WHOLESOME: 11-Year-Old Boy Starts Viral #ElPasoChallenge To Spread Message Of Love (VIDEO)
This 11-year-old boy started the ‘El Paso Challenge’ to honor those who lost their lives.
Ruben Martinez and his mom were on the way home from a fundraiser on Saturday when they drove by first responders at the Walmart they had shopped at the day before.
When Ruben and his mom got home, they learned that a mass shooting at the Walmart had killed at least 22 people, and Ruben became “very anxious.”
The day after the shooting, Ruben asked his mom what he could do to help the victims. Ruben’s mother told her son to do something that would “show the kindness of El Paso.”
Around 30 minutes later, the 11-year-old Ruben came back with a notebook full of ideas. At the top of his notebook, Ruben had written out the hashtag #ElPasoChallenge. Ruben’s #ElPasoChallenge is for people to do 22 random acts of kindness in honor of the 22 people who were killed in the El Paso shooting.
Ruben and his mom went out on Sunday evening to kick off the challenge. The two of them bought Taco Bell and delivered it to first responders.
On Monday, Ruben and his mom drove around to several stores and public places. Ruben carried a sign reading “#ElPasoChallenge” and talked to people about the challenge.
Ruben’s mom, a local school administrator, posted the challenge on Twitter. Her hope was that some local students and school officials would help spread the message. Instead, her tweet has received over 4,00 retweets and 9,200 likes.
Twitter users from all around the world responded to her tweet with examples of how they have participated in Ruben’s wholesome challenge.
Ruben said seeing the kindness in people is already helping him move forward.