WILLIAMSVILLE, N.Y. (WKBW) — While working to earn his first-degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do, 10-year-old Jacob Sanacore is going above and beyond to help his community along the way.
While walking home from a baseball game, Jacob saw people living under a bridge without a home — a sight that was new to him.
"It just ruined my whole night," Jacob said.
So, the idea for his black belt community service project was born.
Jacob is collecting bottles and cans to raise money for Buffalo City Mission, a nonprofit organization working to assist the homeless population.
Jacob's goal is to raise $5,000 for the nonprofit, hoping to earn $2,500 through can/bottle collection himself, and his mother's company, Cisco, promising to match his donation.
"He's just always been very loving, very supportive. You need a shirt, he will give it to you off of his back," Wendy Sanacore, Jacob's mom, said.
Community service is not new to Jacob. He raised $1,000 last year through can donations to initially achieve his black belt — donating the money to help children with cancer.
"This year, he thought bigger," Wendy said. "His goal is loftier. He wants to do it for three months instead of one month."
Jacob attributes a lot of his character to Master Khechen's Martial Arts Academy, where he has been practicing Tae Kwon Do for the past five years.
"It's my second home," Jacob said. "Tae Kwon Do has taught me so much. It has taught me respect, responsibility, courage, how to be helpful, how to make the world a better place."
Master Christoper Schiele, his instructor, said martial arts is about more than just increasing the ranks.
"Black belt is really about changing an individual," Schiele said. "It's not getting a black belt, it's becoming a black belt."
Jacob is collecting these cans and bottles through drop-off locations, asking the community to drop donations off to his house and even driving around with his mom to pick up cans from neighbors.
"We go out every Saturday and we drive here and there and everywhere else," Wendy said. "We dropped off an entire truck-bed full of cans, the back was full and Jacob was sitting with a huge bag of cans on his lap because we couldn't even fit them in the truck."
While community service is a requirement for black belt achievements, Master Schiele said Jacob is setting a prime example.
"He is setting the standard high. Everyone that's coming up underneath him is looking up to him at what they have to do to take themselves to the next level," Schiele said.
Jacob will be testing for his first-degree black belt this December, but he is certain his generosity will not stop there.
"I want to do a community service project every year," Jacob said. "Even if I'm not getting my black belt, I don't care. I want to do community service."
Cans to help Jacob reach his goal can be dropped off at:
- Amherst Recycling Can and Bottle Redemption Center: 803 Millersport Highway, Buffalo, NY 14226.
- 12th Man Bottle and Can: 2170 Abbott Rd., Buffalo, NY 14218.
Email buffalocansforcommunity@gmail.com to contact Wendy about donating.
