Montgomery County teen to wear animal shelter t-shirts throughout the school year to raise awareness
MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Texas - While most kids are looking to sport the hottest back to school gear, one junior high school student from Montgomery County is planning to raise awareness for a good cause every single day of the upcoming school year with his wardrobe!
13-year-old Jayson Kimberly is passionate about helping animals anyway he can. His latest idea is to wear a different t-shirt from an animal shelter or organization every day to school.
So far, over 200 t-shirts were donated to him, and they keep on coming. FOX 26 spoke to the teen about his latest project, and why he is so involved with animals.
"There's so many animals that are in shelters that can't be really helped, and no kill shelters don't get much government help. So I decided if I can help just a little bit out, I feel like I can make a difference like that," says Kimberly who started "Leave it for the Pooch" when he was just 10 years old, a cause collecting food, and supplies from neighbors to distribute to animal shelters in need throughout the greater Houston area.
When the shelters he and his mother work with started sending him t-shirts as a token of gratitude, Jayson had a bright idea.
"We decided since there's so many shelters that we've been helping, if we can help raise awareness for spaying and neutering, and I could wear like a different shirt every day to show my fellow classmates how many different shelters there is, maybe when they grow up they can help spay and neuter, so it would be less and we wouldn't have to have all the shelters," he says.
He asked for the t-shirts on his Facebook page, and they started coming in quickly. Over 200 and counting, from across U.S. and abroad.
"We got one from the UK just the other day, and I think that was the most surprising, because I didn't think my project reach that far out." says Kimberly.
We asked if he would miss his regular clothes during the school year.
"Not really, as long as I can help support everything I'm fine with what I wear. We've gotten shirts all different colors. We've gotten some pink ones, I mean as long as I'm supporting I'm fine with it," said Jayson.
If you're wondering what the plans are for all those shirts, Kimberly says they'll be made into quilts that will be auctioned off at the end of the school year to raise money for the organizations that donated the tees. He's still accepting more, so if you want to help out, you will find all the details on his Facebook page Leave it for the Pooch.