ADA, Okla. (KTEN) — Washington Elementary students have a new book vending machine, another way to honor the late Ada High School student Wyatt Brown and continuing his message of love in the school district.

“It was something he actually created in a T-shirt, and people wanted the shirts after he passed away,” explained Christy Brown, Wyatt’s mother. “So we got with a T-shirt company here and created Love Theory, so all of the money from the T-shirt sales go back into our schools.”

The Ada City Schools Foundation awarded grant funds for the vending machine, and the Love Theory Foundation — along with the Washington PTO — helped stock it with books. 

"After we bought the machine with grant money, we needed to fill it, so the Love Theory Foundation gave us the books to fill it, and now our kids can use it, and we are super excited it's here,” said Washington Elementary librarian Story Maxwell. 

Giving back to the school district is one way that the Browns continue to honor and remember Wyatt. 

“So Love Theory, he created, and he didn't even know it would grow," Brown said. "It just feels really good to be able to pour back in and spread his message of love; it's a way to keep his memory alive, which is special to us.”

Students can use the book vending machine with tokens they earn. 

"It doesn't take money; you can't buy it. It has to be earned,” Maxwell explained. “We have a Leader in Me program here, so it's by their Leader in Me skills and stuff like that. Once they realized that, everybody started wondering, 'How can I get a token and earn this?'” 

The vending machine was filled with books on Monday, and it displays the Love Theory logo that Wyatt Brown created before he passed away in November of 2021. 

“So when we were approached and told that they were going to put the llama and Love Theory on this, I said, 'So what can we do? How can we help?' Because this money is for the kids here in Ada, and Ada is a special place,” Brown said. “We want to give back, and Wyatt would want to give back."