**10-Year-Old CEO Rallies Friends for Food Drive to Support Colorado Springs Families During Government Shutdown**

**COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.** – While many were focused on the impacts of the ongoing government shutdown, one 10-year-old Colorado Springs entrepreneur saw a need and took action. Gio Bishop-Falu, founder and CEO of “CEO Squeeze,” organized a food drive on Friday, rallying his friends to help local families struggling to make ends meet.

Moved by the thought of other children going without meals, Gio was inspired to make a difference. “These other kids don’t get to eat,” he said. “It makes me want to help them. Why don’t they get to eat, and we get to eat?”

Realizing the task was too big to tackle alone, Gio reached out to his friends, 11-year-old Anthony Aliaga and 9-year-old Micaela Aliaga, for help.

“I couldn’t do all this by myself,” Gio explained. “So, I called my friends and said, ‘Hey, you guys want to go to King Soopers?’”

His friend Anthony was initially surprised by the request. “When he told me to go grocery shopping, I was confused,” Anthony recalled. “But then he told me we’re going to help people. I was really excited.”

Micaela shared his enthusiasm. “He basically wanted to buy food to fill the pantry, and we said okay!” she added.

The young team approached their shopping trip with a thoughtful strategy, carefully considering how to maximize their impact. “We discussed what we can buy, if it was a high price or a low price,” Anthony said.

Their efforts earned the praise of local community leaders, including Iris Gullatte, Vice President of the Iris and Rodney Gullatte Foundation, who was impressed by the young boy’s initiative and compassion.

“He’s 10 years old, and he’s already thinking about how to make the world a better place,” Gullatte said.

The food donations gathered by the children will directly benefit families in the Colorado Springs area affected by the shutdown. For Gullatte, the children’s project serves as a powerful reminder of the good that can be done when people decide to act.

“There’s always a possibility to help someone somewhere,” she said.