8-year-old raises more than $4,000 to pay off his elementary school’s lunch debts

An 8-year-old boy in Washington raised more than $4,000 to pay off the entire sum of lunch debts at his elementary school — and beyond.

Keoni Ching recently sold handmade key chains as a way of raising money to cover the fees owed by fellow classmates at Benjamin Franklin Elementary in Vancouver, a city in southern Washington, CNN reported.

He sold the key chains for $5 each — and the demand quickly grew as news of his mission traveled.

“We have sent key chains to Alaska, Rhode Island, Minnesota, Arizona, all over the country," his mother, April Ching, told CNN.

“There was one lady who said she wanted $100 worth of key chains so that she could just hand them out to people. ... There were several people who bought one key chain and gave (Keoni) a hundred bucks. It was absolutely amazing how much support the community showed for his whole project.”

Keoni ended up raising $4,015 and is using the money to pay off the lunch debts owed by students not only at his school, but at six other schools as well.

The 8-year-old was inspired to make a difference after learning of the $27,000 worth of donations made by San Francisco 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman to pay for meal debts last year.

Keoni had a simple reason for why he chose to make key chains to serve his goal.

“I love key chains,” he told CNN. “They look good on my backpack.”