Kids & Family
Kid Owners Of T&N Bow Ties Raising $1M For Homeless: Coronavirus
Two brothers, 8 and 5, launched a crowdfunding campaign to help raise money to help Atlanta's homeless during the coronavirus pandemic.
ATLANTA, GA — Atlanta kid entrepreneurs Treandos and brother Noah Thornton are putting out a call to action. They’re only 8 and 5 years old, but their goals are big. The brothers launched a crowdfunding campaign Tuesday to raise money to help the homeless population in metro Atlanta during the coronavirus pandemic.
They’ve already received about $880 as of Monday. The two siblings are encouraging their family, classmates and friends to help others in need. Their fundraising efforts will benefit the non-profit Atlanta Mission, which provides emergency shelter, rehab and recovery services, vocational training and transitional housing for more than 1,000 homeless men, women and children daily.
The fundraiser closes May 1.
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Second-grader Treandos tells Patch that he wants to raise $1 million, but every dollar counts. This fundraising effort is important to him.
“It’s not fair if somebody doesn’t have anything, but you do,” he said, adding that he’s also worried that the homeless population may contract COVID-19 and not be able to afford healthcare.
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The boys are no strangers to giving back. They started their online business T&N Bow Ties and Apparel in 2017, said their mother, Shana Thornton. Treandos is the founder and president and Noah is the vice president.
“They have done a food drive for the last three years,” their mother said.
When Gov. Brian Kemp declared a public health emergency for Georgia, effective March 14, Shana said that she and her husband explained to their sons in a “kid-friendly” way what was happening.
“We made a point to keep them informed,” she said, adding that Treandos immediately expressed concern.
“He said, ‘Oh no, I don’t want people getting sick or dying from it,’” Shana said. “He told me, ‘I want to help people.’”
That’s when a conversation about who he wanted to help and how came about. Shana let him take the lead on the project, even letting Treandos use her laptop for research with her guidance.
“I let him [type] in how to help deserving people in Atlanta, and as they popped up, he read through their mission statements and press releases,” she said.
Treandos wants to help shelter animals, too, but decided to focus on the homeless population first.
He and Noah have been spreading awareness, with some help from their family.
“My mom tells people she knows, friends, and the friends will get it out to their friends,” Treandos said.
According to Shana, the siblings have also been the ones making calls and sending emails from their business account.
“We’ve had kids actually donate some of their chore money to help. It’s meant a lot to us.”
Shana said she first noticed that Treandos had a strong desire to help others when he was 5 years old. He saw a commercial about people experiencing food insecurity and began asking his mother if he could help.
“He was persistent,” she said, “and he just kept asking.”
The boys held their first food drive right before launching their business to help the community.
“It was his initiative, his vision, his dream,” Shana said.
The second year he wanted to add toys to “make kids happy" like his brother.
Treandos said he has a message for the world.
“Always help one another,” he said. “A lot of people are suffering for different reasons and we want to let both kids and grown-ups know.”
Shana said that during this period of social distancing, the family has continued to stay busy, as well as take time to reflect.
“It has been an adjustment for us because we are a family who really takes pride in physically being in the community,” she said.
They usually visit parks and festivals to market their products. Shana said that Treandos wanted to do a business where he could help people learn how to tie bow ties.
"He's gaining entrepreneurship and life skills from this," she said. "I am so impressed and he’s encouraged us, he and his brother, to just remember that at the end of the day it’s about helping one another."
Through their business platform, they share life skills and the importance of “dressing for success” with children from all backgrounds.
Treandos, who calls himself a “kid entrepreneur,” says he loves wearing bow ties as much as selling them. He and Noah have plans to expand the business by adding coffee cups and pens in the near future.
He loves the business, but said he also has other career plans, well a lot.
“When I grow up I want to be a cardiologist, an engineer, a scientist and an artist,” he said.
Noah, who says he likes helping his big brother, will probably have to step up and put in longer hours once Treandos secures all four of those jobs.
Check out the brothers website T&N Bow Ties and Apparel and don’t forget to donate online to help the Atlanta Mission.
"Help us raise money for people who need it," Noah said.
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