At only 11 years old, local resident Jonas Corona’s attention this holiday season turns outward, with hopes to bring a little warmth to those less fortunate by collecting and distributing thousands of pairs of socks.

The annual sock drive is just one of many things that his charity, Love in the Mirror, does for the homeless and underprivileged youth each year.

The Long Beach boy loves to see the smiles spread across peoples faces when he hands them something they have been needing or wanting, which most often are basic necessities, including toiletries, clothes, blankets, shoes and food.

When he was just 6 years old, he founded the organization, which is celebrating its fifth anniversary this Thanksgiving. Overall, Love in the Mirror has helped nearly 30,000 people, said Corona’s mom, Renee.

It all started with his first trip to Skid Row when Jonas was 4 years old. They would go with family members the first Saturday of each month to set up a table where they cooked and served food, Renee said.

“Once we got there, we realized, ‘Gosh there are so many other things that they need, not just a plate of food. A lot of people didn’t have shoes, jackets or a lot of different things,’” she said.

The real turning point for Jonas was two years later when he saw his first homeless child, something he said shocked him and made him want to do more.

“I couldn’t believe there were kids who didn’t have a home,” Jonas said. “No kid, younger or older than me, should be on the streets.”

There couldn’t be a better time for a charity dedicated to youth, as the percentage of homeless children has been on the rise in recent years, with anywhere from 6,000 to 10,000 unaccompanied youth and young adults in Los Angeles County each year, according to Angela Rosales, co-chair of the Los Angeles Coalition to End Youth Homelessness.

Jonas decided to create the charity when he asked his mom if he could start volunteering at local shelters, which ultimately rejected his offers because of his age, he said.

“I didn’t want to stop helping and I didn’t want to wait,” he said. “Imagine what could have happened in those four years.”

He even came up with the name and hand-drawn heart logo unassisted.

“Everyone should look in the mirror and love what they see,” Jonas said.

The big focus for the month of November has been the sock drive. Boxes are placed throughout the city — in elementary schools, churches, Girl Scout troops and businesses. He and his mom will soon be making the rounds to collect, count and then distribute the socks.

Earlier this month, a daytime TV talk show, The Real, jumpstarted his efforts by donating 3,000 pairs. With that in mind, he set a goal of 11,000 pairs, which would match last year’s results before the big donation.

He started collecting socks because they were the “number one thing requested” on Skid Row when he would help feed the homeless. They never had any to give out.

After operating the charity out of the house for the first three years, Jonas and his organization were featured on ABC’s hit television series “Secret Millionaire.”

On the episode, he thought he was being filmed for a documentary, but really Hillary DeCesare went undercover as a volunteer in Jonas’ organization. DeCesare is CEO and co-founder of Everloop.com, a safe social media site for kids. She helped Jonas make and hand out sandwiches.

DeCesare later identified herself and donated $12,000 with the stipulation that the family use the money to turn Love in the Mirror into a nonprofit. Mom Renee said she immediately began filing all the paperwork, and by December of 2012, they were established. The nonprofit status was even retroactive, dialing the start date back to 2009.

“Jonas still keeps in touch with her … she helped us a lot and opened so many doors,” Renee said of DeCesare.

Last week, the Coronas dropped 150 coats off at local shelters and on skid row before they did some Thanksgiving grocery shopping for needy families.

Next month, they will host a toy drive at the historic Bembridge House, where they hope to collect 1,000 toys for homeless children and families in need, Renee said.

“Jonas’ mission is to help homeless people but also teach kids to give back,” she said.