Twenty-four-year-old Ventnor local Johnny Sanchez decided to put the ever-growing, large-scale platform of social media to good use by helping those struggling in and around Atlantic City. Sanchez previously worked for three years in North Carolina with MrBeast, a massively popular YouTuber and entrepreneur known for his philanthropic efforts. Seeing how many people MrBeast helped, and how social media allowed him to reach such a wide audience, inspired Sanchez. After moving back home and witnessing people in need in his own community, he felt compelled to take action.
Sanchez took to his personal social media accounts and posted a short video explaining his desire to give back. In the video, he shared that his parents grew up in poverty and would have appreciated having that type of support. Posted on Nov. 7, just three weeks before Thanksgiving, the video set a goal to feed 1,000 people for the holiday and encouraged others to help. The response quickly exceeded anything Sanchez had expected.
“I just posted this video and I didn’t think people would donate. My initial goal was to raise $500, but then my friends encouraged me to raise it and make a huge goal to donate more,” Sanchez said. “I really didn’t expect the outcome or for it to go the way it did. I was surprised by how quick it happened. After the first day I posted it, we had already raised around $1,000.”
The money Sanchez raised was donated to Sister Jean’s Kitchen, a nonprofit organization that provides free hot meals and food pantry services to those in need, just in time for Thanksgiving. In addition to delivering the donation, Sanchez volunteered his time at the kitchen on Thanksgiving Day, allowing him to see firsthand the impact the fundraiser made and interact with the people it helped.
Thanksgiving, however, was not Sanchez’s first-time volunteering at Sister Jean’s Kitchen and it certainly won’t be his last.
“I chose to give the money raised to Sister Jeans Kitchen because I really like the way they operate,” Sanchez said. “I’ve visited a few times to volunteer and I like the way they treat those that come in and the history about Sister Jean and how it all got started. Just seeing the smiles on people’s faces when I went and handed out the food that day was everything.”
While Sanchez had never used social media as a fundraising tool on this scale before, giving back has always been part of his life. Sanchez shared that his family is from Honduras, and throughout the year they donate food, clothing, and other supplies to send to those in need there.
“Usually, each month my family and I will use our money and send stuff to family and friends there and I love doing that,” Sanchez said. “And it just made me think why don’t I also try to help people in my own area. It means a lot to give back to this area because this is where I was raised. As a kid I would drive by and see people on the streets and people struggling, so it just feels good to know I’m helping someone here.”
Sister Jean’s Kitchen, located at 108 N. Pennsylvania Ave. in Atlantic City, has provided more than 300,000 meals this year alone. With continued support from people like Sanchez, the organization can keep increasing that number.
Following the success of this campaign, Sanchez shared that he’s eager to launch future fundraisers and continue helping others. He hinted at possibly organizing a campaign to raise money for animals and said there will be more fundraising efforts and calls to action shared on his Instagram page, @visualsbyjohnny.
When asked if this experience would change how he uses social media moving forward, Sanchez responded, “100% yes!”
“In the past I just made videos with friends and maybe some of those went viral, but I wasn’t necessarily proud of the content or what we were doing. I wouldn’t go show my parents and be thrilled, but with this video, I’m really proud of it,” Sanchez said. “I showed my family and could proudly say that this content I created has helped people.”
One thing Sanchez emphasized was that he couldn’t have achieved this goal alone. Feeding 1,000 people for Thanksgiving required the support of Sister Jean’s Kitchen and the generosity of those who donated. In total, Sanchez raised $2,700, with every dollar going directly toward feeding members of the local community.
“What I want to tell the people that donated is that their generosity turned compassion into actions and really helped people,” Sanchez said.
Delaney Crawford is a dynamic entrepreneur with a passion for storytelling and digital marketing. Driven by a desire to empower local businesses, Delaney founded DLC Media, a company dedicated to helping businesses enhance their brand image and thrive online.
