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Kylie Kirkpatrick was getting ready for work when her 9-year old son, Ryan Kyote, burst into her bedroom. The Napa, California-based third-grader had just watched a news story about a kindergarten student in Indiana who was forced to return her school lunch because her account balance couldn't cover the meal.

"Ryan was upset," Kirkpatrick told TODAY Parents. "He said, 'Mom, how does something like this happen?' Then he asked what he could do to help."

After a bit of brainstorming, Kyote-pronounced "coyote" -decided he would use six months' worth of allowance he had saved up to pay off the lunch debt of his entire class at West Park Elementary School. The bill came up to S74.50.

Though Kyote had been eyeballing a new pair of basketball sneakers, this was far more important to him. So, on May 24, he happily donated his six months of savings to the Napa Valley Unified School District food services department.

"Ryan told them, 'Please let my friends know that they no longer owe any money," Kirkpatrick recalled. "Lunch is his favorite part of the day and it broke his heart to think that it's a stressful time for some children."

The fourth-grader-to-be wanted his act of kindness to be unknown to others, but his proud mother couldn't resist sharing a photo on Twitter, where it spread quickly.

"Give this kid his money back. No child should be covering lunch debt for his class with his allowance," wrote one person. Added another: "Love this story ... Special kid."

Practicing good deeds is nothing new for Kyote. " I'll go into the garage and Ryan's bike is missing because he gave it to a friend in need," Kirkpatrick, a sign language interpreter, told TODAY parents. "One time, a friend didn't have any shoes that fit, so Ryan gave him a pair of his own shoes."

Recently, an investor got wind of what Kyote had done for his classmates and he contacted Kirkpatrick. "He wanted to give Ryan money to put in his savings account," she said.

Kyote, who recently lost his father to ALS, had another idea.

"Ryan told the man to pay it forward," Kirkpatrick said. "So he made a donation to the ALS Association. I can't even begin to tell you what that meant to Ryan. All he wants is to make the world a better place."