BAYTOWN, Texas – It's a simple but huge goal conceived by a 6-year-old from Baytown.
Oscar Payton Jr. decided earlier this year that he wanted to help the city's homeless population -- a goal he expressed to his mother one day while they were driving down the street.
"I said, 'OK, so how are we going to do that?' said his mother, Samantha. "He said, 'Well, I have a money jug and I have money in there. You can take my money and we can buy stuff for the homeless people.'"
But there was a special reason Oscar Jr. wanted to buy the stuff, and that was his father -- the late Bishop Oscar Payton Sr., who died in February.
Oscar Jr.'s mother said he told her, "I want to help the homeless people because my dad would be proud of me."
So for the past few days, people have been coming to a location on Hugh Echols Boulevard. They've brought everything from boxed food to canned goods to toiletries -- all to help Oscar Jr. achieve his goal.
"He's always been that one child that was different from every other child and he was always thoughtful about others, always giving back," said Samantha. "I think my husband would be proud to know that even though he's not here that his vision is still coming to life through his son."
The Paytons are trying to decide if the food and supplies drive will become an annual event or something more frequent.