A 4-year-old boy in Birmingham, Alabama is saving the world one person at a time by handing out food and money to the local homeless community.
He's pitched in to build a new homeless shelter, donating $5,000, Birmingham mayor Randall Woodfin posted on Facebook:
Austin Perine wears a red satin superhero cape that helps him work faster because "it blows in the wind," the boy told CNN. He goes by the superhero name "President Austin" because he wants to become president of the United States.
When he visits with people on the streets, CNN reports, Austin Perine always wears his all-blue "work outfit," complete with a T-shirt proudly displaying the hashtag #ShowLove in bold red letters.
Terance Perine, Austin's father, told CBS News that his son was inspired to help the homeless after watching a show on Animal Planet where a panda left her cub alone.
When Austin asked what would happen to the baby panda, his dad told CBS News it appeared it would be "homeless for a while." Austin asked him if people can be homeless too and wanted to meet a person living on the streets.
Terance Perine said that they went and bought food to hand out to some homeless people and it sparked something special in the boy. According to CNN, Austin Perine now spends his weekly allowance on food to give out to people on the street, to "show love" to the homeless.
Washington Redskins running back Samaje Perine is Austin's cousin, according to the Washington Redskins website.
After Austin Perine's story was featured on CBS News, Burger King stepped in to help, giving him $1,000 a month to spend on chicken sandwiches to hand out.
Church’s Chicken also stepped up to donate to Perine’s “#ShowLove” campaign.
Birmingham’s new homeless shelter is expected to open in late 2018.
About the Author
