Day 93: The Big Apple Give

Today is my first full day in New York for the week. While much of it will be spent in training sessions at ZocDoc, I will have some free time in the evenings to get away for dinner with co-workers and some random acts. When I went to bed last night, I was kind of freaking out because, although I have some other days planned, I didn't really think of anything specific for today. I was racking my brain trying to think of something and it just popped into my head.

New York is seen around the world as a place of opportunity. To people coming from the far reaches of the world it is a symbol of hope, a chance to live out their dreams, and a new place to call home. That, however, is not the case with a growing segment of the population. In 2011, more than 35,000 people within the New York City metropolitan area were counted as being homeless (an all-time high). I wanted to do something for as many of them as I could, but didn't know where to start. Then I remembered one of the nicknames for New York City...The Big Apple. So, although it is just a small start and I wish I could do more, for my random act of kindness, I am going to do The Big Apple Give. I am going to go buy a bunch of apples and hand them out to homeless around the city, so they can at least have something nutritious and healthy to eat this evening. I know it isn't much, but my hope is that these people can see that there are people out there whose hope when coming here is that they can get back on their feet.