At the age of 5, philanthropist Joshua Williams decided to stomp out hunger in the Miami region — “so that all children would be as full as I am.” Since launching the Joshua’s Heart Foundation, this young heart’s mission has fed more than 7,000 people, raised more than $80,000, and distributed more than 250,000 pounds of food – all before its founder turned 10.
Joshua Williams is making history … by dreaming big and taking early action in the fight against hunger. The idea for Joshua’s Heart was sparked when Williams saw malnourished youngsters on a sponsor-a-child TV ad, and discovered he could only sponsor one. He sought the assistance of his mother, Claudia McLean, but neither knew how to begin building a foundation until, coincidentally, a radio show spelled out the steps.
Four years later, Joshua’s Heart distributes food at a different community church each month, and has procured sponsorship from groups like the Daily Bread Food Bank and Costco. Williams also fosters the giving spirit in his fellow pre-teens through “Joshua’s Elves,” a team of child volunteers that help raise funds and distribute food to poverty-stricken Miami residents. With these eager elves helping the hungry, Joshua’s Heart will continue to be full of success.
WATCH THEGRIO’S 100 JOSHUA WILLIAMS HERE
What’s next for Joshua?
Although his foundation feeds more than 400 families a month, Williams is not stopping there; he plans to extend his foundation beyond Miami Beach — to tackle world hunger. “I want to get a team together,” says Williams. “I want my team to go out and give food to people who have a need for food. I want to stretch it all the way to countries in Africa.”
In his own words …
“We try to help people who are low-income and we try to end world hunger,” says the young philanthropist on his website.
A favorite quote …
“Everybody can be great…because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.” – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
A little-known fact …
In 2010, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations estimated that a total of 925 million people were undernourished in the world, compared with 1.023 billion in 2009.
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