OHIO — Two local teens are working to make a difference in their community through social media content.
Cousins Reece Schmidt and Dale Adams started a social media page saying they will feed one person for every 1,000 followers they get, according to our media partners WCPO-9 TV.
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“It surprised us how viral it has gone,” Schmidt said.
Schmidt graduated from Moeller High School in 2022 and now lives in Dayton. He was a defensive lineman on the school’s football team for three seasons.
The cousins saw an opportunity to do two things they love: Create content and help the community, WCPO-9 reported.
“We’ve always done content and created videos. And we’ve always wanted to show off our community as well,” Adams said.
The pair created an Instagram profile with the handle: @reeceanddale.
In their first post, they promised to feed one person experiencing homelessness for every 1,000 followers they received.
Three days later, the page still had 300 followers, WCPO-9 reported.
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“The day kept progressing, an hour later, we were at 1,000…Three hours later, we were at 10,000,” Schmidt said.
Reality quickly set in, and the cousins realized their plan was in motion.
“Every day, we’re calling the shelters, and it’s an all-day thing,” Schmidt said.
The cousins have spent the last four days handing out food to those in need, WCPO-9 reported.
As of Feb. 2, at 12:30 p.m., the Instagram page has 232K followers.
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Schmidt and Adams are documenting every step of the way.
“It does something when you document it and share it online. You’re able to build a community of people that share the same passion as you,” Adams said.
On Thursday, the pair spent the evening at a homeless shelter in Xenia called Schneider House of Hope, or Family Promise of Greene County, WCPO-9 reported.
One follower at a time, the cousins are working to make sure each family experiencing homelessness feels a little more comfortable.
“Help anybody, any chance you get. It doesn’t have to be a lot of money; just anything you can do. Anything you have to help others can go a long way,” Schmidt said.