UBR Morning Post: 9-Year-Old Philanthropic Phenom Joshua Williams

This week on The Urban Business Roundtable, UBR Contributor Renita Young speaks with 9-year-old philanthropic phenom Joshua Williams, the founder, president and namesake of Joshua’s Heart. The mission of this Miami-based non-profit is to “Help Stomp Out World Hunger,” the passion for which was sparked when Joshua, then only five years old, saw a “Feed the Children” program on television. After years of donating his own money (including gifts from relatives) and pressing his mother, Claudia McLean and her sisters to take up the cause of ending hunger, one of Joshua’s aunts suggested that they start a non-profit organization, and the Joshua’s Heart Foundation was born. The foundation’s purpose is to end hunger “in indigent and underprivileged communities, as well as from among those who battle debilitating diseases that affect their ability to earn enough to feed themselves.”

To date, the Joshua’s Heart Foundation has raised more than $80,000 (including a $7,500 grant from the Dade Community Foundation last year) and collected more than 250,000 pounds of food. The Points of Light Institute has recognized Joshua’s Heart with a Daily Point of Light Award. Joshua was also among the young people recognized with a 2010 Stop Hunger Scholarship from the Sodexo Foundation. Joshua pulls up a seat to “The Roundtable” to chat with Renita Young about his foundation and his mission to end world hunger, one meal at a time.

To learn more or to make a donation, visit the Joshua’s Heart web site. For information on starting your own nonprofit organization, read “Nonprofit Insider: 4 Things To Do Before You Start A Charity” and “Nonprofit Insider: Choosing A Board for Your Nonprofit” at BlackEnterprise.com.

Also on this week’s edition of The Urban Business Roundtable, our Executive Producer TaQuoya Kennedy speaks with financial advisor and economic expert Charlotte Stallings. A former vice president of investment strategies and national spokesperson for American Express, the speaker, trainer and coach shares how business owners can change their mindset from frustration and uncertainty to confidence and “finesse” when it comes to managing their finances and operating their businesses.

In addition, every week on UBR, you’ll get motivation and inspiration from author and entrepreneurial icon Farrah Gray, a weekly wrap-up of business news from USA Today Business Correspondent Charisse Jones, our Patient Investor Report from Ariel Investments and key economic intelligence for small business owners from our UBR Economists Derrick Collins and Rasheed Carter.

And finally, I’ll share some important advice for inventors who need help bringing their products, ideas and innovations to market from the November 2010 Black Enterprise cover story “Codename: Inventors.” You can also find more articles for inventors at BlackEnterprise.com.

If you have a question you want answered or a topic you want addressed on The Urban Business Roundtable, send me an e-mail at edmonda@blackenterprise.com or to me at Twitter or Facebook.

Alfred Edmond Jr. is the editor-in-chief of BlackEnterprise.com and the host of the Urban Business Roundtable, a weekly radio show, sponsored by Ariel Investments, airing CST Wednesdays at 8:30 a.m., Thursdays at 6:30 p.m. and Saturdays at 9:30 a.m. on WVON-AM 1690, the Talk of Chicago. You can also listen live online at WVON.com. Check back each Wednesday for The UBR Morning Post, which features additional resources, advice and information from and about the topics, entrepreneurs and experts featured on the show.