Small pizzeria has given away over 140,000 slices to local homeless

Shortly after Mike and Jenny Stevens opened their Little Caesar's franchise in Fargo, North Dakota, they saw a homeless man sitting at a nearby gas station. Mike thought he looked hungry, so he brought him a pizza. A few days later, Mike saw someone rummaging through the restaurant's dumpster. He posted this sign in the window, and his mission was born. 

Over the next two years, the pizza giveaway grew. Mike started to deliver pizzas to local homeless shelters, three of which have adopted 'pizza night' as a regular part of their routine. When Mike died of leukemia last year, Jenny and her daughters continued his generous practice. 

 Local patrons wanted to help. Since a single slice costs the Stevens' 50 cents to make, Jenny has set up a box to accept 50 cent donations from customers. She also set up a GoFundMe account to offset the cost of continuing the program. 

With the help of volunteers, the Stevens' franchise has given away over $70,000 worth of pizza, 142,000 slices to date!  About the program, Jenny said, “It’s a small thing that we can do to bring a big difference in their day and it’s just kept going. You have to come together to help each other out. We just do it because it seems like the right thing to do.”

These coats for the homeless turn into sleeping bags ... and jobs

When Veronika Scott was a student at the College for Creative Studies in her hometown of Detroit, one of her classes presented a challenge: create a product to fill a community need. Veronika decided to help Detroit's homeless population. She designed a coat which converts to a sleeping bag for nighttime warmth. She brought her early designs to homeless shelters and tweaked the details based on feedback she got from those who used it.

One day, a homeless woman confronted her. She was angry, and told Veronika that she didn't need a coat - she needed a job. Veronika decided she was right. The coat and the sleeping bag were good ideas, but they were a band-aid. Secure employment was the real solution . 

So Veronika founded the non-profit The Empowerment Plan. Seamstresses are hired from Detroit's homeless shelters - 39 people who were once homeless have been given jobs. Over 15,000 coats which turn into sleeping bags have been produced and distributed, not just in Detroit but in 40 states and 7 Canadian provinces. Each coat take over an hour to sew and costs $100. Donations to sponsor a coat are taken on their website. Sponsors now include American Express and Madonna. 

You know the old adage: Give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day; teach a man to fish and he'll eat for a lifetime. Veronika and her team have put their own twist on it. Give a man a coat and he'll be warm for a day. Give him a job and he'll create a new life.