Far too often, we see and hear instances of our younger generations not fully understanding, and in some cases, seemingly not caring about the consequences of their actions.

However, 11 year-old Mathew Heighton, a student at St. Lawrence, is proof that all hope is not lost in the future generations of our country.

For Mathew, many of those traits and desires to make the right decisions are there when he, along with his parents and other students, decided to lead a charge to help others this Christmas at the Cabell Huntington Children’s Hospital.

Mathew volunteered to shave his head to fully embrace his part of the school production of Annie, where he will play the part of Daddy Warbucks. But more importantly, many children who are ill at the hospital will have their Christmas a little brighter this year. Other students at St. Joe High School and St. Lawrence Elementary also got involved by making a donation and being able to witness Mathew getting his head shaved.

While many critics feel that our country’s outlook is less than stellar, we think Mathew, and so many other youth, truly have those values needed to ensure our future is bright. We see that many of our young people are becoming the rule, rather than being the exception.

But we, as parents along with those our children learn from and look up to, must continue to strive to bring those decisions and desires out each day.