Jack Powers might be just a kid but he knows that even an 11-year-old can help change the world.
Jack was sick of seeing people being mistreated in the U.S. just because they were a different color than him.
“I just wanted to make a change and I didn’t like how people were being treated,” Jack told KMOV. “I saw what happened to George Floyd and I didn’t like how black people were being treated so, I decided to make a change.”
That’s why Jack’s decided to spend the summer mowing lawns to raise money for a social justice organization.
Instead of keeping the funds and buying something for himself, the Shrewsbury, Missouri tween is giving all the money he makes to Black Lives Matter.
Black Lives Matter was started in 2013 after the acquittal of Trayvon Martin’s killer.
The organization seeks to “eradicate white supremacy and build local power to intervene in violence inflicted on Black communities by the state and vigilantes.”
Black Lives Matters was among the organizations that were flooded with donations after George Floyd was killed by Minnesota Police and have been instrumental in organizing the protests and other activism efforts that have taken place nationwide.
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And Jack was ready to work hard to support this cause. He opened his lawn mowing business in June and put up flyers around the neighborhood to advertise his services.
“Jack’s lawn service, $15 dollars per mow, All money goes to Black Lives Matter” his sign reads ending with a smiley face and his phone number.
So, far business is going well for Jack.
“I’ve had two jobs and two other people that just wanted to donate money,” Jack told KMOV in mid-June.
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By then Jack, who loves basketball, soccer, and the Boy Scouts, had raised about $110.
Not only is Jack raising money, but he’s also raising awareness.
“It almost brought me to tears,” Jack’s neighbor actress April Strelinger said of first seeing Jack’s sign in the neighborhood.
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Strelinger says that Jack’s effort has helped her talk to her family about racial injustice and what they can do to help end it
“There’s been a lot of change, flux and hardship so to see Jack’s poster and find a helper, it actually opened up a great conversation with my son about how he can be a helper,” Strelinger said.
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Even though Strelinger’s lawn was in pretty good shape, she still wanted to donate to Jack’s fundraiser.
“It was just such a beautiful thing,” she said of Jack’s efforts.
Since then, the sixth-grader’s story has gone viral and has been picked up by several national news outlets like People and Inside Edition.
People all around the world are applauding Jack for his efforts, as well as his parents.
“He was obviously raised by parents with love and compassion! Kudos to this family!” wrote one commenter on Facebook.
While some on Facebook criticized Jack’s donations to Black Lives Matter Foundation, Inc. questioning how the organization actually spends their money, others say they are missing the point.
“Good lord y’all. It’s not about who gets to ‘pocket the money.’ It’s a bigger life lesson,” wrote one commenter.
“OMG people, complaining about a child wanting to help others. Yeah, sure the money could go to other things.” another said. “Let him help, we should all be proud of a young kid wanting to make a difference and help others.”
Jack says he hopes that his story going viral will help inspire others to fight for change and support causes that matter to them.
“I just hope more people will be inspired to donate to organizations,” Jack said.
And as for the future of his business, he says, “I’m pretty excited.”
Want to help Jack and his cause? Write to him at [email protected]. You can learn more about Black Lives Matter here and more about Jack’s story in the video below.
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