Sometimes, those who have endured the most difficult of hardships are the ones who cultivate the most compassion. Such can definitely be said about an anonymous homeless man who donated $10,000 to a shelter in order to ensure his friends are taken care of.
According to Alexandra Calderon, the development officer for the Shelter House, an anonymous donor visited her office a few weeks ago with a support worker and offered the establishment a check.
Calderon told CTV News:
“I actually thought I had misread the cheque… I was floored. The support worker actually had tears in her eyes!”
At first, Calderon tried to refuse the check, but the man insisted. He said he wanted to make sure his friends were safe.
“He has a personal relationship with a lot of his friends who live at the shelter or who live at our managed alcohol program so he wanted to make sure that there was someone that they could call when they needed help,” explained Calderon.
The money that was received will be used to help fund the shelter’s Street Outreach Services (SOS) program, located in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. The donation couldn’t have been received at a better time, as the Shelter House lost funding in March and has been raising money to reboot its program ever since. Professional volunteers with the program visit homeless encampments and high-risk individuals to distribute food, water, blankets and other essentials. Businesses, individuals, and law enforcement officials can even request the SOS team to provide homeless or intoxicated people with anything they need — from transport to a friendly face.
The shelter is now halfway to its target fundraiser goal of $200,000. If you feel inclined to help out, be sure to visit the organization’s website.
The following video explains the SOS program:
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