By Kelly Wolfe
The Jefferson Awards Foundation
At the Jefferson Awards Foundation, we believe the fabric of America is individuals making a difference. We also believe in the incredible capacity and spirit of young people – who in their natures THINK BIG and see the “why” instead of the “why not”. JAF’s youth programs are all designed to help young people figure out what they care about and then give them the tools they need to have a meaningful measurable impact. We also believe in the power of having an impact – that moment when an individual figures out they can be the one to fix the problems they see and literally transform lives.
Imagine the power of a ball. All children should be able to play. Play builds character. It builds communities. It creates joy. That is why the Jefferson Awards Foundation, through our LEAD360 Challenge, is inspiring the entire country to find or donate just one ball. If every high school football player in America donated just one ball that would be more than 1 million balls – benefiting 40 million children around the world!
Wesley Boone, a 19-year-old star soccer player from Indiana, had his moment back in 2013, after watching the PBS documentary “Power to the People.” Wesley realized too many kids have nothing to play with. He became aware of how fortunate he was and felt inspired to make a change, starting Gear Going Global. As Gear Going Global was the winning LEAD360 Health & Wellness project, the Jefferson Awards Foundation and Wes are asking the country to collect new and used sports equipment, providing kids all over the world with the gear they need to play.
“Kids will search for days for scraps and pieces of various objects in order to scrap together a ball to play with. I have seen soccer balls made out of small scraps of clothes, trash, rocks, twine, etc. The lengths that some of the children will go to make a ball is what drives me to try and provide a ball for them.”
– Wesley Boone
Join Wes and JAF in ACTING WITH MAXIMUM IMPACT! Visit lead360.jeffersonawards.org. Together we can change the world one ball at a time.