'No Tummies Left Behind': 11-year-old from Faribault helping feed those in need

(FOX 9) - On most Friday nights, Ella Bettner makes charm bracelets while watching Shark Tank with her mom, because the 11-year-old has an appetite for helping others.

"Proud of myself because I never thought I would get, like, this far doing it. So when I make the bracelets, I just feel proud," Bettner told FOX 9's Maury Glover.

Bettner started her own charity named No Tummies Left Behind over a year ago after she noticed some of her fellow students at Medford Elementary couldn't get seconds at lunch because they had negative lunch balances.

She goes to local crafts fairs and sells her handmade bracelets for $5 and donates the money to nearby public school districts to pay off school lunch debt.

"I like to help people all the time, but that's a little bigger of an issue that I saw. So I want to try to help that so I could help more people," said Bettner. 

Bettner also does fundraisers with local businesses that donate a percentage of their profits to her cause.

So far, she's handed out more than $13,000 to three local school districts, even though she's only in the 6th grade.

"A lot of my friends think it's really cool. Just because like, they don't do anything like it and I think they don't think that they could, and it's hard to do that, so they really think it's cool that I'm doing it," said Bettner.

Bettner is grateful her hobby can help keep other kids from having to try to learn while they are hungry, and by preventing empty stomachs, Bettner is keeping her heart full.

"I want everyone to try to be as nice as they can, even if they're mad at something. I still want them to try to be nice and if more people were nice, then the world's a better place," said Bettner.

If you'd like more information about No Tummies Left Behind, click here.