Tag: homeless

Jaden Smith Opens Vegan Food Truck For The Homeless in Los Angeles

Jaden Smith brought in his 21st birthday with a selfless act of love for the homeless community in Los Angeles!

On July 8, the musician has his first pop up event with his I Love You Restaurant, a vegan food truck. The truck served members of the homeless community in LA’s Skid Row region

“I Love You Restaurant is a movement that is all about giving people what they deserve—healthy, vegan food for free,” Jaden shared in a photo of the truck on Instagram. “Today, we launched our first one-day food truck pop-up in Downtown LA. Keep a lookout because this is the first one of many.” 

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Many celebrities including Kevin Hart, Bella Thorne, and Yara Shahidi commended his efforts. I do as well. Homelessness is up 16% in LA and is a serious problem in this country. While more needs to be done to actually get people out of the streets, it’s great that Jaden is doing what he can to bring them healthy meals to get through the day. I hope to see more of these pop-ups in the future!

Vending Machine In Indiana Gives Clothes And Other Necessities To Homeless For Free

A new vending machine in Indiana is helping the homeless community as winter fastly approaches.

In Muncie, Indiana, a vending machine has been stocked with warm blankets and clothing for the city’s homeless community…for FREE. All any homeless person would have to do is register with local community services first. Then they will receive tokens for the vending machines that can be used to access the free goods. All of the items were donated by local residents. “We know that they are out there. Some are in shelters, some are in different living situations,” Karee Buffin with Bridges Community Services said in an interview. “We really want to use something like this to reach out to people. It does demonstrate that our community cares.” The machine is located right by the fire station in Muncie, where firefighters can also provide help if needed.

I’m hopeful that tokens are rationed properly so that there is no misuse of goods, but I think that this is a good idea. Random: I just wrote a story on some of the unique things that Japan has including their vending machines with all kinds of stuff from food to batteries and umbrellas. It got me thinking that we should have more machines like this with items for those in need in this country and throughout the world. Upon a little research, I found that there has actually been a program rolled out in the UK with vending machines with food and items for the homeless. Other areas in the States like NYC and Los Angeles are also piloting these types of machines. Muncie may not be the first town to offer a machine like this, but hopefully, it won’t be the last. With the proper system in place, I see it being a great thing for those in need.

Watch the news story below for more about this vending machine…

 

 

Girl Opens Her Own Cupcake Stand to Raise Money for the Homeless

BentLee Martinez is another example of a great kid who saw a problem in her community and worked to do something about it!

Riding home from a family vacation, BentLee noticed several homeless people in a deserted area in downtown Boise. It broke the nine-year-old’s heart. So her mom, Stephanie Ford, asked her children what they should do to help. The kids offered up the suggestion of going to McDonald’s to get them some food.

The family bought 50 cheeseburgers to feed the homeless people and talked with them. But BentLee was already thinking of how she could help long-term. She had previously planned to start a cupcake stand to raise money for a family vacation to Disney World. Instead, she revamped that idea to raise money for the homeless in her community!

In the two months since she opened “Bam’s Bakery,” BentLee raised $800. Each week, she and Stephanie go shopping for toiletries, bottled water, clothing and juice boxes to help where they can.

In addition, Stephanie reached out to local social workers for support of an elderly couple who were not only homeless, but were badly injured. Not only were they able to get medical care, the social workers were able to find them a home. And it started with BentLee’s generous heart. “”I am pretty proud of her,” Stephanie shared with Inside Edition. “She is definitely an inspiration. It’s really weird to say, but she’s only 9 years old and she’s my role model.”

You can help contribute to BentLee’s cause on Facebook!

Formerly Homeless Boy Gets Emotional When Surprised with His First Bed

Eight-year-old Daerys lived in shelters the majority of his life, after his mom Dionna sadly lost her job as a nurse.

The two were eventually granted state housing, but couldn’t afford furniture for their new home. Because of that, Daerys slept in a pile of blankets in place of a bed.

Just in time for Christmas, the boy and his mom were surprised with a fully furnished home organized by charity Humble Design. And Daeyrs couldn’t help but get emotional when he saw he had his own bed!

 

Watch his touching reaction below!

The organization was able to assist more than 150 families transition out of homelessness and abuse shelters in 2017.

“Seeing how much having a bed and his own room meant to Daeyrs, it really made me realize what’s important in life and grateful for everything I have,” said Tregar Strasberg, the founder of Humble Design. “He was so excited to have his own room, but also so overwhelmed by what having this really means for him after all he’s been through, to have a place to stay and just be a normal kid with no worries.”

Truly a beautiful moment!

 

Young Girl Collects Shoes to Donate to the Homeless in Her Community

This beautiful 11-year-old saw a major need for the homeless children in her community, and is working her tail off to try to meet it!

Emily Inch, from North Carolina, has been helping the less fortunate since she was young, so giving back is nothing new to her. But, after learning that there are over 4,000 homeless kids in the Charlotte/Mecklenburg area alone, she stepped her game up in a huge way.

Emily started her own shoe drive, Soles for Kids, along with her friend Abby Pierce, to collect new or gently used shoes for kids in need. Their original goal was to collect 1,000 pairs of shoes, but in six weeks, they collected 1,898 pairs of shoes! 

Check out more of Emily’s story below…

With her passion for this project, Emily has applied for and won grants from Youth Service America and Disney Summer of Service Program, which she uses to buy shoes for donation. “With the money, I cleared out two Walmarts of their shoe section,” she revealed to HooplaHa.

For 2018, Emily and Abby’s goal have a big goal of collecting 4,000 pairs of shoes! The drive will officially kick off again in January, but the two are always accepting donations of money and shoes. In fact, you can give to their GoFundMe now to help them continue to raise money! 

Emily hopes to inspire other people with her charity work, especially kids her own age. “I want to help more kids get out there, start their own projects, and inspire more kids at an early age,” she admitted. That’s very commendable, and amazing for her to be so willing to give of her time and energy to help kids who truly need it.

Keep up the great work Emily!

 

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