3,000 pounds of food: 12-year-old makes tie-dye T-shirts to benefit local food pantry

A 12-year-old boy named AJ from Lillington has been working hard to donate money to his local food pantry for years. But with the sudden surge in need brought on by COVID-19, AJ found a new way to raise funds to help feed the hungry.

Posted 5:17 p.m. May 6, 2020 — Updated 6:58 p.m. May 7, 2020

Heather Leah

, WRAL multiplatform producer

LILLINGTON, N.C. — For the last few years, a young man from Lillington has made an extra special birthday wish: To provide food for those in need.

Now 12 years old, AJ has been asking friends and family to skip the birthday presents and bring canned food items to his birthday parties for several years. Then, he donated the food to the Harnett Food Pantry, which was right across from his home.

Carolyn Cox shows off a tie-dyed T-shirt made by 12-year-old A.J. Gilbert, who donated the proceeds from his T-shirt sales to Harnett Food Pantry. Image courtesy of the Daily Record.

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 stay-at-home orders, AJ has come up with yet another way to help his neighbors. With his extra free time, he spent his 'stay-at-home' days creating a tie dye T-shirt business--with all proceeds benefiting the Harnett Food Pantry.

Earlier this week, he presented the pantry with a check worth over $600. That's over 2.5 tons of food, according to the Executive Director of the pantry.

"Remember that for every shirt you buy you get 10 pounds of food for the food bank," he said.

It's really a good feeling, it makes you really proud of yourself," he said. "Plus you're feeding hungry families."

The smile of a kid who made a huge impact

In a Facebook video, he did the math to see how many total pounds of food the Food Bank would be able to buy with the amount he had raised. At the time of the video, he'd raised about $300.

Just look at his eyes light up and his smile brighten when he realizes his work would provide at least 1600 pounds of food for people in need.

"I did this to help hungry people get fed so they're not hungry. We're donating all of the money we make to the Harnett Food Bank right across the street," said AJ.

Since then, he his donations have doubled--and so have the pounds of food he could help provide.

A 38% increase in families needing food

AJ knows just how much that food is needed, especially as the COVID-19 pandemic takes a toll on families' paychecks.

In March, the Harnett Food Pantry served 962 families, representing 3,434 people, a 38% increase over their average month, according to a post from the Executive Director.

They have opened a drive-by format to promote social distancing. As of April 10, they had served 436 families, representing 1,305 people.

"This is a time like no other and again, I am personally humbled to be a part," wrote the Executive Director. "Thanks to everyone who helps us. It is truly a labor of love for many, many people."

"On behalf of the Board of Directors of the Harnett Food Pantry we wanted to say we are so pleased to know AJ and to receive his donation and to salute him," she said.

She said they are all looking forward to watching him grow up and accomplish more inspiring things for his community.

12-year-old AJ gets to work tie-dying T-shirts for a good cause.

Want to help AJ make an impact?

AJ has expanded his business to include tie-dye bags and bandanas, on top of his homemade T-shirts.

"Starting out, it's a lot of hard work. But once you get used to it, it's pretty fun. It doesn't get easier, it just gets more fun," said AJ, when asked what he would tell another kid who wanted to make an impact and help others.

To learn more about how AJ is helping serve his community, you can take a look at his Quaran-Tshirts Facebook page, where he shows behind-the-scenes videos of making the shirts and provides updates on the fundraiser.

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