PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – A Ponte Vedra High School student is being honored for turning personal tragedy into purpose—and inspiring his community in the process.
Ben Williams, a rising leader with a big heart, has raised nearly $175,000 for the American Heart Association (AHA), earning him the title of First Coast Teen of Impact winner and national runner-up.
For Ben, the journey started on the baseball field.
“During our eighth-grade championship game on the mound, my teammate suddenly collapsed,” Ben recalled. “At first we thought he tripped, but he didn’t get up. You don’t know if it’s a heart attack, you don’t know if it’s cardiac arrest… it was surreal, and it was really scary.”
That frightening moment, along with the loss of his grandfather to heart disease, motivated Ben to take action.
“It made me really understand the impacts of heart health in my life,” he said.
Ben joined the AHA’s Teen of Impact campaign, competing against 177 students nationwide. In just nine weeks, he raised nearly $175,000 by sharing his story and encouraging others to share theirs.
“I learned that I really have to be vocal with why I’m doing this,” Ben said. “Through me being vulnerable and sharing my ‘why’ with others, I got to understand their ‘whys’ as well.”
Now, his mission is clear: spread awareness about CPR and inspire others to step up.
“It’s about doing what I can to prevent heart disease, raise money for research, and spread heart health knowledge—like the impact of CPR—so that other people can eventually save lives if they need to,” Ben explained.
According to the AHA, more than 350,000 cardiac arrests happen outside hospitals each year—and less than 10 percent survive.
“It’s something that unfortunately might impact all of us at some point, either friends, family, or ourselves,” said Jessie Roush, the First Coast AHA’s VP of Health Strategies. “We want to make sure people are aware of hands-only CPR and what they need to do to jump in and save a life.”
Leaders with the AHA say Ben’s work shows the power of youth in making real change.
“We truly need the community to come together to support our cause,” Roush said. “That’s how we make sure we all live longer, healthier lives.”
And all of us doing what we can to help each other—that’s Positively JAX.
Join the cause
The First Coast Heart Walk is this Saturday, Oct. 4, at the Jacksonville Fairgrounds.
- The festival opens at 7:30 a.m.
- The walk begins at 9 a.m.