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Ethan King is a 14-year-old boy from Michigan in the U.S. He started an international charity called “Charity Ball.” Its goal was to give away soccer balls to kids. 4,000 balls have been hand-delivered to kids in 22 countries since then. The charity has inspired 75 corporations and 1,000 people to help hand-deliver soccer balls to kids in developing countries so far.

It all started five years ago when King visited Mozambique in Africa along with his father. He was there to help his father provide clean water for the local folks. During his two-week stay, he discovered one need for Mozambican kids: soccer balls.

“I brought along my soccer ball. I was going to be playing with some kids in the villages,” said King. “At first, I was standing alone, kicking my soccer ball around a dusty field. Then, I had five kids playing with me. And the next thing I knew was that 50 kids were playing with me.”

That was when it hit him how much joy a single soccer ball could bring. And he saw the kids’ soccer balls. The balls were made of trash bags and twine. He felt really bad knowing that he had seven soccer balls in his garage at home and these kids did not even have one or could not afford to buy one.

Since that day in 2009, King has been trying to change that. “I have learned that you don’t have to be a celebrity or be a certain age to make a difference,” said King.

Do you want to join in his efforts? You can visit the website http://charityball.org.