A Florida boy who was bullied at his elementary school for a homemade T-shirt representing the University of Tennessee not only had his design made official by the university – but the demand for the product is so high that it crashed the school’s website.
ABC News reports that Laura Snyder, the unidentified boy’s teacher at Altamonte Elementary School in Altamonte Springs, Fla., posted a story online about the student. For "college colors day," the boy wanted to wear a University of Tennessee Volunteers t-shirt, but he didn't have one. When the day arrived, he came to school with an orange shirt that had a piece of paper attached with a hand-drawn design of the University of Tennessee logo.
But during lunch, some girls made fun of his sign that he had attached to his shirt. "He was devastated,” according to his teacher.
Snyder got on the internet to see if she had any connections to Tennessee to help make the shirt she planned to get him “a little extra special.”
Her post almost went viral among Vols fans and, before Snyder knew it, the University of Tennessee got in touch and said they wanted to send him and the rest of his classmates a care package.
“I don’t even know where to begin," Snyder said in an updated post. "I am so incredibly amazed at the outpouring of love and support for my student!! So many people have reached out over the last 24 hours and I have truly lost track.”
The story, however, does not end here.
The University of Tennessee decided that they would take the boy’s design and make it an official school shirt to be sold at the school's online store. A portion of the proceeds are being donated to STOMP Out Bullying, an organization dedicated to eradicating bullying.
The demand for the shirt design was so great that the university's online store crashed.
“Thank you Vol Nation!" the online store tweeted. “Currently, our website has crashed due to the overwhelming support."
Snyder couldn’t believe it herself.
“When I told [my student] that his design was being made into a real shirt and people wanted to wear it, his jaw dropped,” Snyder said. “He had a big smile on his face, walked taller, and I could tell his confidence grew today!"
