Project I Am Nfp

Don’t Wait to Be Great: A Movement Started by a Kid

Young people are often told to wait.

Wait until you're older. Wait until you have more experience. Wait until someone gives you permission to lead.

I learned early that you don't have to wait.

When I was 5 years old, my aunt took my cousins and me into Chicago to help distribute hot food to people experiencing homelessness. I was young, but I understood something very simple: people needed help, and I wanted to help them.

A few years later, at just 8 years old, I gathered 15 of my friends and we packed 88 Blessing Bags filled with everyday essentials for people in need.

I didn't know those 88 bags would become a movement.

From 88 Blessing Bags to 250,000+ People Served

Today, Project I Am has provided support to more than 250,000 people across the United States and around the world.

Our Blessing Bags filled with necessities like socks, soap, toothpaste, washcloths, wipes, deodorant and other personal-care items are more than bags of supplies. They are a simple way of telling someone:

We see you. You matter. You haven't been forgotten.

Over the years, thousands of young people have joined Project I Am in serving others. Blessing Bags have reached communities across the country and internationally, including Ghana, Guatemala, France and beyond.

What began as my desire to help people experiencing homelessness has become something even bigger: a movement showing young people the power they already have to make a difference.

Ten Years Later, We're Just Getting Started

In 2026, I celebrated 10 years of leading Project I Am.

I'm now 18 and preparing for another chapter of my life as a college student and student-athlete. Project I Am is growing up with me, too.

One of the things I'm most proud of isn't an award or recognition. It's watching another young person realize, I can do this too.

That's why we created Project I Am Next Up, an initiative that gives young leaders the opportunity to bring service into their own communities.

Young people are now leading projects in communities including Chicago, IL; St. Louis, MO; Jacksonville, FL; New York, NY; Toronto, Canada; and France.

I'm no longer the 8-year-old asking my friends to help me pack 88 bags.

Now I'm helping build a generation of young people who will create their own tables, lead their own projects and solve problems in their own communities.

That's what “Don't Wait to Be Great” means to me.

Why Give 8/28 Matters

Project I Am is a Black-led, youth-founded organization that began with a young Black boy from Chicago believing he could make a difference.

Give 8/28 gives our community an opportunity to invest in what happens next.  

Your donation helps us purchase the essential items that go inside Blessing Bags, engage more young volunteers, support community service projects, and expand opportunities for young leaders to serve in their own neighborhoods.

Every contribution becomes part of something tangible.

$28 can help us put essential items directly into the hands of people who need them.

$82 can help us provide supplies for even more Blessing Bags.

$280 can help fuel a youth-led service activation and put young people at the center of giving back.

And when you support Project I Am, you're helping us do more than distribute supplies.

You're helping us teach young people that compassion is leadership. Service is powerful. And you are never too young to make an impact.

More Than Recognition—A Responsibility

Along this journey, I've been blessed to become a three-time best-selling author, motivational speaker, social entrepreneur and student-athlete. I've been recognized as a CNN Hero Young Wonder, Marvel Hero and Red Cross Youth Hero, and President Barack Obama recognized me among young people making an impact in the world.

I've also had opportunities to work with brands and organizations including Nike and Gatorade and share my story through national platforms.

I'm grateful for every recognition, but the part that matters most is what we do with the attention.

We use it to serve.

There are still people who need basic necessities.

There are still young people who don't realize how powerful they are.

And there is still so much work to do.

Help Us Keep the Movement Going

Ten years ago, we started with 15 kids and 88 Blessing Bags.

Today, we've reached more than 250,000 people. Imagine what the next generation of young leaders can accomplish.

This Give 8/28, I'm asking you to invest in them and in the communities they will serve.

Give today. Help us fill more Blessing Bags. Empower more young leaders. Reach more people in need.

Because changing the world doesn't have an age requirement.

Don't Wait to Be Great.