BALTIMORE — 16-year-old Sha'Miyae Hinton-Knight experienced the joy of giving to others at a very young age. When she was four years old, she says she gave a homeless man a hotdog.
"After I gave him my food, I just felt this heart waving, emotion feeling. I didn’t know what it was in the moment but after I gave him my food, I felt tearful and joyful," she said.
"So as I grew up to realize what that feeling was, I wanted to do more and expand more with other people so that’s why I started my nonprofit."
She began 'Faithfully Gifted Hearts' at the age of 8. The mission statement is aimed at all youth in Baltimore city: You're more than your environment.
"There’s a lot of youth in Baltimore City that has no home, no food, no clothing, etc.," she said. "I'm showing youth you can do things because I did and you can achieve it."
She feeds the homeless, leads job readiness training for girls and does a toy giveaway around the holidays. She does much of this work with her two younger siblings, Jai'Veon and Bri'Asiyah Knight, who she calls her "vice presidents."
"They just basically show youth they are more than your environment, no matter how young you are, you can start now."
Hinton-Knight says she still gets that warm feeling inside, just like she did at four years old, whenever she helps someone in need. "I just start crying because I get to help people."
Faithfully Gifted Hearts is now collecting donations for their holiday toy giveaway. To learn more about how you can support their cause, email them at faithfullygiftedheartsinc@gmail.com
