Fayette County 14-year-old launches foundation to support local veterans

One Fayette County middle schooler is proving that no one is ever too young to make a big impact.

Spencer Novak is just 14 years old, and he's already leading a mission to give back to those who have served our country.

Coming from a long line of veterans, Spencer was inspired to find a way to honor veterans' service and sacrifice. That's why he created the Fayette Freedom and Honor Foundation.

"Their trade of service always just came down on me, and I figured the best way to serve my community was giving back to the veterans who fought for this great country," Novak said.

The foundation's mission is to support local veterans in nursing homes.

"We're dedicated to serving the local veterans of our communities, specifically in nursing homes," Novak said. "Our model is, 'Honor their service, provide their needs.'"

This weekend, he held a donation drive at Laurel Highlands Middle School, collecting toiletries, socks, slippers, blankets, and non-perishable food items that will now be delivered across seven nursing homes in the county.

Spencer says seven truckloads of items were donated, completely exceeding his expectations.

"I was just so shocked by our community, and I thank them so much for how they've rallied behind our cause," he said.

Spencer says this is just the beginning and hopes to continue building the foundation that was created just last month. He says he's thankful to those rallying behind the cause.

"Our goal is just to honor every single one of those veterans of Fayette County, no matter what they've done or how they've served or what branch of the military they were in," Novak said. "We're looking to honor every single one of them. We don't want one veteran forgotten about."