Left Hand Laurel: Kaden Hoppes

One highlight of the holiday season for many families is shopping for gifts. For seven-year-old Kaden Hoppes, these annual trips to the store take on a special purpose.

Kaden accompanies his mom Sarah Hoppes, Bank of the West assistant vice president, to purchase toys for the Kindness for Kids program.

“He never asks to get anything for himself,” Sarah said. “He is truly a kind soul.”

Spreading tidings of joy is a year-round activity for this second-grader. Kaden often spends time at a senior housing complex filling gaps in the hearts of those elders who consider him a resident grandchild.

Working alongside the seniors, Kaden creates wooden toy cars, which are sent to children who live in poverty in various parts of the world.

When asked why he gives so much of his time to these projects, he replies, “It makes me feel proud that I can help out other kids in need.”

Proud also describes how his parents, Brian and Sarah Hoppes, feel when considering the impact their only child has on his local community.

Still, in every schoolchild’s life there must be recreation. When asked what winter break activities he enjoys most, Kaden enthusiastically responds without hesitation, “Sledding.”