When 13-year-old Erin Byrnes entered Joseph's House charity raffle, she was breaking the rules. The guidelines clearly stated that you had to be 18 to enter the raffle.
But Erin was intent on helping. She knew that if she bought some raffle tickets, the money would go to babies in need. Joseph's House gives mothers with unplanned pregnancy a place to go when they don't have any other options.
Sometimes children can surprise you with their compassion, 5-year-old Na'ama spent her summer raising money to help her sick brother.
Every Thursday, Erin volunteers and babysits those babies whose mommies are still figuring things out. So Erin decided to collect cans to earn money to buy raffle tickets.
She secretly entered the raffle, only writing down her last name so no one would tell her she couldn't enter, so that those families could get that money.
Then the unthinkable happened: The night of the big gala where the winner was announced, Erin won. However, what she did next left everyone's jaws on the floor!
See the rest of the story below!
h/t: Syracuse/Fox News
Joseph's House is an organization that helps expecting mothers with unplanned pregnancies. When women and children have nowhere else to turn they can turn to Joseph's House for support.
Thirteen-year-old Erin Byrnes and her mother Jeanie volunteer there every Thursday. They do chores and help watch the babies.
Joseph's House was raffling off a brand new $70,000 SUV. The Chevrolet Tahoe raffle got 26,000 entries. However, 60 of those entries belonged to 13-year-old Erin Byrnes.
One day, Erin overheard her mother saying that Joseph's needed to raise more money. Erin decided to collect cans and bottles. She earned $500 through her collection efforts and bought 60 raffle tickets. She wasn't even allowed to enter the raffle.
The guidelines said you had to be 18 or older. But she wanted to give Joseph's House that money so she only entered her last name.
To everyone's surprise, she won…
But what stunned everyone? She gave the car right back to the charity.
"Joseph's House is very important to me. They need the money more than I do. And if you saw those babies, you would have done the same thing," Erin said.
"We never dreamed in a million years that Erin would win," said Jeanie. While the family with four children of their own could have used the car, Erin knew that there were families out there who needed it more.
See how Erin made her mommy proud in the video below!
Please SHARE if you think Erin Byrnes is wise beyond her years!
