Helping the homeless in our communities is such an important task.
Fortunately, there are hundreds of heartwarming stories of people doing their part to help out the homeless population, like these women who opened a store where you can buy clothes for the homeless.
However, with the approach of winter each year, keeping the homeless safe from the cold becomes a serious and pressing issue.
And when I saw what these parents and their kids were doing to make a difference in the lives of their city's homeless, I was absolutely blown away.
Halifax, Nova Scotia, is a beautiful city, but it also can get extremely cold in the winter. In its coldest months, temperatures will often stay below freezing. This can make life extremely difficult — and dangerous — for those who are living on the streets.
In an effort to keep the city's homeless warm this winter, two parents and a group of little girls are being quite creative in how they are lending help.
Scroll through below to see the wonderful and touching way that they are making a difference.
What do you think of this idea for helping the homeless stay warm? Let us know in the comments!
h/t CBC News
Tara Smith-Atkins lives outside of Halifax, Nova Scotia, in Canada. Each year, she and her husband try to do their part to help out the homeless with a coat drive. But this year, the couple took their daughter and some friends right into the city for a creative way to make a difference.
It might look odd, but this coat is hanging right on a street pole in the middle of downtown Halifax. It was put there by Tara's daughter and her friends. While Tara was originally bringing her daughter and friends into the city for her daughter's eighth birthday, she decided to teach them a great lesson about making a real difference.
The girls spent a good part of their day walking around the city and hanging donated coats on street poles, benches, signs, and trees.
Each coat was accompanied with a handwritten note: 'I am not lost! If you are stuck out in the cold, please take me to keep warm!'
Tara and her husband had previously opened up their front porch for people to drop off coat donations. Tara said that the outpouring from the community was enormous. She told CBC News, 'Before long, the bags just started flowing in.'
Tara got the idea for having her daughter and friends attach the coats to poles and trees after trying something similar with her husband in Toronto last year. She said, 'It was a little bit overwhelming and definitely unsettling — the amount of poverty and homelessness there.'
The young girls dove right into the task, fully embracing the opportunity to help out, but also learning to appreciate the difficulty others must have in living outside. Tara said, 'When we got back in the car after an hour on the street, they were all freezing and crying for the heater to be on and complaining because they were cold. And they were bundled up.'
Tara was glad that the girls were able to walk away with a different perspective. 'They definitely learned the importance of it.'
The great work of these amazing parents and these wonderful young girls didn't go unnoticed. Photos of the coats, scarfs, and gloves went completely viral, with nearly 10,000 people sharing the images and singing their praise.
Tara has already begun planning for next year, aiming to collect even more coat donations. She also suggested that she would try to attach fast-food gift cards to the coats next year.
The wonderful work of these parents and these young girls is absolutely incredible, and will hopefully inspire others to reach out and do the same.
What do you think about what these parents and girls did to help the homeless stay warm? Let us know in the comments.
Please SHARE if you think these girls learned a valuable and life-changing lesson!
