‘Pucks for Bucks’: 8-year-old raises funds for kids with cancer one hockey puck at a time

ACUSHNET, Mass. (WLNE) — An 8-year-old Acushnet boy is on a mission to make dreams come true for kids with cancer, and he’s doing it all one hockey puck at a time.

8-year-old Jack Leandro loves hockey, and practices everyday.

His shots are more than just a hobby, for every puck shot he makes, he raises “bucks” for kids with cancer.

“I was just shooting pucks outside with my dad, and one of my dad’s friends from hockey came down the road, told me about how he used to shoot pucks for pennies, and he raised all the money for his neighbor,” Jack said.

This sparked an idea for Jack to turn his hobby into something that could benefit a cause important to him.

“His older sister had cancer for a long time and it affected Jack and hockey was his outlet and I think it just clicked when he spoke to the neighbor,” Jack’s mom, Lyndsey Leandro said.

Almost immediately after coming up with the idea, the whole family took to action.

“The first thing we did, I came home, he told me, and I said ‘okay, we’re gonna do it,'” Lyndsey said. “We just started recording him shooting pucks and it blew up.”

The first day of pucks for bucks – May 12 – marked his sister Sydney’s three-year anniversary of being cancer-free.

Since then, Jack has been shooting between 200 and 300 pucks a day.

“To be able to see him do something like this, and be behind the camera recording him…there’s no word to describe it, I’m very proud of him,” Lyndsey said.

All the funds Jack receives go towards the Rhode Island nonprofit A Wish Come True, which helps the families of kids battling cancer and other illnesses.

“My sister had cancer, and they helped me and my sister too…and it brought me through a really hard time,” Jack said.

Jack has reached his goal of $5,027, which will be matched by an anonymous donor.

So far, Jack has raised over $10,000 for kids.

“I’m just very proud of him for doing this,” Jack’s sister, Sydney Leandro said. “I know that it’ll help a lot of kids who were like me at once.”

Jack and his family are now hoping to do this every summer, and eventually make “Pucks for Bucks” a nonprofit.

Anyone interested in donating to “Pucks for Bucks” can visit the GoFundMe here.

To follow Jack’s journey, visit the “Pucks for Bucks” Facebook here.