Clothe Your Neighbor As Yourself: Average People on a Not So Average Mission

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January 21, 2010  
Filed under Campus Life

Many students have probably seen the “Clothe Your Neighbor As Yourself” shirts floating around the campus and wonder what exactly they mean. No it’s not a band or some new saying that has caught on; what it is, is a movement to help and raise awareness for the conditions of the poor and homeless.

Created by James Barnett, the clothing line was years of experiences in the making. Being raised in a Christian home, James was no stranger to the practices of Jesus and what he did for his people. Feeding off these practices he decided it was time that he experienced rough conditions first hand and try to lend a helping hand. Flash forward to May 2009; James took a trip to Nicaragua to help those less fortunate and what he discovered was going to impact his life forever. He saw that “only by doing can the world be a better place” and made helping the world and its people available to everyone. Since then, James has quit his job and sold everything he owned, leaving only a van and a few other items in his name. He travels around in his van and lives with the homeless bringing them clothing and food. He plans to go on tour in the next month and take his mission to other parts of the country, inspiring others to follow in his footsteps.

So what’s with the clothing line? The shirts are a non-profit way to keep James “on the streets”. How it works is, for every shirt someone buys, a shirt is given to a homeless person. The shirts are only twenty dollars and it is helping James help people and spread his story around the country. There is a website up and everyone is free to order a shirt and show their part in this movement. “It’s not just a fashion statement,” says Josh Swim, a close friend to James and a supporter of his cause, “It amazing what he has done and I’m honored to help him and the rest of the world.” To sum it all up, Clothe Your Neighbor As Yourself is a way for “average people to do small things with great love.”

Written by: Danielle Guthrie

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