POCATELLO — After finding academic success for his autistic son at Pocatello Community Charter School, a local man is giving back to teachers and the disadvantaged this holiday season.

What started as a simple gesture of kindness to the educators at Pocatello Community Charter School has transformed into a grassroots giving campaign.

Matt Hansen, a local real estate agent and parent, first sought out the charter school after his son Ryland struggled in traditional classrooms due to his autism and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

“We got him into PCCS, and he really thrived there,” Hansen said. “It’s more like experience-based, interactive learning.”

Appreciative of the educators’ efforts and desiring to give back to them in some capacity, Hansen sought out ways he could contribute and found a series of Amazon wish lists in the PCCS supporters Facebook group, which functions similarly to a parent-teacher association.

The items on the list were often simple, such as a pack of 10 fuzzy hats for students who participate in school hikes up Mink Creek or other classroom essentials.

“That was something I could get behind,” Hansen said. “All the items on the lists were really about the kids and improving the learning environment for them.”

Hansen mulled between purchasing wish list items or donating a large sum but had the idea to include other parents and then match their financial contributions up to $1,000.

“I just wanted to donate to something that I thought was really a good cause and a good thing to get behind,” Hansen said. “I figured, if I was donating, maybe there was the possibility that others wanted to, and we could double the funds.”

Hansen put the word out to fellow parents, who pitched in $561 to the cause. Despite not meeting the $1,000 matched total, Hansen and his wife Ashlyn decided to donate $1,000 to the charter school bringing the total to $1,561.

The funds were then entrusted to the PCCS Parent-Teacher Organization, which distributed the donations to the eight “crews,” or teaching groups, which oversee around 25 children each.

But Hansen’s altruistic endeavors didn’t end there. Inspired by his grandparents’ involvement in the community years ago with their furniture store, The Backroom, Hansen wants to give back in bigger and better ways.

“We need to support the community the same way,” Hansen said. “I’ve been very fortunate to have some success with real estate. We’ll sell about 50 houses this year. We’re getting support, and we want to spread the wealth. If we do well, we want others to do well.”

Hansen’s $1,000 commitment to PCCS and the community is just the start. Hansen’s goal this year was to sell 44 houses, and after beating that benchmark, he’s looking to donate to other causes before the year’s end.

“Some of the main concerns that I see in the community is that affordable housing is an issue, and where we lost the warming shelter, that’s a major community issue,” Hansen said. “So being able to help out with that and then also with food, with the recent government shutdown and just generally tough times. The Idaho Food Bank is a big cause for us, and then Valley Mission will be housing some homeless people. That’s kind of where we’re looking.”

Hansen’s recent act of kindness reflects not only the impact that educational fixtures can have on growing young minds but the efforts of reinvesting in a community that supports local businesses and their families.

“As we do better, we want to bring the community up with us,” Hansen said.