Imagine a homeless man you see on your walk to work every day. He doesn’t seem out of it, like he’s on drugs or anything. He’s just a guy whose luck ran out one day and he found himself on the street.
So you make him an offer. He can have $100 right now or you will give him a laptop and an hour of your time every day to teach him how to write code. The homeless man proves he’s smart by taking the offer of the laptop, used books on computer programming and your time.
This happened in Manhattan. Leo Grand used to work in the insurance industry but he lost his job and then his apartment and ended up with nowhere to go. Patrick McConlogue is the man who made the offer and spent an hour every day before he went to work teaching Leo. After Patrick went on with his day, Leo would charge the laptop at a nearby apartment building and spend hours reading books Patrick had brought him. Now Leo’s own app has been released. Called Trees for Cars it matches New Yorkers needing a ride with those with vehicles and tracks how much carbon monoxide they didn’t send into the atmosphere through their shared commuting.
The app is available on iTunes and for Android phones. It’s under Patrick’s name and it’s 99 cents. I know because I bought it after learning that profits will go toward helping Leo fund future projects. But it’s Patrick who’s the hero here. He didn’t just give Leo a handout, he gave him a purpose and a life.
Wow, I haven’t heard about this until now. That is amazing. Thank you for sharing….I am going to look into it too. Enjoy your weekend.