The man with the “golden voice” used his unmistakable gift
to escape homelessness and is now using his fame to help others still living on
the streets.
After panhandling on the streets for 17 years, Ted Williams’
life took a turn for the better when a reporter from the Columbus Dispatch
posted a video of his sultry announcing voice that quickly went viral. Williams
has since gotten a contract with Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, reunited with his
mother, moved into an apartment and is working on kicking his alcohol and drug
addictions.
Now that he's gotten back on his feet, Williams wants to
make sure that those struggling without shelter, as he once did, get the same
chance to start over, NBC reports.
“Some people just really, really look at me with admiration
and they’re like, ‘God, if you can do it, I can do it,’” he told the news
outlet. “I think, God, if I fail what is that person going to do?”
The determined advocate recently launched the Ted Williams
Project, which supports homeless communities by providing basic necessities to
shelters and outreach programs, according to the nonprofit’s website. It’s
working on paying for such critical items as sheets, towels, mattresses and
blankets and also granting “wish-list” items to shelters.
But Williams made a habit of giving back even before he
launched his organization. Soon after he became an Internet sensation two years
ago, he visited a man with whom he once shared a tent on the streets of
Columbus and offered him a wad of cash, according to TMZ.
It’s no surprise that Williams is focusing on helping others
change their fate, considering the painful memories of his past are still quite
vivid in his mind.
“I thought it was the most degrading thing,” Williams told
NBC of how he viewed begging on a highway. “I thought it was the lowest form of
homelessness.”
No comments:
Post a Comment