When Antwann Garrett and Kristopher Graham of Martin Luther King Jr. College Preparatory High School in Memphis decided to help out their classmate, Micheal Todd, who was constantly bullied for his clothes, they had no idea how much their contribution would make an impact. The video of the football players donating clothes to Todd has since gone viral and caught the attention of people globally.
Just Another Bullied Teen
14 year old freshman Micheal Todd had only been attending his new high school for three weeks, and already was being made fun of. The teen said his mom could not afford to buy him clothes because he was “growing too fast” and that he had been “bullied all [his] life.” He is one of the more than 25% of kids bullied each year in the US.
Classmates Decide To Donate Clothes
Fellow freshman classmate Kristopher Graham, was one of the students who had originally laughed at Todd in their mutual third period class. However, Graham felt it weighing on his conscious and decided he wanted to make a difference for Todd.
He called up his friend Antwann Garrett, and the two decided to collect a bag of their clothes and shoes to give to Todd. When they apologized and gifted the items to Todd, he was in pure shock.
“I was very happy, I was shocked completely... it was the best day of my entire life.”
Kind Deed Inspires Many
The interaction was all recorded by another friend, not because the footballers wanted to show off their good deed, but in order to inspire others to help combat bullying. Inspire they did, as people around the world shared the video and sent their own clothing to donate to Todd. The video even caught the attention of celebrities such as Ellen Degeneres, who invited the three boys to her show for a special surprise from Will Smith.
Will Smith told the boys how impressed he was by their kind deed, that he surprised all three with clothing from his new line and sneakers from New Balance. Shutterfly also donated a $10,000 check to each of the boys. Smith additionally donated clothes to their high school, which has many families that live below the poverty line.
The friends have shown how even a small kind gesture can really go a long way in changing another person’s life.
Photos: YouTube: ABC13Houston, Twitter: JustJared.com