In this week's episode of This Hits Different, Shelby Cassesse tells the Fan Morning Show about Upper St. Clair student Isaac Bernstein, who dresses up as the Grinch to help local families in need.
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USC student goes Grinch for a cause
Easter 2020. Just a few months into a pandemic, many were avoiding the outside world.
For a small fee, Upper St. Clair's Isaac Bernstein stopped at local houses to hide eggs for excited kids to find the next morning.
"There wasn't much to do around Easter time, so I wanted to try to give kids a fun way to celebrate the holiday," Bernstein said.
But that money, wasn't going into Isaac's pocket.
"No one should have to worry about basic necessities," he said. "So I decided that, in my community, and if I wanted the goal of ending hunger, the Food Bank would be the perfect one to help."
All proceeds went to the Greater Pittsburgh Community food bank. It took off instantly.
"I thought it was going to be a small thing, but the community really got behind the cause and they really chipped in," Bernstein said. "We had some people who just wanted to donate who had kids too old for the event. It was really awesome to have our community unite as one in that situation."
For Easter this year, the inline hockey player, who has played internationally, stepped up his game, dressing up as the Easter bunny to do personalized virtual or in-person visits with local kids. He raised $5,500 for the food bank.
Now, the sophomore is adding to his cast of characters for Christmas, but it's not the jolly man from the North Pole, it's the grump from Mt. Crumpet.
Isaac is visiting local families as the Grinch. But this Grinch isn't struggling with a heart two sizes to small or trying to stop Christmas from coming.
He's there to play football and hide and seek, read Christmas stories, and bring candy.
"There's no negative out of this situation," Bernstein added. "It's just a good cause, spreads kindness, happiness and kind of gets families in the holiday spirit."
The Grinch's calendar is packed with over 50 appointments this holiday season, plus hockey, clubs and classes.
"It's more about time management, time efficiency and being in the right mindset, knowing the end result is something you're going to cherish your whole life" he said.
And all while providing Christmas cheer, he's raised $2,400, and in total provided 12,000 meals to families in need.
"Just to see the smile on the kids' faces and the parents' faces, they're so extremely grateful. It just makes me feel like helping and contributing," he said. "Not only to the Greater Pittsburgh community as a whole, but my local community, as well."