Brenden's mom: 'Amazing what he accomplished'

BOTHELL, Wash. -- The truckfuls of food donated in Brenden Foster's honor are now in the hands of the hungry.

The beloved boy lived long enough to see his final wish to help the homeless come true. After he died, his mother was able to see what he had accomplished.

Wendy Foster hadn't left home since her son died in her arms last Friday. But this week, she and her family went to Food Lifeline to see what a difference he made just one day before he passed.

Wendy saw boxes stacked to the ceiling marked with her boy's name to be shipped to shelters and food banks.

"This is amazing," Wendy said. "This is the biggest gift. I couldn't ask for a better gift."

And what Wendy saw was only a small part of what was left. A food drive in Brenden's honor collected enough food to fill seven semi-trucks as well as $95,000 in cash donations. And this week, Wendy herself delivered a huge check to Food Lifeline.

"I am very pleased to hand this over to you -- $43,300," she said.

"Oh, my gosh," said Camilla Bishop of Food Lifeline as she accepted the donation.

Wendy herself has needed help feeding her family. Caring for Brenden became her full-time job and wiped out the family's finances.

"We've been very close to being on the streets ourselves," she said.

While the donations impressed Brenden's little brother, it was the food in the freezer section that blew him away.

"It was like ice cream land. There was so much ice cream it wasn't even funny!" said Mitchel Foster.

Wendy also finally got to meet Northwest Harvest's Shelley Rotondo, who had so much she wanted to say to Wendy.

"I'm so sorry. Your son made a big, big, big difference," she said.

Wendy handed Rotondo a check, too --the remaining half of the donations.

"I can tell you this will be hundreds of thousands of meals this will translate into," Rotondo said as she tearfully accepted the check.

Just 67 cents can feed a family. But the sum of Brenden's wish is about more than money; it's the message.

"He was an amazing young man and he knew how times were," said Rotondo.

"And we were always on the border of being there ourselves," Wendy said.

Wendy wasn't able to grieve until Brenden was gone. She kept a brave face for her son, promising not to give leukemia any more tears. But when she saw all the donated food in person, she could no longer hold them back.

"Makes me miss him, but also amazing to see what he accomplished," she said.

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All memorial services for Brenden Foster will be closed to the public. However, those who wish to send flowers can do so to Evergreen Washelli at 11111 Aurora Avenue North Seattle, WA 98133 on Dec. 6, the day of his funeral. Red roses are said to have been his favorite.

Donations can be made to the Brenden Foster Cancer Fund at any branch of Washington Mutual Bank.