Noah Grahl is a 10-year-old making a difference to the dogs and youth who live on the streets of Denver, Colorado. "I give dog food to the homeless kids who don't have the money to buy the dog food for themselves," says Noah.

Once a week, Noah and his family transport the gallon-sized bags of dog food that he prepares and hand the food out to people on the streets with dogs. His friends and fellow boy scouts help him raise the money to buy the dog food.

"At first, the story that I heard is he was using his allowance to go buy the dog food, and then he asked his mom for extra chores around the house to make more money to buy more dog food," says Matt Wallace, executive director of Dry Bones. Dry Bones is a faith-based nonprofit that serves homeless youth and young adults in Denver.

Noah learned how homeless pets and people helped one another survive the streets when he volunteered for the group. Without his initiative many of the dogs would not have been able to stay with their companions. "I would to have had to probably get rid of her. And that would have broken my heart," says Felicia, a homeless woman, about her dog, Angel.

"He (Noah) is in school, and has homework, and he is doing this on top of that. I don't know how he does it," says Christina, former Dry Bones client. "He saw this need. There are dogs taking the food off the plates of their owners and [Noah] says, 'I can feed them dog food that's better for them and healthier for their stomachs,'" recounts Wallace.

"I enjoy that the dogs are eating good, because I want to be a veterinarian when I grow up," says Noah.

• charity
• homeless pets