Photos courtesy of Danielle Sharits Charlie Sharits of New Ulm spent Wednesday delivering meals he bought with money raised on a Go Fund Me page for his birthday. Above, he delivers breakfast pizzas from Happy Joe’s to the Post Office in New Ulm.

When Charlie’s parents, Andy and Danielle Sharits asked him what he wanted for his birthday, which was April 19, he said he didn’t want presents. Instead, the family came up with the idea of raising money and buying lunches for essential workers who were out there working during the virus outbreak. Charlie thought it was a great idea, said his mom.

“We started up a ‘Go Fund Me’ page for his birthday. We put it on Facebook and asked family members that if they were thinking of getting Charlie a present, they could contribute to this,” Danielle said.

“We had hoped to raise $200, but instead, we raised $733,” she said.

Charlie and his parents figured out who they wanted to treat and which local restaurants they wanted to support, and on Wednesday they delivered.

Photos courtesy of Danielle Sharits Charlie Sharits of New Ulm spent Wednesday delivering meals he bought with money raised on a Go Fund Me page for his birthday. Above, he delivers bagels and cream cheese from Sippet Bagels and Coffee to Jefferson Elementary School. He also brought meals to United Commercial Upholstery and to River View Sanitation workers.

Starting at 7:30 a.m., Charlie delivered breakfast pizzas from Happy Joe’s to the mail carriers and clerks at the US Post Office in New Ulm. Then, it was off to Jefferson Elementary School with bagels and cream cheese from Sippet Coffee and Bagels for the teachers working there.

Lunches from Lakes on First were delivered to United Commercial Upholstery, whose workers have switched from sewing upholstery for recreational vehicles to sewing personal protective equipment for health workers. Finally, box lunches from the Ulmer Café greeted workers at River View Sanitation when they came back from their routes.

All told, Charlie’s birthday present brought 108 meals to grateful essential workers around town.

Photos courtesy of Danielle Sharits Charlie Sharits of New Ulm spent Wednesday delivering meals he bought with money raised on a Go Fund Me page for his birthday. Above, he delivers meals to River View Sanitation workers.