Social media celebrity Jimmy Darts surprises unsuspecting people with what he calls “undercover kindness.” His mission is to find people to bless, who are in need, have experienced great hardship, or simply show him kindness first. In his most recent video on Youtube, a compilation of stories, titled I Surprised This Struggling Nurse with $20,00, Jimmy blesses four different individuals who didn’t see it coming. One of his recipients, a young boy, AJ says he had a brain stroke and had to relearn how to walk and use the bathroom. AJ and his mom are shopping, when Jimmy steps on the scene to gift them with a Vikings football jersey, $1000, and tickets to a game that day. “I know you,” AJ says with a look of amazement on his face, “I’m sure, I know you.” That’s because Jimmy has millions following him on Tik Tok, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, and hundreds of videos like these.
The soon to be 27-year-old from Minnesota started going viral by sharing videos of himself giving money and gifts to strangers in need, whom he often finds to be good Samaritans. Jimmy usually hides his camera and will seek someone willing to help him. In the video, Giving a Struggling Family $40,000, Jimmy surprises a man named Jose whom he’d previously encountered and videod. After asking Jose to buy him a taco, Jose non-reluctantly buys him 3, and Jimmy returns the favor by gifting him $500. But the story doesn’t end there. Next, Jimmy started a fundraiser to help Jose, who said he had no money and really needed it for rent. Jimmy tells his fans, “and now because of you guys, you turned his 3 tacos into $42,000.” Jimmy explains about Jose’s situation, “he said it’s just him and his wife. They had a miscarriage, and they’re just going through some things financially, so this should be pretty cool for him.”
His real name is Jimmy Kellogg, but Darts comes from his tagline: “throw a dart stick you in the heart kill u with a lil bit of kindness.” This can be seen on most of Jimmy’s social media platforms along with merchandise that says “kindness is candy.” People love Jimmy’s content because of the brand he has created. Jimmy raises funds from his followers for the recipients of charity, so his fans get to participate in the good deeds, and see who their money goes to. They know Jimmy will deliver a feel-good video, where he brings his fun, silly personality, and surprises someone deserving of an act of kindness. In this last video, A Day in the Life of Jimmy Darts, he shows off his goofy side, as he takes his viewers along for a day at Lego Land, where he proceeds to spread joy, laughter, and money.
Jimmy’s rise to fame, which is detailed by Capitalism.com, happened after a series of life-changing events. He says that his parents instilled the acts of giving and generosity in him when he was a child. Each year for Christmas he would get $100 for himself and another $100 to give to someone in need. He was raised in a Christian household, but wasn’t always serving God’s purpose for his life. He knew he had a gift for making videos and once had over 18k followers back when he was recording himself at parties doing crazy antics, such as running through bonfires, falling through tables, and punching himself in the face.
Then he had an encounter with God after hearing Evangelist Billy Graham, which he describes in a podcast with Sadie Robertson Huff. He realized that his videos weren’t glorifying God, and deleted all of his content and followers. Jimmy went on the attend the Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry. Shortly after, he started making videos of himself doing random acts of kindness, and began gathering a sizable following again. According to a CNN story covering Jimmy, his big break happened after filming a day he spent with a homeless man in Miami and sharing the man’s cash app to help raise him money. That video went viral and the rest is history.
Jimmy is all about kindness and fun, but he also shows his audience that he he believes in Jesus and the power of prayer. He is often seen praying for people and telling them Jesus loves them. He has a dream which he describes in an interview on the Today show, to one day open a church that is all about healthy fun, with no drinking or alcohol, but other fun elements like a DJ, dancing, and even a waterpark for baptisms. He has blessed countless individuals and uses his platform to spread love wherever he goes. Perhaps one day he will get his dream church, where many more people will experience God’s love through Jimmy’s kindness, generosity and contagiously joyful attitude.
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