Barrington teen hopes to turn his charity into America's largest game of tag, to help kids who lost parents to cancer
CHICAGO (CBS) -- As we explore communities in and around Chicago, we're often lucky to meet teenagers who just knock our socks off with their determination and kindness. Jack Bradley, of Barrington, is one of them.
He's taking on some pretty heavy personal pain, and turning it into a way to help other kids.
"This is my personal project. I'm helping kids who have lost their parents to cancer," he said.
Bradley, 18, knows first-hand how devastating losing a parent to cancer can be. He lost his mom, Margo, to esophageal cancer four years ago.
"To have my mom back, I'd do anything; but I just try to live how she would want me to live," he said.
Part of that is Jack's charity, TeeTag.
Here's how it works. You go to teetag.com to buy a t-shirt, and it gets delivered to another person.
Then that person is "it," and buys a shirt for another person, who then buys a shirt for yet another person, and on and on.
So everyone gets a great tee, and the money raised helps kids who have lost parents pay for college.
"I thought it was kind of like a fun way for me to kind of help those kids, just because I just know how tough it is; both financially and emotionally," Jack said.
Jack designed the 50 or so shirts on the website.
They range from "DOG LUVR" to "SUP3RMOM," all set on state license plates, and Jack wants to go national.
"My mission is to tag one million people across all of America," he said.
You can also buy ready-made shirts in person.
The Martin family gave TeeTag rave reviews recently at the Barrington farmers market.
"Really, really pretty a cool thing, what these guys are doing here," Bob Martin said.
Jack says TeeTag is everything to him, and he has one last thing to tell you.
"Play TeeTag," he said. "Your small act of generosity can lead to so many more tags. We can do this America! Tag, you're it!"
Jack heads off to college in Iowa in a few weeks, and hopes to get TeeTag going there.
He also recently found his first TeeTag recipient, a 16-year-old girl named Vera, who lost her mom to cancer.
