Teen behind ‘Project I Am,’ gives away another 500 Blessing Bags to homeless
CHICAGO — It’s not often a child’s thought becomes a young man’s mission, but on Saturday in Bronzeville, Jahkil Jackson had another big day.
When Jackson was eight years old, he came up with the idea to give out essentials to those experiencing homelessness, calling the essentials given out “Blessing Bags.”
“I say that I’ve been working at this pretty much half my life,” said Jackson, now 16 years of age. “In the blessing bags are toiletry items like soap, socks, hand sanitizer, conditioner, lotion … Just the daily essentials that we can sometimes take for granted that they don’t even have.
“I call them blessing bags because when I was younger, I was trying to come up with a name for them and in the bag … The items are like a blessing for them.”
Jackson’s mission became a non-profit organization called “Project I Am.”
On Saturday, Jackson and a team of volunteers helped put together another 500 Blessing Bags to be given out to area homeless.
Outside of volunteerism and charity, Jackson’s written two books based on his journey inspiring change around Chicago, and he said there’s a third on the way.
His affirmations through Project I Am have made it onto pillows for Crate and Barrel, while his mission has caught the attention of many affluent people, including former US President Barack Obama, who he met back in 2018.
“Probably one of the best days of my life,” Jackson said. “It was great getting to meet him. It was actually a surprise. So, getting to meet the first Black president — always looking up to him — is one of the best experiences I’ve ever had.”
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Jackson’s goals moving forward include getting other young people involved in Project I Am branches in other cities, and to expand his sights on helping those without a place to live.
“This journey’s been amazing to me. These past eight years have been filled with lots of experiences not a lot of kids my age get to have,” Jackson said. “Getting to work with corporations, work with other young people and inspire other young people to do the same thing I’m doing in their communities.”
Eight years of being driven by a young boy’s imagination of what can be, now a young man who’s finally able to drive himself toward new heights helping his community.
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