Oct 10, 2012 4 min read

Emi Curcio learned a valuable lesson at age 10 — it’s better to give than to receive.

And that’s exactly what Emi did. As her 10th birthday approached, Emi didn’t think about all of toys and gifts she would receive like most children do.

Instead, Emi’s thoughts turned to the less fortunate in Fayette County, especially those families and children who don’t have enough food to eat.

Emi, daughter of Trina and Chris Curcio of Perryopolis, came up with a special idea for her birthday celebration — to collect food and raise money for the Fayette County Community Action Agency Inc.’s food bank.

Her parents and Jamie Brink, project manager of the food bank, helped to make Emi’s idea become a reality.

“I got the idea after I saw a story on the television news,” Emi said. “I saw that the Greene County food bank didn’t have enough food for the people who needed it. I thought about doing something to help hungry people in Fayette County.”

Emi, a fifth-grade student in the Frazier School District, celebrated her 10th birthday on Sept. 19. Trina and Chris Curcio planned a special birthday celebration for their daughter from 6 to 10 p.m. Sept. 29 in Emi’s back yard at 305 Constitution St., Perryopolis.

The printed birthday invitations read “Help us celebrate Emi’s 10th birthday and help the Fayette County Food Bank in the process.”

The birthday celebration featured a bonfire and a game of glow-in-the-dark Whiffle ball, Emi’s favorite game.

“Come and play ball or just hang out around the fire and make some s’mores,” the invitation read. “Instead of gifts, Emi requests that you bring a nonperishable food item to be donated to the food bank.”

Shortly after her party was over, Emi wrote a thank-you note to her friends and family members that included her photo surrounded by the food she collected for the needy.

“Thank you from the bottom of my heart,” Emi wrote in the letter. “Together, we collected 213 items of food and $125 for the Fayette County Food Bank. Your generosity is appreciated and will help those in need.”

Emi and her parents delivered the food and money to the food bank on Oct. 4.

“It made me feel happy to do this,” said Emi, who is hoping to conduct another food drive on her 11th birthday.

“My cousin asked me why I didn’t want to get presents,” Emi said. “Then he handed me a can of corn. I told him that I wanted to help the hungry people.”

Emi said she hopes the food and money she raised will help other people.

“I hope people eat the food and have a full stomach when they go to bed at night,” Emi said. “I don’t want people to go to bed on an empty stomach.”

“Emi likes helping other people. That’s just the way she is,” said her mother. “We actually didn’t know how much food she would collect. Within the first 10 minutes of the party, we had a whole bag full of food.

“I thought it was a nice idea. Emi is a very good kid,” her mother added.

Her father said he is proud of his daughter.

Brink said the food and money that Emi collected will help the food bank to eliminate some of the hunger in the county at a critical time when state and federal funding has been cut, the unemployment rate is high and the price of gasoline and food is skyrocketing.

“The food will be used to supplement the food boxes,” Brink said. “We had a little girl who did this last year. We would like to see more kids get involved in helping the food bank. It’s a really great way for them to learn the importance of helping other people.”

For more information about the food bank or to hold a food drive, call Brink at 724-437-6050, extension 1264.