Eight-year-old dancer busts a move while raising money for homeless services

Pulling off a couple of donkey kicks and corkscrews, 8-year-old Jonah Jacobson combined his love of dancing with his desire to help the homeless.

He recently held a fundraiser at his Adams Hill home, where he showed of his break-dancing moves and raised $800 for Ascencia, Glendale’s largest homeless services provider.

“The homeless population is going up. I wanted to help because I want all people to have the same privileges,” Jonah said.

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Break-dancing lessons began a little more than a year ago for the soon-to-be third-grader at John Muir Elementary School.

“I really like it because it’s really fun,” Jonah said. “I get to show off to my friends.”

Jonah said he’s been seeing more and more homeless people on the streets and decided to do something about it.

So, he organized a get-together at his home, where friends, family and supporters chipped in to support his cause.

Jonah’s father, Len, said his son’s actions have reminded him of an important lesson.

“Many of us go through life and don’t notice what’s happening around us,” he said. “What Jonah taught us is to really notice we’re all part of the same community, and that we need to take care of each other. … We’re actually very grateful to Jonah for reminding us of this.”

Ascencia’s executive director, Natalie Komuro, said she appreciates Jonah’s thoughtfulness and added that it’s no surprise that a child would step up to do something like this.

She said it’s getting more difficult for parents to shield their children from seeing or learning about homelessness.

“For a child who’s growing up in a secure home, to see other people who don’t, I think it’s probably a real shock to them,” Komuro said.

And as for hitting the dance floor again for a good cause, Jonah said he’s up for it. However, next time he’d like to raise funds for endangered animals.

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Arin Mikailian, arin.mikailian@latimes.com

Twitter: @ArinMikailian