Dying Boy Makes Final Wish to Feed Homeless

Nov. 24, 2008— -- Just imagine what you might do if a doctor said you have only two weeks left to live.

For 11-year-old Brenden Foster of Bothell, Wash., who was given that prognosis earlier this year after learning he was suffering from leukemia last December, the answer was probably not what you'd expect.

"I was coming back from one of my clinic appointments and I saw this big thing of homeless people and then I thought I should just get them something," Foster said.

Instead of asking for an expensive toy or a fancy vacation, he decided to focus all his remaining energy on feeding the homeless.

"They're probably starving, so give them a chance," he said.

He was too weak to do it himself, but his determination caught on near his home in Seattle, where neighbors and residents launched a food drive.

"We're going to get together tonight with about 15 people and make 200 sandwiches and then bring them downtown tomorrow," said Jennifer Morrison, one of the volunteers.

It was just the beginning. His story touched people so deeply that it spread, inspiring food drives from Los Angeles to Pensacola, Fla., to a school in Ohio -- all in this past week alone.

"I've never seen the courage that this little boy just displayed," one homeless man said as he waited for a meal at the Union Rescue Mission in Los Angeles. "I've never seen anything like it in my life. It left me speechless."

"As soon as I saw it, I'm a crybaby and I just got tears in my eyes," one woman said. "I'm trying to get my life straight and everything and that's something that's going to let me look at the better in life."

Foster, who devoted his final days to lifting others up, became bedridden; the kid who could once outrun any of his friends could no longer walk. Last week, Foster could hardly keep his eyes open, but he didn't waiver from his wish.

"'Tis the season to give," he said.