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3rd graders create, sell neck gaiters; donate part of profits to homeless

Students at Hudson PEP Elementary in Longview run their business selling neck buffs online.

LONGVIEW, Texas — Third graders Jordan Bergman, Bolu Adeyeye and Mueez Mughal are not only classmates at Hudson PEP Elementary in Longview, but business partners.

"When the boys presented the idea to me my first response was what can I do to help," Brandi Patterson, a third-grade teacher at Hudson, said. 

Bergman says his dad helped him come up with the idea for the business. 

"Right now we have about $198 and more than 20 sold," Bergman said. 

The three classmates are selling neck gaiters/buffs used for facial coverings online. 

"It's been going really great, really smooth, we have a really great future ahead of us," Adeyeye said. 

Their buff collection is offered in four styles but the boys say they want to create more designs.

"The designs that Bolu makes, or sketches, I put them in a computer and edit them," Mughal said. "I make them like more sharper and more professional-looking."

The three boys split the profits in four ways. They each earn a dollar and donate $1 for each buff sold to the Hiway 80 Rescue Mission. 

"The unit price is $2 but they're selling them for $6," Patterson said. 

The Hiway 80 Rescue Mission assists those that are homeless in Longview and Tyler. 

"It's been calculated about $2.11 is what it costs to feed one person for Thanksgiving or Christmas, " Amelia Heatherly, director of development at Hiway 80, said. "So one masks sell is about half of one meal for our residents and our guests."

The boys say running the business as friends is one of the many things they enjoy as well as giving back to the community. 

"I learned how to give and I learned how to do business, and I learned friendship," Adeyeye said. "It doesn't matter where you come we can all come together and it showed me world peace is possible."

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