Young Boy Delivers 363 Pizzas to Louisiana Flood Victims

danjoseph | August 23, 2016
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August 20 was Ross Boutte’s ninth birthday.

When his mom asked him what he wanted, he gave an atypical answer for such a young man.

“I asked him what he wanted for his present, and he said, ‘Really, I know all the poor people whose houses flooded…what I would really like to do is bring them lunch,’" explained Ross’s mother, Lanie. “I suggested sandwiches and chips, and he added cookies.”

Of course, making hundreds of sandwiches is a serious undertaking, so the family came up with an alternative plan. 

“My husband suggested pizza. I said I would spend $100 since that’s what I was going to spend on Carson’s present. I decided to post it on Facebook in case any of my family wanted to chip in, too.”

To the family’s surprise, the Facebook post went viral. Complete strangers offered to donate money, and Dominoes Pizza matched the first 100 pizzas ordered with 100 complementary pizzas. 

On Carson’s birthday, 363 pizzas were served to flood victims, firefighters and police officers.

“Carson’s thing in life is that he wants to be a soldier, and he loves anyone in a position like that – cops, firemen,” explained Mrs. Boutte. “But he was in disbelief. He couldn’t believe how many pizzas we had.”

“He was confused because he said this was making him sound like a hero,” she said. “He didn’t understand why what he wanted to do was special. I told him, ‘Carson, you are a hero. Do you know how selfless that is to think of all these other people?’”

Despite the overwhelming response, Mrs. Boutte, a native of Lafayette, La., was not completely surprised at how the community came together to help the flood victims in their state.

“What sticks out the most about living here is how everyone comes together during crises like (the flood),” she said. “When I was in fifth grade, I went through Hurricane Andrew, and we were without electricity for two weeks. We went to the rec. center to volunteer, and there was a woman with no bottles for her baby. I couldn’t imagine. But that’s what we do, come together.”

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