Jahkil Jackson is an 11-year old with a heart of gold!
The Chicago native has helped over 20,000 homeless people with his “Blessing Bags” through his organization, Project I Am. He tells Today, “seeing people on the street made me really sad because I thought everybody had homes.”
Jackson’s love for giving back started at the tender age of 8 and continues to grow as he uses his organization to provide food, water, and toiletries in what he calls his “Blessing Bags.” He has helped homeless people in his hometown of Chicago as well as in Washington D.C., Atlanta, Los Angeles, Idaho, and Virginia.
His big heart has even allowed him to help people at an international level. He has provided resources for volcano victims in Guatemala and orphans in Mbabane, Swaziland.
“When I’m giving the bags to people it makes me feel like I’m getting one step closer to demolishing the whole homeless thing…and it makes me happy to see the smiles on their faces,” Jackson said.
In 2016, Jackson was named a Youth Ambassador for one of the world’s leading anti-poverty organizations, Heartland Alliance. He also received recognition from former President Barack Obama who named him one of the three most influential people of 2017. Basketball superstar LeBron James has also recognized and helped him promote Project I Am.