WASHINGTON —聽Are you聽racking your brain trying to find the聽perfect gift for聽that certain someone who has everything?聽 Well,聽this Christmas聽you can help give the gift of hope to those who have nothing.
“The homeless are often overlooked in society,” says Jay Herriott.
For example, he says, when聽you see a homeless men holding signs, they become those signs.
“They lose their name. It’s hey, it’s that homeless guy,” he says.
But聽anyone could have a life-changing event that immediately聽changes his world.
Herriott聽runs “,” a non-profit dedicated to helping the homeless reclaim their lives.
“It’s the coolest thing I’ve ever been involved with because you make an impact. You can actually see that the people really appreciate that we come out. They appreciate that someone thought of them.”
He’s聽inviting you, on Christmas morning聽to help spread a little Christmas cheer by聽giving meals and presents to the homeless in Northern Virginia and聽D.C.
Beginning聽around 8:45 a.m. Christmas, Herriott will meet with volunteers at聽Burke Community Church where they’ll聽wrap presents and get聽the meals 聽together. The church is located at 9900 Old Keene Mill Rd. Burke, VA 22015. It can be reached at 703-425-0205.
“About 10:45 we’ll mount up and head to Prince William County to the homeless tent camps,” says Herriott.
After that he says聽the group will head to D.C.’s Franklin Park at 14th and K streets and to a聽few聽shelters in the city.
The types of gifts they’ll be giving out include “tents, sleeping bags and heavy lined, quilted lined flannel shirts.”
But the one gift the he says volunteers will provide that is priceless is the gift of hope.
“If you spent an hour with one of our homeless friends, it would drastically change the way you feel about homelessness,”聽Herriott says.
His goal with the homeless “is to聽help restore their name and get them back into society.”
Herriott says the D.C. area has聽nine of the richest counties in the country but still he says the area has what he calls the 鈥減rofessional homeless鈥� — people who are working but are making $10 an hour and can’t survive.
