Initially, I was a little apprehensive about going up to strangers because when I first meet people I tend to be a little shy, but I just carried around the money in my wallet just waiting for the right opportunity to present itself. Since I’m from New Jersey I spend basically every weekend in DC as a tourist and one of the days I neglected to check the weather or process the fact that there were massive clouds above my head (silly me) and on my way to the Monument it started pouring and it really ruined my day. Although, I was able to catch a glimpse of what it’s like for a homeless person when it rains since they carry around all their stuff and normally aren’t in shade all of the time, and I thought what if I bought a bunch of umbrellas and handed them out to people in need? So, that’s what I did, for the past week I’ve been handing them out to homeless people I encounter while driving. I bought large golf umbrellas so they could use them as shade from the sun on very hot days as well. A few of them were a bit confused since it hasn’t been raining the times I gave them out but most people were happy to take them from me. I wish I could do more but it’s nice to know at least the people I could help won’t have to worry about being drenched on a rainy day.
– Nana O.
