It was right around 2012 when Clarksburg’s Aimee Williams drug her son Jonah to a Girl Scouts meeting. Needless to say, Johan wasn’t exactly thrilled to be there.

 

When you’re a 10-year-old fourth grader and you’d rather be outside playing or just about anything beyond attending a Girl Scouts meeting, a lack of attention might be expected. It turns out, that lack of attention has proved beneficial to individuals well beyond the borders of the United States.

 

In fact, if you happened to be on Facebook this past week and saw a post by Bridgeport’s Lora Rohrbough while on a mission trip to Haiti you may have seen the posts that have its roots to that Girl Scouts meeting many years ago.

 

The post by Rohrbough showed individuals from Haiti holding up a sign thanking “Jonah Williams” as they had soccer balls and uniforms on – some including the name “One King,” which is very familiar in these parts. As I saw the photos, I kept asking myself why the name sounded familiar.

 

There was a reason for it. Jonah Williams is the now 17-year-old son of my friend Chris Williams and his wife Aimee. The Robert C. Byrd junior and soccer standout managed to change the world simply by not being interested in a Girl Scouts meeting.

 

What the photo was about also drew my curiosity. I wondered why I hadn’t heard about what was taking place and got in touch with Chris to see if this is something that’s been reported on. He said it hadn’t. And when I asked where the best place to get background information on what his son was doing he did what any good husband would do – he had his wife help me.

 

And that’s where this wonderful story of a 10-year old begins and goes back to that Girl Scouts meeting.

 

“The meeting was on Mission work and helping out other people and the presenter had recently been on a Haiti trip,” said Aimee. “While she was talking Jonah was looking through the photo albums from the trip.”

 

Needless to say, this wasn’t the typical family photos Jonah Williams was used to. The photos showed the poverty of Haiti and it also showed something that really caught his attention. Children appeared to be playing soccer with a ball made up of rags with rope tied around it and others were using empty water bottles to play a game he loved.

 

“I remember he asked what they were doing, and I tried to explain,” said Aimee. “I realized it was hard for someone at age 10 to comprehend that and understand what it meant to not have the most basic things.”

 

Seven years later, Jonah Williams remembers the photos like it was yesterday.

 

“It really caught my attention. After she explained it to me I was more than surprised. I think I was shocked to see how others were living because I was too young to understand what it meant to be without anything,” said Jonah. “Just from soccer alone, my parents have always made sure I had what I needed; sometimes the best things possible. I have that and I’m looking at kids kicking around wadded up clothes for a ball. It troubled me the moment I saw it.”

 

Jonah Williams may have been troubled, but he wasn’t about to move on to the next photo album. Instead, he went directly to what was on his mind.

 

“He looked at me and said, ‘can I send them my stuff?’ I look back now and am floored that at 10 years of age he wanted to do that because when you grow up, for most of us, kids have what they need and don’t think about the rest of the world,” said Aimee. “When he saw it, it was immediate, and you had a tiny kid in a now tiny world with a singular tiny view.”

 

And soon the tiny view was going to make a big impact.

 

Through their attendance at Clarksburg Baptist Church, the Williams family knew groups took food and medicine to Haiti. What they didn’t take were items for kids.

 

“He thought he could do it by collecting items because he was certain they should be able to enjoy soccer. He was right,” said Aimee.

 

Jonah said he wanted to send stuff as soon as possible, including his own. Eventually, he worked with the children’s ministry at the church, worked with his parents to set up a Facebook page called “Share the Game” and the soccer balls started rolling in.

 

“It was great to see that first batch come in. I thought it was the coolest thing in the world because I was hoping to get a soccer ball or wo,” said Jonah. “I didn’t have a Facebook page at 10 so I had no idea who would see it.”

 

Of course, it wasn’t just Facebook. Jonah Williams started asking friends and league participants that he participated in for soccer balls. Since the ball sizes change as kids advance, he asked for the outgrown balls. He asked for people to buy them at yard sales, in bargain bins or wherever they could find them.

 

The method worked as the donations came in and continue to come in. The Facebook page he wondered about people seeing, well, they saw it.

 

Plenty saw it. And plenty saw it the next year and the year after that and they’re still seeing it today.

 

Aimee Williams worked with several people, including Rohrbough, to take the soccer balls on trips to Haiti, where her church sponsors the Friends of Forte Liberte. It is a village in Haiti adopted by the local community in Clarksburg and beyond.

 

“We’re so thankful to these awesome people that take these supplies on trips, but the good news about it is they serve a double purpose,” said Aimee. “You have to deflate the balls and the people taking other supplies, like medicine, line the duffle bags with the deflated soccer balls that help serve as protection.”

 

Eventually, the items increased. Suddenly uniforms and other items – such as pumps for the balls – were going over. Aimee Williams said groups such as the Central West Virginia Soccer League, One King Sports and the Bridgeport Soccer Association all got on board. Washington Irving Middle School donated jerseys as well. Because of that, the items weren’t limited to Haiti.

 

“Along with Haiti, we’ve sent items to Cuba, Honduras and even Ethiopia,” said Aimee. “Most of the items go to Haiti, but we’ll try to get them where they’re needed.”

 

They’re not just needed, they are wanted and in high demand. The photos from Rohbrough’s most recent trip proves just that.

 

“That picture shocked me like the first one I saw. I’ve seen other photos of the donations, but this one was directed at me,” said Jonah. “I knew it was a good thing, but I guess to see people with the items personally thanking you kind of pushed it up a bit.”

 

The good news is that Jonah Williams has no plans to quit. The not-so-good news is that the items are in frequent demand in places like Haiti where the balls simply don’t last.

 

“The terrain is rough and dry and in most places that we go and a single ball will last a week or maybe 10 days,” said Aimee. “ … The need for balls and even jerseys so they can play is critical.”

 

And that’s where you can step in. The aforementioned “Share the Game” Facebook page can be found by clicking HERE. You can message the group and donate new or used soccer balls of any size as well as any gear (minus cleats at the moment). You can also find collections done by the One King Soccer Camp and the Central West Virginia Soccer Association throughout the year.

 

It’s making a difference both in other parts of the world and right here at home. If you need proof, take a visit to Jonah Williams’ room.

 

The recently painted walls that used to feature posters of Lebron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh along with Ronaldo and currently features his RCB jersey that made it to the state soccer tournament and other recent awards has one other item.

 

“I have that picture with the thank you on it set up in my room. They don’t know me personally, but they know I’m trying to help and took the time to do say thanks,” said Jonah. “Seven years later and new things like that picture still make an impact and reassures me this is the right thing to do.”

 

The next thing to do may be an actual trip to Haiti. Jonah said it’s possible once he graduates.

 

“I want to meet the people there and help in ways other just providing items. I’d really like to be hands-on to help make a difference,” said Jonah, who pointed out how much of a help his mother and father have been in the entire effort. “I’d like to do that and keep it going. I guess as long as people are willing to help I’ll be willing to keep doing this and go wherever people are that are willing to help.”

 

Editor's Note: Top pic shows a 10-year-old Jonah Williams with his first batch of collected soccer balls. Next photo by www.benqueenphotography.com is Williams battling against Bridgeport is soccer action, while the third photo is a recent picture of Williams. In the fourth picture, Bridgeport's Lora Rohrbough is shown having a little soccer fun in Haiti with one of the balls donated to Share the Game. In the fifth picture, Williams is seen competing for the Eagles. The bottom two photos are from a recent mission trip to Haiti where the balls and uniforms were donated and a personal thank you was written to Williams. Additional photos courtesy of Aimee Williams or from the Share the Game Facebook page.