Jack Fairbanks is your quintessential fourth grader from Ponder Elementary School with sandy brown hair, freckles, and an easy smile. After repeatedly seeing people experiencing homelessness when running errands with his mom, he decided to do something to help.
He and his mom put the call out on social media highlighting the need and what he wanted to do.
Donations poured in from friends and family.
"I didn't expect to get so many donations, I just thought it'd be a little thing," said Jack.
In the end, Jack's efforts raised $1,640 to help the homeless population in Denton County!
He used some of the money to fill backpacks to hand out to unhoused people he saw at Walmart.
But, when he still had over $1,000 left, his mom contacted United Way of Denton County who had just launched an Amazon wish list for the Point-In-Time (PIT) Count, the annual one-day homeless census, held on January 25.
Jack and his mom delivered 500 hand-warmers, 500 socks, foil blankets, rain ponchos, and more to the United Way office.
A few weeks later, Jack and his mom were invited back to be part of the volunteer crew who assembled the emergency bags given out on PIT day.
"Jack inspires because he's a reminder that helping belongs to all of us," said Olivia Mata-Williams, United Way of Denton County Chief Programs Officer. "He demonstrated that we are all capable of doing small things in a great way."
Jack's actions show that all it takes to make an impact is just one person with a heart to make change, no matter how big or small.
We can all be like Jack and take action to build a better Denton County. Volunteers are needed at nonprofits across Denton County. If a 9-year old can make such a big impact, then so can every one of us.