At age 5, this Lakeland resident is the Duke of Diapers

LAKELAND — One of Polk County’s most dedicated philanthropists arrived Thursday afternoon at the One More Child campus and waited for his mother to unfasten him from his car seat.

T.J. Moreno, wearing a green T-shirt, tan shorts, dark-blue plastic clogs and sky-blue socks, jumped down from the back seat of his parents’ vehicle and received a hero’s welcome, as about two dozen staffers and volunteers from One More Child applauded while they stood outside the Harold Clark Simmons Compassion Center.

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T.J., a 5-year-old kindergartner, soon got down to the business of his visit. He took a position behind the last of three vehicles lined up outside the building and began helping unload the boxes of diapers that filled it to the ceiling.

The Lakeland resident sparkled with glee as he grabbed boxes of Pampers, Luvs, Mama Bear and other brands of diapers and handed them to a One More Child employee, starting a relay chain as employees and volunteers passed the boxes along the sidewalk.

When the unloading was finished, the delivery amounted to 162 boxes containing 14,810 diapers. T.J. offered a slightly different accounting as he climbed upon his mother, Tina Moreno, to report the total.

“Mommy, we have 14 hundred million,” he exclaimed.

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Whatever the precise number, the wispy, mop-haired boy with mischievous brown eyes was the leading force behind the donation, something that is becoming an annual tradition. Last year, T.J. and his parents dropped off 62 boxes of diapers at One More Child, a Christcharity formerly known as Florida Baptist Children’s Homes.

One More Child will distribute Thursday’s donation to families with foster children, single mothers in its support programs and other families in need, President and CEO Jerry T. Haag said. T.J.’s donation augments an annual drive in which the charity aims to collect one million diapers.

“T.J. is a great example, a shining example, of what one person can do — and one little person," Haag said. "Even at 5 years old, he can make a difference for kids and for their families."

Haag added: "It’s inspiring, especially to know that it was all his idea. And it tells you how important kids are because it was just that motivation was in his heart to be able to reach out to help another child.”

How T.J. Moreno's philanthropic effort began

Tina Moreno said her son’s philanthropic effort began last year, when he overheard her and her husband, Darren, talking about the annual diaper drive that One More Child conducts.

“And our son was just listening, and he said, ‘Well, why don't they have diapers?’” Moreno recalled. “And I said, ‘Some of their moms and dads can't afford them or they don't have moms and dads.’ And he said, ‘Well, I have money. I can buy them.’”

Moreno said T.J. emptied his piggy bank, using $100 he had received from relatives for his birthday and holidays to buy diapers. He also enlisted his parents, who are real-estate agents, to seek donations from friends on social media.

T.J. set a goal of collecting 30 boxes last fall, as that was as high as he could count at the time. This year, he decided to aim for 100 boxes.

The youngster radiated kindergartner-level energy as he bantered with Haag, raced around and climbed atop the stack of boxes after they had been unloaded and arranged on a sidewalk. He fiddled with a clip-on microphone and its power-supply box while fidgeting through a TV interview.

Asked why he chose to spend his money and devote his time to collecting diapers for other children, T.J. replied, “Because they don’t have diapers.”

Asked if he plans to collect diapers again next year, the boy answered, “Yes,” in a squeaky, rising voice.

How many does he expect to gather for the third round of his personal diaper drive?

“More than that,” T.J. said, referring to this year’s total.

And how high can he now count?

“I don’t know what that number is,” he said, adding, “I could maybe count to a million,” followed by a gleeful titter.

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One More Child supplies diapers for about 10% of all families in Florida with foster children

Haag said that One More Child supplies diapers for about 10% of all families in Florida with foster children. Thursday’s gathering included two local residents who receive donations of diapers foster parents, Ashley Gabriel of Lakeland and Joe Lemmons of Winter Haven.

“One More Child is a huge help in providing diapers and other resources,” said Lemmons, who wore a T-shirt that read “Foster Papa.” “One More Child helps not only with tangible items but with support and knowledge as well.”

One More Child served nearly 325,000 children and adults last year and provided more than 18 million meals through all of its programs, spokesperson Joe McLeod said. The charity’s global arm works with ministry partners in 14 counties on such projects as providing food, education and medical care and helping to build homes and dig wells.

On Thursday afternoon, though, the focus was entirely on T.J., the Duke of Diapers. Tara Johnson, executive director of marketing and communications for One More Child and a friend of Tina Moreno’s, described the boy as “our official diaper drive spokesman.”

Tina Moreno said that her son made efficient use of her Facebook account in seeking donations of diapers.

“He would go on and he would challenge people,” she said. “Like, one day he said, ‘I challenge you. The first person to buy a box of diapers, I'll match it from my own money.’ So he did that a lot.”

T.J. also enlisted friends in his quest, including girls named Scarlet and Kinley, who sometimes joined him on shopping trips to buy diapers, his mother said. By the time of Thursday’s delivery, the Morenos’ living room was filled with boxes of diapers.

“He does have a generous heart,” Moreno said. “He’s really good about sharing and stuff. He’s still a crazy 5-year-old, though, and he gets in trouble. He does all kinds of stuff. But he's a great kid as far as — he just really enjoys helping people. We asked him again this year if he wanted to do it because we want to encourage this as well. We don't want him to grow up and think the world just revolves around him.”

As T.J. scampered away to climb on a railing, watched by his grandmother, he wore a green T-shirt with the One More Child logo on the front. On the back, it said “Ambassador,” a big word for a 5-year-old but one that T.J. has already grown into.

Gary White can be reached at gary.white@theledger.com or 863-802-7518. Follow on Twitter @garywhite13.

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Polk kindergartner makes diaper donation to Lakeland charity for second year