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8 year-old wins grand prize and donates money to neighbor fighting cancer

August 27, 2012

8 year-old Wyatt Erber of Edwardsville, Illinois won $1000 in a contest sponsored by First Clover Leaf Bank and donated the money to his friend and neighbor, 2 year-old Cara Kielty, who is undergoing treatment for leukemia.

The contest was a summer scavenger hunt which resulted in Wyatt and his mother driving all around town looking for clues. Being the first to submit the correct answers, the bank awarded the Erber's with the grand prize.

To an 8 year-old, $1000 is a fortune which could purchase tons of video games and brand new toys. Not Wyatt, who insisted the Kielty's take the money for Cara's expensive medical bills.

"I didn't know what I would do with $1,000," Wyatt said. "But I knew what (the Kieltys) could do with it. I knew they weren't getting a lot of work done, because they were taking care of Cara all the time."

The Kieltys were deeply touched by their 8 year-old neighbor's unselfishness and generosity, but did not want to accept his well deserved prize. Wyatt insisted, and his mother explained to the Keilty family that they really had no choice but to accept.

Rachel Case, the marketing manager for the bank's scavenger hunt delivered a statement about Wyatt's inspiring act of kindness.

"Wyatt's big heart and sense of caring is beyond his years," said Case, the marketing specialist at the bank in charge of the scavenger hunt. "We want to recognize Wyatt for the hometown hero that he is. I just get goose bumps thinking about what he did."