“One customer left a lasting impression on [Tommy]. A woman stopped by and looked at the 12-inch feeder. She was hesitant about the price and even walked back to her car to leave. She turned around and bought one, and told Hawkins that she was getting it for her mom. Six months later, Hawkins received a handwritten letter from the customer. According to Hawkins, it read: “I’m so thankful that you were on that corner that morning when I bought that bird feeder for my mother. My mother has a life again. My mother is bed fast in a nursing home and she wakes up every morning to see her birds. Mama has a smile on her face and that bird feeder has given her something to live for.”

— Vanessa Invanson, The Charlotte Observer