According to Matt White, the boy had no food or furniture in his home. He and his mom were sleeping on pads made of sleeping bags.
Everything is about to change for this boy from Tennessee when one do-gooder noticed he was in need, and decided to rally the community together to support him.
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It all started two weeks ago when Matt White, of Memphis, saw 16-year old Chauncy Jones Black at a supermarket, asking to carry his groceries in exchange for some glazed doughnuts.
Black apparently took the bus at night to go to the "rich people's Kroger," yet White said he appeared to have been turned down multiple times, and was "ashamed, hungry and broken."
"He had no phone, a bus pass, and he was depending on the graces of a stranger to feed him within the hour before the bus left," 30-year-old White wrote on his post, that has since gone viral. "Needless to say, he and I went on a shopping spree."
In addition to the pack of glazed doughnuts, White listed that he bought the boy vegetables, milk, pasta, cereal and even toothbrushes.
"He told me how he makes straight A's in school and is trying to get a job to help his mom pay rent," White continued.
White then gave him a ride home, and when they arrived, he wrote of his shock at their living conditions: "He wasn't kidding. Him and his mom had nothing. They didn't even have beds or furniture. They were sleeping on pads made out of sleeping bags."
That was when White realized he had to help the boy and his mom get a better life.
He started a GoFundMe page, where in addition to helping Black and his mom raise money, he also wrote that what the boy needed most was a job.
Before he knew it, the community's support started pouring in.
Though the original goal was $250 for a lawn mower, so Black could start mowing his neighbor's lawns for money, the campaign has now reached $92,200 and counting.
"I keep raising the goal because people just keep giving and giving to them," White wrote. "God teaches us to dream and pray big. So I am."
Other than cash donations, people have started coming by their home and dropping off things like kitchen supplies and a dresser to help them furnish their home.
Black is now getting hired by people in his community to do odd jobs like paint houses and mow lawns.
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"He kept sayng, 'It's going to look good,' and it does!" one of Black's first clients reported in a voice recording White posted to Facebook. "Yeah, he did a really good job. He was real polite."
Next, Black's mom said in a YouTube video that she hopes they'll be able to get a new home in a safer neighborhood.
According to the GoFundMe page, their relationship extends past giving Black a hand out.
"Chauncy and I will be going to church each Sunday," he wrote, "if you'd like to come hang out with us. We go out for ice cream afterward and have lots of fun."
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