On a brutally cold winter day, Loghan Wallace and his mom witnessed a homeless man begging for change for a sandwich. They bought him one and that interaction sparked Loghan’s desire to make care packages for homeless people.
“We want to make sure that they are a part of society and they are not ignored and that they know that they matter,” said the 12-year-old from Oromocto, N.B.
With the help of his teachers and classmates at Harold Peterson Middle School Loghan, was able to assemble 50 care packages.
“He’s a perfect example of every little bit helps,” said Warren Maddox, the executive director of Fredericton Homeless Shelters Inc.
Residents at Grace House and St. John House have received the care packages and some will be distributed to people living on the streets.
The packages include deodorant, toothpaste, masks and other essentials, and Loghan also includes a handwritten note that says: you matter.
“That goes an enormously long way beyond the packages and the gifts that are in those — the fact that there is someone out there that cares is also really important,” said Maddox.
The selfless act and compassionate message from Loghan inspired thousands of people to donate after a Facebook post about his care packages went viral.
“We hit over 100,000 people. I’m sitting at home and all of a sudden our online donations just start exploding on my phone and I’m like, OK, that’s great! But what’s going on?” said Maddox.
Loghan wasn’t expecting such an outpouring, either.
“I didn’t think that it was going to go from me doing it to, like, a bunch of other people,” he said.
The shelter is currently operating at full capacity with 23 beds, but still needs coffee, coffee whitener, sugar and cleaning products. To make a donation, visit Fredericton Homeless Shelters’ website.