ORLANDO, Fla. – One young woman is trying to change the world, one pair of socks at a time. At 9 years old, Princess Jackson founded her own nonprofit organization to help the homeless community.
With help from her mom, Princess started lending a helping hand in her hometown of Houston, Texas but she hasn't stopped there.
She's taken her mission to several other cities after realizing that a pair of socks is overlooked when it comes to helping the homeless.
"I love socks. I like fuzzy socks, colorful socks ... so with that and also seeing the homeless, I put two and two together on how I can help them out," said Princess, now 15.
Six years ago, her mom took her to downtown Houston to feed and give back to the homeless community.
"I saw the homeless with blankets, cardboard, shoes with holes in them, but they didn't have socks to keep them warm," Princess said, adding that experience changed her life.
"She wanted to give back socks in the community, and we actually went to a local Walmart back home and asked them to help us out," her mother, Phyllis Burton, said. "They hopped on board. They gave us tons and tons of socks."
Soon the mother and daughter founded the non profit-- Sock Out Poverty.
"Our goal is to Sock Out Poverty all over the world. I want to impact a lot of lives and so far we've been to Atlanta, Washington D.C., California, Beaumont, Dallas," Princess said.
Now they're in Orlando, where they arrived with 200 pairs of brand-new socks for men and women housed in one of the city's homeless shelters.
"We call the different shelters and see the needs within that city, and we go to that particular city and state. There's needs all over the world, and to see a young girl want to fulfill and help others, just a young girl with a big heart it really means a lot," Burton said about her daughter.
While her focus is spreading generosity, Jackson also aspires to work in Hollywood.
She's already had roles in commercials and short films and hopes to make it to the big screen.
"I've auditioned for big movies with Kevin Hart and Will Ferrell. Even when I make it on the big movie screen, I still want to continue to give back with Sock Out Poverty," Princess said.
Her dreams also include her own line of socks.
"We've been thinking about making our own socks, our own logo so hopefully we can get that done. One day we will be able to do that," Princess said.
Her mom has been on board with that goal since the beginning.
"Listen to your child. You know, hear them out. If they have visions and goals and dreams get behind them. Go forward 100 percent," Burton said. "Let them follow their purpose in life, you know, let them be fulfilled in life, jump on board and your biggest supporters should be your parents."
Princess and her mom organize two annual trips. One is their Christmas in July sock campaign and the other is the winter sock campaign, which is the event that will take place Saturday at the Orlando Union Rescue Mission, where they will be providing socks for more than 100 men and women housed at that shelter.
People who want to help their mission can visit sockoutpoverty.org.