Global Advocates Podcast: Joshua’s Heart Foundation
Hi there, Christine here, Western and Midwestern Campus Fellow for UNA-USA. Welcome to episode three of the Global Advocates Podcast, the series created by the United Nations Association USA campus fellows where we speak with organizations and young activists and to learn from their advocacy journeys. In this episode, we are still on the theme of addressing food insecurity in America and this time I was able to speak with two young individuals at Joshua’s Heart Foundation (JHF), a Miami-based nonprofit that provides groceries and daily necessities to those in need. The organization has had both a national and international impact through its various programs and has been awarded the Great Nonprofits Award three years in a row. I reached out to them specifically because they are an explicitly youth-run organization with many of its programs being managed by young inspiring individuals and I had the honor of speaking with two of them.
The first one is Joshua Williams who is the founder of JHF, and the organization’s namesake. Joshua has this remarkable story of having founded this organization at the age of four with the support of his family and continues to serve as its current President. Now a college student at the NYU Stern School of Business, he leads the organization with ever-growing maturity and insight which he has gained over the years of developing the Foundation. Joshua has received many awards for his work including the Champions of Change Award in 2012, making him the youngest recipient ever of this honor, Nickelodeon Halo Award Honoree, CNN Heroes Young Wonder, and many more. In 2017, he also received the President’s Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2020 Williams was named one of Hero of a Thousand Faces and recognized by Hormel’s 10 Under 20 Food Heroes.
Alongside Joshua is Celeste Kim the current Chair of JHF’s Junior Advisory Board, which is a collective of passionate young volunteer leaders who innovate, lead, and execute projects for the Foundation. Celeste has been involved with JHF since she was in middle school, and she intends to contribute until she graduates from high school.
Together we had a great conversation about their passions as a part of JHF, what inspires them, and the challenges they have met along the way. I was thoroughly inspired by my talk with them and I hope you will be too. If you are able to please also consider supporting Joshua’s Heart Foundations’ work in any way you can.
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