he didn't want all the focus to be on himself. He said he hopes that other young people choose to get involved and make similar donations in the future.

"It's saying that even at a young age people can make a difference," he said.

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