Tyler Stallings is a 7 year-old boy who is being hailed as a hero after all that he has done to help thousands of veterans across the state of Maryland.

Tyler first got inspired to help veterans when his mother Andrea showed him a video about homelessness among veterans in 2015.

“On a whim, I showed Tyler a video about the sacrifices that people make to serve our country,” she said. Andrea added that when she told Tyler their family could not build homes for veterans who did not have them, he asked her if they could instead give them everything they needed to do so.

Tyler first started making “Hero Bags” filled with clothes, shoes, snacks, toiletries, soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste, lotion, shaving gel, and hand sanitizer, and he handed them out to homeless veterans himself at the Maryland Center for Veteran Education and Training (MCVET).

“At first, it was hard for people to take a four-year-old seriously,” said Andrea. “It took me a while to find a shelter that would let him come in and help. But when shelters like MCVET finally did, they loved having him there. It’s nice to have a child in an environment like that. We would take them care packages with toiletries and grooming products to thank people for their service, and they would take whatever they needed.”

Since then, Tyler has given out over 2,000 Hero Bags and gift cards to homeless veterans! He has also teamed up with local mattress manufacturers to provide 250 mattress for the veterans who live at MCVET. On top of that, Tyler has raised over $17,200 in donations on a GoFundMe account to further his mission, and he hopes to one day start his own non-profit to continue helping homeless veterans.

“Recently, Tyler showed up to an event to thank a veteran who has suffered from 15 strokes. The look on the man’s face when Tyler handed him a Hero Bag… it was just amazing,” said Andrea. “Maybe no one has ever made these veterans feel like their contributions are significant. This is how we show them our appreciation.”