A 5-year-old boy raised more than $3,000 for Ukraine — here's how

A five-year-old boy from just outside of Calgary wanted to make a difference after seeing kids his age fleeing their homes on TV.

Liam Jackson, from Cochrane, Alta., started making buttons to help Ukrainians displaced by the ongoing war, and has no plans of stopping.

"Liam was seeing a lot of tragedy in the news with kids leaving their homes and not understanding," his mother Jennifer Jackson said. 

"He was trying to relate, why do they have to do that — and can we help? So his first thoughts were, 'Let's give them my toys give them the stuff we have.'" 

Jennifer Jackson said her grandfather, a Second World War veteran, inspired the young boy.

"Liam said he wished he could make a difference and his grandfather, his great-grandfather said 'you're never too young to make a difference," she said. 

After some brainstorming, the family came up with a plan.

They bought  a button press and got to work creating a custom peace sign design. 

On Saturday, Liam Jackson and his mother were at the Cochrane Farmers' market to sell the buttons.

The initial goal was $500, but they've surpassed $3,000 since they first started selling the buttons.

"[People] are very surprised that he's only five-years-old, and that this would be a priority for him," said Jennifer Jackson. 

The buttons have a photo of the five-year-old making a peace sign with his hands with the flag of Ukraine in as a background. 

They sell for $3 and all of the proceeds are being donated to the Ukraine Humanitarian Crisis through the Red Cross, according to Jennifer Jackson. 

"The generosity has been phenomenal, but I think that so many people are just devastated by what's happening in Ukraine. I'm not surprised that so many people have come forward and helped out the cause."