When someone comes up to you and asks for spare change, what do you do? Most people don’t want to give money. As a kid, whenever I was in a city, I would bag up my restaurant leftovers and give them to a homeless person on the street. I never gave money, but I would give my extra, leftover food that so many people just throw away. Whenever my family stayed in a hotel, we would collect those little soap/lotion/shampoo bottles to donate at our local homeless shelter. Still, it always made me uncomfortable when people asked me for money. I wished there was something else I could give. Then I saw something online about people handing out care packages to the homeless, and I was interested. I looked around my room at all my stuff — too much stuff. I started categorizing my stuff into “needs” and “extras.” The “extras” I would give to someone who needed them.

I started off by going through all of my many bags and backpacks that I never used. I went through my clothes and picked out T-shirts and sweatshirts I didn’t want anymore. I found blankets that were not my favorites and added them to the pile. My collection of hotel soap/lotion/shampoo bottles also went in. I went through my home library and picked out books I didn’t want or had duplicates of and added them, too. I bought a pack of socks, a pack of underwear, water bottles, top ramen, cheese crackers, canned vegetables (with a pop top), toilet paper, individual wet wipes, band-aids, and a bag of lollipops (because why not!). I was able to get all of that without breaking the bank, and it lasted me quite a while. I put one of each thing in a bag and threw in some Ziploc baggies and a trash bag, too.

I put a bag in my car, and when I was in town, I looked for someone to give it to. I finally saw someone with a sign. It read “Anything helps” with a smiley face. I rolled down my window and told him I had a bag of stuff with some food and handed over the bag. He was so grateful and a little confused. He took the bag back to his spot and started to go through it. Before I pulled away, I saw him pull out the sweatshirt and immediately put it on. When I got home, I put a new bag in my car, and I have been doing this ever since. I have never met someone who was ungrateful to receive a care pack. I have gotten a lot of confused people and a few that have run back to my car thanking me. A couple have been choked up and close to tears, which made me get all choked up. I don’t always have everything in there, but I put in what I have.

When I ran out of bags, I started to tie up stuff in the blankets I still had. Then I used cardboard boxes. Then I went to a local festival and hit the jackpot! Every booth was giving out little cheap bags with their logo on them and every dentist had free toothbrushes. I loaded up, and I am set now for a good while!

Yes, if you just give a man a fish, you’ll feed him only for a day, but what if he is incapable of fishing for himself? Many homeless people can not hold down a job or take care of themselves. Most people ignore the homeless because they make them feel bad. They block them out and see straight through them. They are invisible. Kindness can be spread even by seeing someone — really seeing them and smiling at them. Give what you can, even if it is just kindness.

If you are not into the homeless care package idea, there are other ways you can still help. Here are a couple of organizations that do a one-for-one-thing for the homeless:

Sackcloth and Ashes donates a blanket to your local homeless shelter for every blanket you buy. 

Divvyup donates a pair of socks to the homeless for every pair of socks that you purchase.

Mitscoots Socks also donates a pair of socks to the homeless for every pair of socks that you purchase, and they also employ those transitioning out of homelessness to package everything up. 

This article was written in response to "Homelessness in a Big City."