A 9-year-old St. Louis girl is paying it forward in the most selfless of ways to help the most vulnerable in her community, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
After reading “One Boy’s Magic,” by Cari Chadwick Deal in kindergarten, the book inspired Paris Williams to help others in need.
“In the book, a boy wanted to make a difference, and that was his superpower,” said Williams, who told her parents that, like the main character in the tale, she too “wanted to make a difference and a change.”
“She had it all mapped out,” the child’s mother, Alicia Suber, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “She was like, she wants to get brown (paper) bags from the store and decorate them with positive messages. She wants to fill them with these types of items and she wants to give them out to the homeless in the area.”
The young entrepreneur ultimately developed the Paris Cares Foundation, and in the four years since its launch, the non-profit has served up 10,000 brown paper bag meals via shelters and to homeless people in the downtown St. Louis metro area, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
“I draw the pictures on the bags because, for instance, if I told them they were special, sure that makes them happy and all, but if I drew a picture on the bag, (then) whenever they’re feeling sad or something like that, they get to open it and read the message on it,” Williams said of the bagging process.
Donations mainly come from locals dropping off items or giving money directly to the foundation. Williams’ relatives and neighbors have also contributed over the years. Her second-grade classmates even decorated bags for the foundation, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
Williams and her foundation have appeared on “Good Morning America,” iHeart Radio and on the American Girl website.
In 2019, a full-circle moment came when Deal, the author whose book inspired her philanthropy, posted about the little girl’s efforts on social media. According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, she wrote at the time: “This little kindergartener, Paris, is making a big difference in the world. … So proud of her and her huge heart! And for getting the message that ‘One Boy’s Magic’ is all about.”
Williams has her sights set on expanding her enterprise.
“I really want it to get bigger so I can help more people,” she told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
“I really want the foundation to reach other places outside of St. Louis because I know I’m helping people in St. Louis, but what about the people who live outside of St. Louis? I’m hoping we can find a way to expand it to more places,” she continued.
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