7-year-old boy donates piggy bank to help people devasted by Hurricane Ian: 'People need this'

Hurricane Ian has wreaked havoc in the state of Florida with houses destroyed, businesses closed and people suffering extreme losses. The citizens along with the authorities are doing everything they can to help those who are adversely affected. There have been many heartwarming stories and instances of bravery, courage and kindness where people have come forward to help one another. As we reported earlier, a firefighter in St. Augustine undertook multiple rescue missions to save stranded people, including a little girl. In another report, a TV reporter rescued a nurse trapped in a car during the hurricane. More recently, a 7-year-old boy decided to do what he could to contribute to the aid of Florida residents. Dominic D'Andrea donated his entire piggy bank because he knew that the people of Florida need money more than he does, according to Fox News. "I was really saving up for a Corvette or an electric scooter, but people need this," he said in a TikTok video posted by his mother, Jaclyn.

In the video, which has more than 65,000 views according to The Epoch Times, Jaclyn can be heard saying, "What are you doing with your piggy bank?" To which Dominic responded, "people in need in Florida because they have a hurricane and their office is gonna go down and they need more stuff." He added, "Their house might go down and they might have nothing." She stated that she took the video of Dominic carrying his piggy bank to show to her husband, who was at work at the time.

Dominic and his mother went to the "Fox & Friends Weekend" on October 2 and talked about his donation. They also discussed the other ways their family is trying to help out in the relief effort after the hurricane. Jaclyn said, "It all started with a conversation Wednesday morning on the way to drop the kids off at school. Dominic asked a lot of questions: Why I was so upset and what a hurricane was, and I kind of knew where his little mind was going when we got back home.” 

TikTok users appreciated the boy for his kind and generous gesture. A user commented, "aww this is so beautiful God  bless you and your beautiful family ur amazing boy." Another said, "boy has me crying, to which Jaclyn replied, "Me too!! and he was so emotional and choked up. He melts my heart and we will be helping those in Fl."

"That’s awesome he’s so sweet and has a big heart," yet another user commented.

The death toll from Hurricane Ian in Florida increased to at least 101 on Monday, only days after the storm made landfall at Category 4. Since last week, more than 1,600 people have been rescued from Hurricane Ian's path in regions of southwest and central Florida, according to Gov. Ron DeSantis' office. As of Monday night, more than 491,000 homes, companies and other customers in Florida were still without electricity, reports CNN.

This is a developing story, and we’ll update you as we learn more. Information about Hurricane Ian is swiftly changing, and Upworthy is committed to providing the most recent and verified updates in our articles and reportage. However, considering the frequency of developments, some of the information/data in this article may have changed since the time of publication. You can get official alerts and updates on Hurricane Ian from the National Hurricane Center.