Jon Jacques, a 20-year-old who worked at a video marketing company in New York City, has been spending his free time after work and on the weekends showcasing his street magic performances on the live-streaming app, Periscope. After a while, he realized he could turn his hobby into his dream job. In June, Jacques gained the courage to quit his high-paying job so he could Periscope full-time.
In a video posted on his GoFundMe page, Jacques said, “I had this crazy idea to go to Times Square in NYC and do some street performances to raise money, but not to keep the money, to take that money and donate it to noble people via random acts of kindness.”
Within 24 hours of creating his first GoFundMe page, Jacques raised $700. Soon after, Jacques decided to launch a second page so he could raise even more money, this time with a goal of $5,000.
Jacques left it up to his contributors to decide where he should donate the money, and they voted that the donations should go to the Make-A-Wish Foundation and Children’s Miracle Network Hospital. As far as the rest of the money goes, they voted it should to go towards random acts of kindness.
Even though Jacques has already raised a couple hundred dollars, he said he hasn’t spent any of the money on himself. Jacques made sure to save up enough money over the past few weeks so he could live without earning a steady paycheck.
Jacques has earned more than 22 million hearts and is ranked No. 16 on Periscope’s Most Loved list worldwide.
Jacques told Mashable he was drawn to Periscope because “it can give anyone a platform to tell their story. It can give people a voice.”
Jacques will continue to reach out to people who need a magic moment and could use the extra support. People who donate to Jacques GoFundMe page can learn more about the individuals stories and watch live through Periscope.
If things don’t end up working out for Jacques, he said he’ll definitely go back to working full-time.
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