When a 10-year-old boy, identified only as Ben, washed his grandmother’s headstone in Derbyshire, UK, he had no idea what that small act would start. His mother Michelle explained that Ben was inspired when he saw graves that looked “a bit sad” and realized that not everyone has the time or ability to maintain them. He quickly decided to offer the service to neighboring families, and it wasn’t long before the media picked up the story. Ben’s service — Guardians of the Headstones — had immediate takers, and the response on social media was huge. Before Ben knew it, people began offering him free haircuts, sweets from a local shop, free photography, and the list goes on. Even his teacher revealed in an assembly what Ben had been doing. Ben indicated that after his classmates saw what he’s been doing, some of his friends were a lot kinder to him. “It’s just crazy when you’ve been so important to people’s lives you just get treated with a bit of higher respect,” said Ben. He has decided that 10% of everything he makes will be donated to the charity Stevie Stones, which provides free headstones to families who have lost children.
