WEYMOUTH, Mass. (WHDH) — A man is paying it forward, raising money and using it to pay thousands of dollars in unpaid school lunch balances for students in Weymouth.

Dennis Brooks, a life-long resident of Weymouth, said every holiday he raises money to be donated to a local cause. This year, he said he was inspired by looking on a Weymouth community page on Facebook, where one parent said unpaid school lunch balances is a problem.

“I’m raising money to feed kids, pay off their lunch debts,” said Brooks. “They’re getting fed but they’re not getting the lunch that they want. And some of the kids just don’t care for the alternative meal. So they’re not eating, period.”

Brooks said around 1,000 children in Weymouth are behind in their school lunch accounts. He said some are not eating and others are even being teased.

Brooks raised money by getting donations and auctioning this year’s most popular holiday toys. So far, he has raised around $7,500.

“I think he’s a wonderful man for doing such a thing like that,” said Denise Oteri, who is raising her granddaughter and fell behind paying her lunch account for awhile.

Brooks plans to present the check this week and starting in January, all the lunch balances will be paid off.

“Everyone’s so generous and it gives me pride living in Weymouth,” said Brooks.

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