'Winning at life': Morris County teen a finalist for national volunteer award

KINNELON — In the past three years, Peyton Triano started a profitable baking business and founded a charity that provides meals to dozens of people in need each month.

Those accomplishments, especially impressive as Peyton is still in middle school, have earned her recognition as one of the most charitable individuals in the country.

Peyton, an eighth-grader at Pearl R. Miller Middle School in Kinnelon, was one of six finalists — and by far the youngest — for the Catholic Charities USA Volunteer of the Year award. The nominees are chosen during National Volunteer Month each April to recognize the services of dedicated individuals to their respective communities.

The organization announced Lisa Namikas, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, as the 2022 winner late Tuesday afternoon.

Each year, Catholic Charities asks its 167 regional agencies throughout the country to submit nominees for the award. Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Paterson — which mainly serves Passaic, Morris and Sussex counties — sent in three names for consideration, and Peyton's generosity stood out to CCUSA executive staff members.

"I always think that it's important for everyone to give a little bit, anything that they can at all," said Peyton, who turned 14 on April 16. "I always believe that we were put on this Earth to help others ... and I thought a simple way to do that was for me to use a hobby that I really love and use that for the greater good."

That hobby is baking, which Peyton took up earnestly in fall 2019. Her mother, Jenna Triano, started posting pictures of Peyton's baked goods on social media, and before the family knew it, Eat Sweet was born.

"I never even said I have a business," Peyton said. "My mom posted it and I just got an order randomly. Then I got another baby shower order, and it just kind of took off from there."

Peyton always knew she wanted to do something for the community with the proceeds, and the COVID-19 pandemic helped her make her decision.

She saw news reports of long lines at the Father English food pantry in Paterson, where her mother had donated in the past. In January 2021, she founded Compassionate Kids NJ, where she collects donated items and distributes them at the food pantry every other weekend.

Beyond helping the church food pantry, Peyton can often be found selling food and drinks at tricky trays and other local events to help earn money for her charity. She also hosts Zoom cooking classes for young children that include a "mission" for the finished product, such as donating the baked goods to health care workers or first responders.

"She's ridiculously busy," Triano said, adding with a laugh, "I can't wait until she gets her license, because trying to keep up with her is a project in itself."

Peyton credited her mother with instilling in her the importance of volunteering at a young age. In 2015, Triano started a foundation called Henry's Halos to benefit children with brain cancer after Peyton's cousin was diagnosed with the disease, and Peyton was able to witness up close how hard her mother worked for the cause.

"I always wanted to [donate], but I just figured, oh, I'm too young to do that. How would you even start something like that?" Peyton said. "And then when I had my baking hobby, I realized that I could start a charity from that like my mom did."

Triano, however, downplayed her role in Peyton's desire to give back and said her daughter has always had a charitable side to her. She used her birthday money one year to sign up for donations to the World Wildlife Fund, and on one family trip, she ordered food to give to a homeless person outside the restaurant.

"She's like that all day, every day, in all aspects of her life," Triano said. "She's looking for the opportunity to help — it's not that it has to smack her in the face. She's eyes-wide-open, and she sees things that other people, I don't want to say ignore, but maybe don't notice. She notices, and then she can't let it go. She has to do something about it."

It is that attitude that has helped Peyton earn about $30,000 so far from her business in addition to donations solicited from the community. She hands out around 50 to 60 bags of food each month, for a total of more than 5,000 bags since starting Compassionate Kids NJ.

"Peyton is an incredible human being," said Carlos Roldan, director of the food pantry. "She has inspired others to give through her kindness. COVID-19 has brought us so many challenges, but we have been able to persevere thanks to beautiful people like Peyton. We are so proud of her on this well-deserved national recognition."

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Peyton admitted she is often uncomfortable with the attention she gets for her charity work. At the same time, she is grateful for the CCUSA nomination because of its spotlight on the food pantry, and she hopes it will show more children the benefit of giving back to their communities.

"Not only does it get the food pantry notoriety ... but it also means a lot to me that people are recognizing what I'm doing," Peyton said. "Sometimes it's hard work to set up everything, but it's always worth it when not only do I get to feed the people, but also there gets to be recognition. Hopefully it spreads to people that they can help, too, at a young age."

Although Peyton ultimately did not win the volunteer award, neither she nor her family was concerned about the outcome.

"She wins every day. She's winning at life, as far as I'm concerned," Triano said. "Recognition or not, I think she's going to make a difference wherever she goes, and that's something special. Whether everybody knows about it, whether she gets nominated for an award for it, she's going to know every day and we're going to know every day that she's making her little corner of the earth a better place, and you can't ask for more."

This article originally appeared on Morristown Daily Record: Peyton Triano finalist for Catholic Charities Volunteer of the Year