Viral social media star Jimmy Darts is known for his radical acts of generosity, but what many might not realize is that Darts’ passion is driven by his Christian faith.
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The influencer’s new book, “Undercover Kindness: Saying Yes to Love, No to Fear, and Embracing the Life-Changing Power of Ordinary Generosity,” explores the power of giving and the impact of kindness.
For Darts, this journey started when he was young.
“It’s a pretty crazy story,” he said. “It was way before I was ever on the internet or making videos. And it was when I was a child. I was 10 years old and my parents for Christmas are [like], ‘Jimmy, we got a different kind of gift for you this year.’ And I’m like, ‘All right, what’s that?’ And they go, ‘We got $200 for you.’”
He was naturally excited, but there was a catch: he needed to give half of it — $100 — to a stranger. At first, Darts thought the suggestion was insane.
“I thought they were crazy,” he said, noting, though, that he followed through with their logic.
Darts recalled driving with his mom and seeing a homeless man on the side of the road in the cold. He immediately wanted to give the money to the man.
“So my mom pulls over, I hand him the $100 bill, and, man, the look in his eyes of just seeing a kid … step out there, and he had probably gotten, you know, quarters thrown at him or middle fingers all day,” Darts said. “But a little kid … last thing he’s expecting is a $100 bill to come out of his hands.”
He continued, “Just, in that moment, he felt so loved and just that exchange I had … it’s really powerful and shaped my life so much. I remember the look on that gentleman’s face when I gave him that $100, but I have no clue what I bought that year with the other $100.”
It was a transformative experience for Darts, who wants to encourage other parents to set up similar acts of generosity with their kids. Today, Darts is a social media star, bringing his acts of kindness to strangers.
“Every day, [I] thank the Lord that I get to do this,” he said. “It’s a real blast.”
Darts said he grew up in a Christian home but that he didn’t take his faith seriously until high school.
“When I was a senior in high school is when I actually … gave my life to Jesus,” Darts. “I stumbled across a Billy Graham video on YouTube, actually. And he just talked about, are you going to live for yourself? You going to serve your dreams? Are you going to live to serve other people, live for the kingdom and have eternity with the Lord?”
Darts said this message left him deeply convicted — and he ended up giving his life to Christ.
“It just really started this journey of following the Lord,” he said. “I went from making crazy videos on the internet as like a party high school kid to my pastor saying, ‘Man, if you really believe what you’re saying, Jimmy, you’ll go home and delete everything.’ So I wiped my … videos and everything I had done, and I was like, ‘Man, I want to serve the Lord.’”
That’s where the roots of Darts’ generosity took form. He said God gave him the idea to ask people for help on video when he didn’t need it and then go out of his way to intentionally “change their life.”
“That’s when this whole thing started of going up to strangers at laundromats, Walmart, saying, ‘Hey, could I have a couple quarters for this? I’m short a dollar for gas,’” he said. “And when they helped me, I would give them $500, and that would really be just the beginning because these videos would then go on the Internet and people would say, ‘How can I pitch in? How can I help? And we created GoFundMes.”
This would then bring in hundreds of thousands of dollars for recipients — something Darts has continued as he creates viral videos. He’s hoping to inspire people through his new book, “Undercover Kindness,” which focuses on acts of goodness and faith.
“God doesn’t want to just hang out with you once a week,” Darts said. “Yes, go to church. That’s amazing. But he really wants to be your friend and friendship with Jesus daily is where so many things can happen in your heart.”
He covers this and more in the book, helping people understand how embracing Jesus can change everything.
“The truth is, it’s an honor to follow Jesus, and your taste buds change, and you no longer feel obligated to live righteous, but you desire to live righteous,” Darts said. “And I think that’s the biggest heart posture change that friendship happens.”
