On the first day of school, everyone is out to make a good impression. Blake Rajahn, a first-grader at North Fayette Elementary in Fayetteville, Georgia, decided to put his best foot forward on the first day by wearing a T-shirt that broadcast a message of friendship.
Blake’s mom, Nikki Rajahn, has a custom T-shirt business and told her son she could make him any kind of special shirt he wanted for the first day of school. The little boy asked for one that said, “I will be your friend.” Blake wanted to let all of his new classmates know he was excited to get to know them.
His mom took to Facebook to share a photo of the first-grader in his custom T-shirt, and she attributed her son’s choice to his “heart for others”:
“I have to brag on my son,” she wrote alongside the photo. “I told him that as a back-to-school gift, I will make him any shirt he would like. It could have anything – a basketball theme, football, etc. which are all his favorites. He thought a while and said, ‘Will you please make me a shirt that says ‘I will be your friend’ for all the kids who need a friend to know that I am here for them?'”
“Never underestimate your kid’s heart for others!” Rajahn added. “I love my sweet Blake! #stopbullying”
Aww, how sweet! Her post went viral and has now been shared more than 7,000 times. It’s also received over 1,000 supportive comments. “Can he be my best friend? I LOVE THIS!” one commenter wrote, while another chimed in, “Such a wonderful young man. You have done a great job.”
Many people also noted that they would like the T-shirt for themselves or for their own kids. And now her business, Unfading Adornments, has hundreds of orders for replicas. They’re priced at $24.95, and a portion of the proceeds go to the Real Life Center, a local community outreach center.
The business’s Facebook page also noted that it is accepting donations for those that want to a shirt, but cannot afford to buy one.
As for Blake, the 6-year-old boy is reportedly happy, albeit surprised, that his message had made such an impact. “He doesn’t understand why everyone thinks this is a big deal because he thought everyone thinks like him,” Rajahn shared of her son’s reaction on Facebook. “He said ‘Oh this is so great because now more and more people will have more and more friends!'”
She only hopes that Blake’s story will inspire other kids to reach out to their peers in a similar manner.
“My hope for the post is for everyone to know that no matter their age, you can always have compassion and love for others,” the proud mom told HuffPost.
This story originally appeared on Simplemost. Checkout Simplemost for other great tips and ideas to make the most out of life.
