It's a frosty January morning, and 10-year-old Ben Mathisen is sitting in Sunday School class at St. Matthew's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Weissport, listening as the teachers talk about a homeless family reduced to living in a campground, and how Family Promise of Carbon County is trying to help them.

Moved by the family's plight, Ben, a fourth grade student at Shull David Elementary School, pulls some of the money he received from his grandmother for Christmas from his pocket and places it in a collection can for Family Promise."Ben put in $25. Then I told him, 'you should put in the rest of your money', and he did," his twin sister Amanda says.Ben reached into his pocket again, and puts in the remaining money.The lad's selfless gift resonated within the church community and beyond."It was probably the most moving experience in my ministry so far," says the Rev. Nancy Moore. "I feel like God blessed me that I could see this happen. It really made me think 'how much have I given?'"She explains that Family Promise was explained to the children by Sunday School head teacher Cindy Macsay and assistant teacher Cassandra Barkley. They talked with their charges about homelessness - a difficult task, Moore says."What does it mean to be homeless? What does it mean to lose your house? They were trying to get them to understand what it's like not to have your house, or all of your clothes or toys," Moore says. The children asked if it was warm enough in the campers, and whether the families had enough to eat. "It's really hard to explain to little kids," she says.Macsay and Barkley made little banks out of coffee cans for their classroom. "Bring your quarters," the children were asked.The quarters came, then the dollar bills, then the five-dollar bills.Then came Ben's donation."That Sunday, after everybody went home, Mrs. Macsay came over to me and said, 'I think one of my students put $20 bills in this can'," Moore recalls. "she said, 'I think he put even more than that - I think he also put some ones in'."He just had this money in his pocket from Christmas, and he put it all in there. When the teacher talked to him about it, he said he didn't want another child like him to live another winter like that," Moore says.One recent day, Ben sits at the dining room table in the family's Lehighton home with his Mom, Tammy. Dad Jason Mathisen and Amanda are close by.Ben, a young man of few words, is nonchalant about his donation."Pastor (Nancy) Moore just called and asked if I knew that he had donated it," Tammy says. "After they came home from Sunday school, Amanda had told us. We didn't even know he did it."While pleased with their son's generosity "I'm proud of what he did," Jason says the family hesitated before deciding to allow Ben's story to made public. The Mathisens have made giving a routine aspect of life, something they do without expecting praise."Every Christmas, we go to Wal-Mart and we buy toys and clothes (for needy children)," Tammy says.The twins' birthday is Dec. 2."They've always taken their gift cards that they've received for their birthday and used part of them (to buy items for poor children). They've done that since they were little."Tammy has spoken with her children about Family Promise; she is friends with the group's director, Larissa Kimmel.Months earlier, Tammy says, Moore had talked with her congregation about the group.Efforts to reach Moore were unsuccessful.Kimmel was touched by Ben's selfless gesture."The act of generosity by Ben is so inspiring. A young boy finds out about children his age in need and feels so compelled to help them because he could not bear the thought of knowing that his peer has no bed to sleep in and no food to eat. He is a great example to all of us," she says.Kimmel hopes "this act of kindness will cause a chain reaction. I challenge others to show the same amount of compassion for others less fortunate. Our county has so many families in need. You may not see them 'sleeping under a bridge': Families often double up in a home suited for one family, because that is the only way they can afford to put a roof over their heads. When these conditions become to stressful to live under, there are not many options to turn to. The Housing Authority and other social service agencies have limited resources to spread out to all those who qualify for assistance and the unfortunately have to turn people away."Could you imagine yourself in a situation where your spouse becomes ill or is laid off from work, your income has been cut and you can no longer pay all your bills?" Kimmel asks. "This is just the type of circumstance that Family Promise would be able to help. We could provide temporary shelter, meals and case management to get the families back on their feet again."Kimmel says that nationally, Family Promise has a success rate of 89 percent."That means that of all the families that come into the program, 89 percent become self-sufficient and remain so on a permanent basis. Family Promise of Carbon County has most of what we need to get the program offthe ground, but what we are lacking are start-up costs," she says.The organization projects needing an annual budget of $80,000. That would pay for a director, utilities, transportation and other costs.It's volunteers, Kimmel says, that make the program work."Once we have our start-up costs in place, Family Promise of Carbon County can mobilize nearly 8,760 volunteer hours annually," she says. "Those volunteers purchase and prepare three meals per day for each guest."Kimmel says the value of the volunteer hours is estimated to be $175,000 and that of the donated meals, $65,000. "For $80,000, we can provide services and supports for families that may exceed the equivalent of $320,000," she says."Ben's donation will really be stretched to help others, and he has learned a valuable lesson that material things do not bring you happiness, but rather the love, compassion and guidance of others. Having a strong support group surrounding you in your time of need will lead you to make good choices for you and your family, and become a successful citizen who can give back to your community," Kimmel says.St. Matthew's Sunday School wants to raise $600 for Family Promise by May. They have $200.91 so far, Moore said.As for Ben, he's now quietly filling his piggy bank to make another donation to Family Promise.