4-year-old comes up with idea to help homeless kids at Covenant House

GROSSE POINTE PARK, Mich. (FOX 2) - George Locke is 4 and a half years old - and as you might expect, he's got a whole lot of energy.

He's also sweet, picking flowers for his mom, and loving his pets.

Last year, this little boy with a big heart started asking his mom about the homeless people he saw asking for money on the service drive.

"I said well there's some people that don't have homes and so they're looking for food and shelter and everything else - so we do what we can to help," said Alison Locke.

And that stuck with George, who had an idea.

"I thought about the homeless people and wanted to raise money for them," he said.

"He kept saying he wanted to have a family race at this park to raise money," said Alison.

But they decided on a field day instead - here at their local Sweeney Park in Grosse Pointe Woods - and they decided to raise money for the homeless kids at Covenant House Michigan.

"No one should be homeless - let alone children," said Cynthia Adams.

Adams is the associate director there where 70 young people are living. She says Covenant House gives food, clothing, shelter, education, training, job opportunities and a safe and stable and supportive environment for kids ages 18 to 24.

"They come from a lot of different places," Cynthia said. "Sometimes they age out of the foster care system, sometimes they are coming from home - maybe their entire 
family is homeless - they are kind of an invisible population."

But they are not invisible to George who visited Covenant House with his mom

"It's a shelter for homeless people," he said.

It is a shelter he's raising money for, inviting other kids to his Field Day on June 1. A dollar a ticket for games and face painting plus a silent raffle with gift cards - and - a whole lot of fun.

"I want them to know that they can play games and raise money," George said.

"If he raises $20, if he raises $2,000 thousand dollars - it's the fact that he even had the thought to do it," Alison said. "And we're hosting an event to support his idea and we'll have something to present to covenant house."

Covenant House is a home for homeless youth and if home is where the heart is, then George's heart is in 
just the right place.

"For him to constantly think about that and want to do something and come up with a plan is just phenomenal, said Cynthia.

George's Charity Games is 2 p.m. Saturday, June 1st at Sweeny Park in Grosse Pointe Woods. 

The event will feature auction items, food and ice cream, and games for children and adults. All proceeds go to benefit Covenant House Michigan.

To learn more about Covenant House, go to: covenanthousemi.org/