Kinston teen businessman selling t-shirts to support adoption

Hundreds of thousands of families are trying to adopt children across the country, and now an Eastern Carolina teen is in the business of helping that process.

Ethan Cahoon is adopted himself and his business is called AdopTees Apparel. It raises money for families looking to adopt.

"Doing t-shirts is something that people can wear out and about and people can ask where it came from and what the t-shirt is about," said Cahoon.

Forty percent of his company's profits go to supporting families like the Crooms who are trying to adopt from China.

"We had been praying for a way to get to China and to be able to stay in China for 15 days and right around the time we were praying Ethan came up to us with this idea," said Jennifer Croom who teaches spanish at North Lenoir High School.

The cause is important to Cahoon because he and his sister Anya were adopted from Russia in 2005.

"Adoption is a big part of me so I knew doing something like this would help out," said Cahoon.

His parents say their children's adoption was a long, emotionally and financially draining process. There wasn't a lot of help back then but they see the difference their son's company could make.

"It can make things a little bit smoother for couples that are wanting to adopt," said Gene Cahoon, Ethan's father.

The Crooms and one other family are currently being sponsored by AdopTees. You can learn more about the company on it's Facebook page, AdopTees Apparel or at the website adoptees-apparel-co.weebly.com.