Four-year-old Miraya Raval emptied her piggy bank to help others in need when she presented a check for $500 Tuesday to Mr. Joe Bill Brannon of the Statesboro Food Bank.

The dark-haired, dark-eyed beauty with a smile that melts hearts, chose to give her entire savings away to provide food for the hungry. The Food Bank distributes food to thousands of families each year from its location at the old Julia P. Bryant Elementary School on Donnie Simmons Way and serves two hot meals a week through Rebecca’s Café.

Miraya became aware of the plight of the hungry on a recent trip to Savannah with her family: dad Nital, mom Nandini and 2-year-old sister Ahana.

Traveling to an Indian temple in Savannah with her family, the observant little girl noticed several people standing on the side of the road near a traffic light. She asked her father what they were doing.

“I told her they were asking for food,” said Nital Raval, Miraya’s father. “When she asked ‘Why,’ I told her they have no money.”

According to her dad, Miraya, who happened to be holding some coins, responded without hesitation, “Daddy, can I give them my money?” and then handed over her coins.

When Miraya couldn’t get the idea of someone being hungry and without money out of her head, she began asking her father questions before bedtime.

“’Can I give all my money to the hungry people?’ she would ask at night,” said Mr. Raval. “My parents told her often that we have to help the hungry. My father, Jay Raval, tells her stories on the phone and when he visits from India. He says to her, ‘Go and do the better thing.’”

To Miraya, whose favorite thing to eat is macaroni and cheese, the better thing was to give everything she’s saved in her lifetime to help others who may go without food.

Accepting the $500, Brannon, who manages the Food Bank, took one look at Miraya and said, “You’re going to be a heartbreaker. A pretty heart and a pretty face.”

 Miraya, a Pre-K student at Bible Baptist Christian Academy, is the youngest donor thus far, according to Brannon. 

“When I found out a little girl wanted to donate her piggy bank money to the Food Bank, I was thinking maybe $10 or $15,” Brannon said. “It never occurred to me it could possibly be such a generous amount. I’m floored.”

Brannon said the Food Bank rarely receives such large cash donations and the $500 will buy 100 cases of food to serve the hungry of Bulloch County.

Nital Raval hopes others will be inspired to give, just like his daughter.

“She could have spent her money on toys, but she wanted to give it away,” he said. “The world needs water and food.

 “If a little kid can do that, why can’t we?” he said.

To donate to the Food Bank, call (912) 489-3663 between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. weekdays.