A 9-year-old from St. Louis, Missouri, is paying it forward in a major way and showing us all that you’re never too small to make a difference.
Paris Williams was in kindergarten when she read the book “One Boy’s Magic,” by Cari Chadwick Deal and was inspired to help others, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
“In the book, a boy wanted to make a difference, and that was his superpower,” Paris said. “He gave a bag of food to someone experiencing homelessness, and I came home that day, and I told my parents that I wanted to do that. I wanted to make a difference and a change.”
“She had it all mapped out,” her mother, Alicia Suber, shared with 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.”
This young changemaker launched the Paris Cares Foundation. In the four years since its founding, the non-profit organization has provided 10,000 brown paper bag meals via shelters and to people experiencing homelessness in the downtown St. Louis metro region, 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,” Paris said.
Most of the organization’s donations come from people dropping off items or giving money to the foundation. Friends, relatives, and neighbors also lend a helping hand. Suber said that people all over the country have been purchasing Paris Cares Foundation T-shirts to support her daughter as well.
Now a second grader, Paris asked her friends and family to donate to the Paris Cares Foundation instead of buying her gifts for a recent birthday. She also recently appeared on Good Morning America, iHeart Radio as well as the American Girl website to share the mission of The Paris Cares Foundation.
Now, this young non-profit founder has plans to expand her efforts. “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.