Empathy and Internet Wed for Holiday Season

VICTORIA, British Columbia - Dec. 10, 2016 - PRLog -- Please distribute this announcement to family and friends and throughout social media.

Read the personal story of a homeless person at www.homelesspartners.com or a refugee at www.refugeepartners.com and pledge a gift, then deliver or mail your gift before December 22 from anywhere online (e.g. www.amazon.ca), using the website story ID number as the person's name and the shelter or drop-off location as the address.

This holiday season, people anywhere can connect in a safe, meaningful way through two websites containing the personal stories and wish lists of the homeless and refugees. This registered Canadian charity provides a structure that can include any community, for free.

In Victoria, BC, the homeless staying in four shelters operated by the Cool Aid Society, are interviewed by volunteers. Then they post those stories and wish lists of shelter users on the website so the community can read the personal stories, then pledge gifts and deliver or mail them to the shelter or designated location.

The homeless are looking for items such as boots, coats, new clothing, and bus tickets. The purposes of www.homelesspartners.com are to foster empathy and help the homeless feel encouraged when they receive a requested gift, or a caring message.

Refugees are looking for employment leads, assistance to bring relatives to Canada from difficult conditions, and common household items. Some of the stories shared include the horrors of war, such as a bomb falling on the breakfast table and a 5-year old being shielded between the legs of his father while running from bullets. The purpose of www.refugeepartners.com is to help refugees feel welcomed and included when they connect and receive a personal gift from a local resident.

Homelesspartners.com was founded in 2005, and is now in ten cities in Canada: Cloverdale, New Westminster, North Vancouver, Regina, Salmon Arm, Surrey, Vancouver, Vernon, Victoria, and Winnipeg. This is the first year refugee stories have been posted with their gift requests.

This approach enables a unique personal connection based on the value of empathy that helps fulfill the meaning of being human. Rather than look away, the community is mobilized to touch the lives of those who feel ignored or separate from their neighbours.

Co-founder Daniel Keeran says: "I think the best way to integrate refugees and the homeless is to show kindness, caring, and generosity toward them."

Read the personal story of a homeless person at www.homelesspartners.com or a refugee at www.refugeepartners.com and pledge a gift, then deliver or mail your gift before December 22 from anywhere online (e.g. www.amazon.ca), using the website story ID number as the person's name and the shelter or drop-off location as the address.

The organizers believe the internet can be used in this way for social benefit. These are "everybody wins" programs practicing empathy and encouraging the homeless, the refugees, and the interviewers who collected their stories, as well as the donors who give a gift.

Co-founder Daniel Keeran says: "Our approach is to harness the internet to create a structure that facilitates a safe and empathic connection with those in any trouble, such as the homeless and refugees, and in this way to mobilize the community as a resource."

The founder organizers reside in Victoria, BC, Canada, and derive their values from the teachings of the best known homeless man and refugee who fled from violence in the little town of Bethlehem where his family went to give him birth long ago.

Homelesspartners.com is a registered Canadian charity: #843548777RR0001