7-Year-Old Boy Helps Countless Homeless Veterans, Teaches an Inspiring Lesson in the Process

Kids may not feel very strong or powerful in the scope of the world around them, but they are capable of amazing feats.

One example is 7-year-old Tyler Stallings who has spent the last three years of his young life helping homeless veterans.

It all started when his mom showed him a video about veteran homelessness in 2015. “On a whim, I showed Tyler a video about the sacrifices that people make to serve our country,” says his mom, Andrea, who is herself from a veteran family.

A spark of inspiration and drive

After Tyler’s mom explained to the young boy that there were many homeless veterans that needed help but that their family was unable to build homes for those families, Tyler’s goal became to give them everything else they could need.

That’s when the young boy got the idea for what he called “hero bags,” which he filled with clothes, shoes, snacks, toiletries, soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste, lotion, shaving gel, and hand sanitizer -- and he began handing them out (his mom helped too, of course!) to local vets at the Maryland Center for Veteran Education and Training (MCVET).

But he wasn’t done. He had more to do!

He also partnered with local mattress manufacturers and was able to secure 250 mattress to donate to the vets living at MCVEt.

He’s still not done. In fact, as of this point, he has raised over $17,200 in GoFundMe donations and he hopes to one day start a nonprofit and help tons more people.

“Recently, Tyler showed up to an event to thank a veteran who has suffered from 15 strokes. The look on the man’s face when Tyler handed him a Hero Bag… it was just amazing,” said Andrea. “Maybe no one has ever made these veterans feel like their contributions are significant. This is how we show them our appreciation.”

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