Packages prepared for the homeless. Photo Contributed
Brady and Jordan Cohen, son and daughter of Amy and Michael Cohen of Potomac, often asked their parents why there are homeless people on street corners begging for money from people in cars stopped at traffic lights. Their parents explained to them that these people are often homeless, without a safe place to live or enough food to eat — and sometimes, as their signs say, they are chronically ill and have no way to pay for medical treatment.
After considering these answers, 9-year-old Brady and 8-year-old Jordan, students at Potomac Elementary School, decided to take action and find a solution to helping these homeless people. After brainstorming ways they could make a difference, the young entrepreneurs created a sign and set up on Bethesda Avenue, asking passers-by to purchase bottles of water and donate whatever they could to their cause. Their plan was to raise money to buy useful products and healthy food that the homeless would appreciate. “Buy water, help the homeless,” was their sales pitch.
“We saw someone selling water to help disabled people, so we thought we could do the same thing to help the homeless,” said Jordan. “We were really excited because the first weekend we raised $73 and the second weekend we raised $125.” The youngsters have sold water or assembled and distributed bags for the past eight weekends — and want to keep going with their benevolent mission. They are happy giving up playtime to make someone else’s life better.
Brady explained that after gathering the money, they went to the store to purchase items for the bags. “We bought soap, granola bars, cheese and crackers, water, toothbrushes and toothpaste, deodorant, raisins, apple sauce, Ziplock bags and more,” he said. “Our budget was $10 per bag and we needed to make certain that we bought things that were not perishable.”
After creating the bags, they drove to Potomac to give their first bag to the homeless man who is at the crossroads every morning with his sign which reads, “Type 1 Diabetic. Need money. Live in motel.” Jordan said, “When I gave it to him, he looked really happy and called me Angel Cake. He also said, ‘God Bless You.’”
They keep the bags in the back of the car and hand them out whenever they see the homeless on the streets. Brady said, “One man said to me, ‘Looks like there are a lot of goodies in here.’” A woman said, ‘I hope you get everything you ever wanted.’” This family spends hours every weekend driving around neighborhoods in Montgomery County looking for people in need. They have also supplemented the bags with personal family donations — and Jordan and Brady even dug into their piggy banks to contribute to the fund to buy items for the bags.
These dedicated children are hoping to have enough money to add a pair of gloves or mittens to the bags during the winter. Their mom, Amy Glaser Cohen said, “This has been a wonderful experience for them. Not only have they learned the joy in giving back, but they have become skilled at shopping within a budget. They have created 50 bags and have given out 25.”
When asked why they would like to continue collecting and giving out the bags, Jordan said, “It feels really good to help other people and Brady said, “The first time we did this, I was amazed at how good I felt. Then I felt like I had a big explosion in my heart.”