Our Story
About the Porch Light Project
Who We Are
A light left on for everyone
The Big Bend Porch Light Project was born from a simple belief: that no one in our community should go to bed hungry, without hope, or without a path forward. We started with a few volunteers, some home-cooked meals, and a deep love for the Big Bend region of Florida.
Today, we run three core programs — feeding the hungry, creating employment opportunities, and cleaning up our community — all powered by neighbors who refuse to look away.
The porch light is a symbol of welcome. It says: you are seen, you are safe, and there is a place for you here. That is the promise we make to every person we serve.
What Guides Us
Our Values
Compassion
We see the humanity in every person we serve. Dignity is not earned — it is given freely.
Community
We believe neighbors lifting neighbors is the most powerful force for lasting change.
Opportunity
A meal opens a door. A job changes a life. We create pathways, not just handouts.
Integrity
Every dollar donated goes directly to our programs. We are transparent, accountable, and grateful.
How It Started
From a porch to a movement
It started the way most good things do — with someone who couldn't ignore a need. Founder Joshua Parsons saw the same faces on the same corners, day after day. Not strangers. Neighbors. People who had fallen through the cracks of a system that moves too fast to notice.
So Joshua did what anyone with a porch and a pot of food would do: he invited people in. Word spread. More volunteers showed up. More meals were cooked. And slowly, what began as one man's act of compassion became an organized effort to address the root causes of homelessness and poverty in Big Bend, Florida.
We incorporated as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit because Joshua knew the need was bigger than any one person's porch. Today, our programs reach hundreds of community members every month — and we're just getting started.
Meet the Founder
Joshua Parsons
Joshua Parsons
Founder & Executive Director
Joshua Parsons is the heart behind the Big Bend Porch Light Project. A lifelong resident of the Big Bend region of Florida, Joshua has spent decades watching his community grow — and watching too many of his neighbors fall through the cracks.
Driven by faith, compassion, and a stubborn refusal to accept that hunger and homelessness are inevitable, Joshua began feeding people out of his own home. What started as one man's response to a neighbor's need quickly grew into something far bigger than he imagined.
Under Joshua's leadership, the Porch Light Project has served thousands of meals, helped place hundreds of people into stable employment, and organized community cleanups that have transformed neighborhoods across Big Bend.
"I just left the light on," Joshua says. "And people started finding their way home."
Ready to be part of the story?
Whether you give, volunteer, or simply spread the word — you help keep the porch light on for someone who needs it.