Last Thursday Gov. Mark Sanford stopped in the Village Bakery Cafe in the Old Village to honor Moultrie Middle School seventh grader, Ellison Karesh on his efforts in helping out with hurricane relief.

“He is a boy with remarkable poise. Here he is at 13 figuring out what giving back to others is all about,” Gov. Sanford said.

“Thank you for choosing to make a difference in others’ lives,” Sanford told Karesh.

Karesh has been busy raising money for Hurricane Katrina and Rita and more currently Gustav victims by selling beignets.

Karesh, who represented the state of South Carolina for RandomKid National Task Force, went on a trip to Biloxi, Miss. last November where he and the group planted flower beds and plants.

Karesh said that when he was digging, he would find all sorts of plastic and other debris in the ground. When he got the chance to ride around New Orleans, he was shocked at all of the devastation. Karesh said that 36,000 people are still without their homes three years later.

“I can’t imagine being out of a home for that long,” he said.

Hurricane Hannah came the day before his Bar Mitzvah. Karesh recalls being sad that his friends and family could not make it to the celebration.

Karesh is selling beignets which he enthusiastically described as pumpkin spice and cranberry flavors offered during the fall, and powdered sugar, glazed and chocolate ones offered year-round.

Gov. Sanford was presented with a basket of beignets. Karesh explained that 90 percent of the profits of the beignets goes to hurricane victims.

Ten percent of the profits goes to RandomKid.

(Helen Ravenel can be reached at helen@moultrienews.com. Read more stories online at www.moultrienews.com.)