If we left the world to be led by our children, it will undoubtedly become a much better place. Their innocence and inherent goodness would cleanse the planet of its misery, aggression, and sufferings.
At the age of 11, Michael Platt, from Bowie, Maryland, figured out his career. He founded Michaels Desserts, a bakery with a mission to fight hunger and help those in need.
For every single cupcake he sells, Michael gives one away to the homeless. Even the company name sends a powerful message, as he left out the apostrophe from Michaels since he isn’t baking for himself, but for others.
He found a way to combine the two things he loves in life, his admiration for Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and his favorite dessert, cupcakes, he now provides food for the hungry.
Michael is now home-schooled after he was diagnosed with epilepsy and began suffering severe seizures in sixth grade. He had to stop everything he loved: gymnastics, diving, and climbing trees, diving, and he threw himself into baking.
The “I Have a Dream” poster in his grandparents’ house made him think about the ways he too could fight for justice and memorized statistics about income inequality and childhood hunger.
Moreover, he spent afternoons at his computer, watching YouTube bakers who transformed a base of eggs, flour, and water into edible works of art.
He aims at spreading awareness and inspiring others to join his fight for social equality. The 13-year old boy decided to base his company on Toms “one-for-one” model when he received a pair of Toms shoes for Christmas.
This amazing boy also visits locations in his hometown, including domestic violence shelters, transitional housing and McPherson Square in the District to pass out goodies, where he personally hands out cupcakes twice a month, especially to children, as he loved cupcakes as a child.
Each month, he has a special edition themed cupcake called “freedom fighter cupcakes”. He’s honored Martin Luther King Jr. with a cupcake full of sweet potato pie filling twice.
At first, his parents funded his business, but now, the bakery funds itself.
Every month, he sells about 75 cupcakes, a dozen cookies and a dozen of his “chef’s choice” items sold, so he bakes the same number of giveaways. He bakes both for individuals and for events like anniversaries and weddings, with the most common requests include cakes or cupcakes for nearby birthdays.
Despite this, he also supports nonprofits fighting hunger, and he held a baking class at Williams-Sonoma, where he suggested participants pay $30 with money raised going to No Kid Hungry.
Sources:
www.washingtonpost.com
people.com
edition.cnn.com
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