A Gift Box For The Homeless
What if there existed a ''gift box'' that was specially made each season for the homeless?
Inside, there would be items that would be useful for them everyday: deodorant, band aids, body spray, towel, blanket, water, socks, lip balm, granola bars, toothbrush, toothpaste, mouthwash, etc...
What if there was a box like this that you can buy for a reasonable price? Would you buy it and offer it to a stranger that needs it? Would you go out of your way to pay it forward and give the gift of kindness?
What if all of the profits from this box were used to feed the homeless?
Would you be even more inclined to purchasing it?
I would love to hear your thoughts.
Sonia J.
Recent Comments
22
Hi Sonia. My daughters Girl scout group did this as a project in the past. All the products were donated and then the girls packaged them and handed them out to anyone who offered to pass them on.
I handed a couple out to those I saw in my travels around town.
Selling a prepackaged product might be a good idea, as long as you can keep the shipping costs down.
It would be a great way to help others help others.
Blessings
Ray
Hi Sonia
I love this concept! The knock-on of the profits feeding the homeless is a great idea too - well done!
Currently, in Johannesburg (where I live in South Africa) there is a trend where individuals are putting together packs for the homeless. They do this in their private capacity by donating their preloved bags filled with goodies, like the ones you are suggesting here. This is done at traffic lights generally.
As Dave mentioned below, sadly there are always going to be folk to take advantage and fraud is the result. To avoid the challenges of distrust, I suggest you put it all together very publically with auditors involved (pro bono of course)
I have just started a Facebook page and wesbite to get food into Zimbabwe and the way I am doing this is by providing a way for people to buy directly from an online store who then deliver directly to a registered charity in Zim. That way I am just an advertising vehicle in a way.
Wishing you every success with your Gift Boxes for the Homeless & blessings for all your hard work.
Blessings
Louise x
Wow, Louise! Thank you so much and congratulations on your project. It's very kind and generous of you. I love the idea. Thanks for the positive feedback. I will take it all into account.
That is a lovely idea. I can see the idea flying as a DIY thing, where you post a list of things research has proven would be welcomed by an average homeless person and individuals go out and purchase those items to give to a person in need.
That as opposed to a profitable biz model for putting the boxes together and selling them at a minimal profit.
Shipping costs, the lifespan of a good intention in someone's brain vs the time it would take to act on the thought, and of course, in our lawsuit crazy society today, there would be protecting yourself against liability.
Then again, what do I know? I thought bottled water the most insane idea I had ever heard of a few decades ago. lol
But wait! Find a way to get Amazon involved and you're good to go. Maybe they could find a way to make it happen through their Nextdoor platform?
KC
Wow! Thanks so much for your valuable feedback. I really like the Amazon idea. I am looking into that right now. There doesn't seem to have anything like this currently on there. There are survival kits and bags but not with the items that I am thinking of.
Nextdoor platform sounds great too. I am going to check it all out. :)
Yes, I would buy the box as long as I knew the background of the organization...
There are some charity organizations that are getting shut down due to fraud activity, and this is the case even with some big names associated with them...
Actually right now, the sale for one product I have going on I am giving 10% of net profits to VA organizations - this is kinda like what I would be looking for...
Cheers!
Dave : )
See more comments
What people started here in Iceland 1 or 2 years ago was that on one wall people come and let clothes, towels, shoes and other things on this wall. Then homeless could take what they could use for free on this wall.
There are not many here but one is too many.
Wow! That too is such a great idea! :)
It's so important to help others.