ORANGE — A Ralph C. Mahar Regional School alumnus has started a crowdfunding page to provide Thanksgiving meals to as many people as possible this month.
Heartbroken to think about the increased number of families likely unable to enjoy a hot meal due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic fallout, Pedro Mattos, 22, decided to try to do something about. So he crafted a GoFundMe page last week so people can donate cash for the cause.
Mattos established a $4,000 goal to feed 100 families and the account had received $5,220 as of 4 p.m. Wednesday.
“I’m collecting and raising as much money as possible right now,” Mattos said, adding that he plans to write checks to a few local organizations that can purchase Thanksgiving food and give it to families in need. He estimates it costs $40 to provide a meal to a family. The account can be found at bit.ly/38yBGjz.
Mattos, who recently bought a house in Belchertown, said he was a Key Club member while at Mahar and participated in annual can drives around Thanksgiving.
“And I figured that club, as well as other organizations in the area, needed a little bit more help,” he said.
According to the page, Mattos donated $1,000 to the cause.
A native of Brazil, Mattos graduated from Mahar in 2016 and the next year started a house painting business through the Young Entrepreneurs Across America, a Michigan-based training company that develops young entrepreneurs through a program called Student Painters. He started the business during his year at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Mattos dropped out of UMass and helped Mahar classmate Adam Suzor launch Modo gym out of the Orange Innovation Center, and now he works as the director of business development for Self-Publishing School, an online education company that teaches people how to write, market and publish their first book. Mattos has written two books himself.