We don’t know Ethan King. But he sounds like a pretty awesome kid. After starting the ‘Charity Ball’ foundation at the age of 10, Ethan seems to have things figured out – more so than most kids his age.
In 2009, Ethan went on a trip to Mozambique to help his father repair water wells in local villages. As an avid soccer fan and player, Ethan brought his soccer ball from America hoping to play a couple of pick up games with the locals. Ethan arrived in the village and threw his soccer ball to a small group of kids. But what happened next was the start of something life changing for thousands of under privileged kids.
The small group turned into 50 kids playing with one soccer ball in a matter of seconds, and Ethan knew what had to be done.
In an interview with People Magazine, Ethan said he saw just how much joy a soccer ball can bring. "I felt really bad knowing that I had seven soccer balls in my garage back home and these kids didn't even have one or have access to buy one" he said.
Now 14, Ethan and his Charity Ball foundation have sent over 4,000 soccer balls to 22 countries since launching in 2010. Mozambique, Ethiopia, Kenya, India and Cameroon are just a couple of the new homes for these soccer balls.
To date, the nonprofit has inspired over 75 corporations and 1,000 people to get involved to help deliver soccer balls to kids in developing countries.
Here is a link to a pretty cool mini documentary about the whole organization.
And if you’re feeling a little generous, or more curious about Charity Ball you can click here to learn more and donate.
