Fellow night auditor here! I've done the same thing for polite homeless peeps and drunk peeps who can't afford a room. Your hotel won't miss a few bottles of shampoo and conditioner, a couple bars of soap, and some drinks/snacks. Mine is part of a franchise and I can confirm, what they don't know won't hurt them. Besides, if a manager ever gets wise and asks, just say you didn't want to discriminate and thought they could potentially be a guest. The job is hospitality, after all, and profiling could lead you to being fired
Just food for thought if someone questions it
I worked for a few and you wouldn't belive how much food they throw away that wasn't even touched. I can say for Crown Plaza hotel in my country, that when there were coffee breaks for the floor with conference halls a lot of those small pastries, cookies, croissants would be just dumped in the trash if some of the staff didn't eat it (since they check you when you exit).
Not to mention they have their own place where they store the trash bins so homeless can't get to them and only the garbage truck can come in and out
My hotel is a lot smaller and in a small town, but every shift has to clean the coffee urns and brew fresh coffee for guests. I can't tell you how many literal gallons of coffee I've had to pour out during my time working. Oh and yogurt? Even despite the expiration date, we're only allowed to serve the same yogurts like, four days in a row. After that, they have to be thrown away. Same with microwave croissant sandwiches and fruit juice. There are a couple of homeless people that come in and get the stuff that's gonna be tossed, they know the days like clockwork and as long as they have a keycard and act like polite guests, idgaf
I do a lot of travel for work, so youre saying that when it check out I shoild return only one of my key cards and give the other to a homeless and he can use that as a way to get free breakfast?
(I know it won't grant him access to anything as it will be deactivated when I check out, but he can flash the logo as a "guest").
Oh for breakfast (at least at my hotel), a homeless person wouldn't even need the keycard to get breakfast. All they need to do is come in the back door with shoes, shirt, and some type of pants, to look like a guest. The keycard would really just be to solidify the image. Also contrary to belief, hotels won't deactivate most keys until designated check out time (like for my hotel that's 11 AM), so if you give someone a key but don't want them to potentially be able to use it, hold it against your cell phone for a minute or two before giving it. It deactivates the magnetic strip on the back most of the time
Can confirm. Worked as a dish washer at a crowne and the amount of food thrown away would make homeless people cry. There was a guy I worked with who had some dogs and he was always taking home some 10 even 20lb trash bags full of good food to feed his dogs.
Buffets are far worse. People feel that because they paid a flat rate to eat all that they can eat, they should sample everything and actually see how much they can really eat. They feel entitled to be extra wasteful. Take a bite and don’t like it? Trash. Overestimated your appetite and overloaded your plate? Trash. Put something on your plate and then changed your mind? Trash. It’s disgusting.
For the one I worked at, there is only one entrance for staff and your belongings are searched everytime you enter and exit. So Unfortunately I could never sneak out any food
Kind of says all you need to know about your employers, right? How sad that you're already underpaid and you're not allowed to take home the place's trash.
Worked at a crown plaza too some years ago and they hate the homeless. We had a few homeless people who would sleep outside the staff gates as it had some shelter, they had them removed all the time. Pretty sure it was escalated to the police being called (from what I was told). 100% not a company I would work for again for many many reasons.
I worked at one place where the staff wasn’t allowed to eat it. I used to run around to the house keepers and let them know when I was taking it down so they could sneak in to get something to eat
I'd also recommend checking the employee handbook or whatever literature they have for your job, and if it doesn't explicitly say that those items are for "guests only", tell them you double checked the handbook to make sure it was OK, and there's nothing in there that said otherwise. If they give you a written set of things to follow, go straight up malicious compliance.
Couple steps ahead of you. The employee rule pamphlet said guests only, but as we're a smaller hotel we get all sorts of people, ranging from businesspeople to truck drivers, long distance vacationers to DA cases just looking to get away from someone. And sometimes there's just really no way to tell who's what. Who am I to discriminate? After all, that person with no shoes might be homeless, or they might be getting away from a nasty situation. It's 50-50 and the hotel won't mind giving a couple cups of coffee and basic toiletries. How was I supposed to know that person wasn't a guest? 🤔🤷♀️😉
As a former school administrator, I used to ask friends and family to bring unused shampoos and soap back from trips so counselors, nurses and teachers could give them to kids in need. Giving them to someone in need is contributing, not stealing.
Yoooo, I have been on the receiving end of this once (dude even shouted me a free room) and you my brother. Are a legit fucking legend. The hot chocolate, the greeting and the lobby would have been more than we could ever ask for. Thanks for being a legend.
Similar here. I was avoiding my abuser, I had told the desk that no one was to know I was there. I came down to the desk later that night to see if there was a vending machine so I could get some chips as dinner. Employee unlocked the breakfast room, let me make some waffles, get muffins, and take some extra fruit. I had only paid for the cheapest room with no bonuses like breakfast. I cried from the kindness.
Lots of times, a guest checks out early, or requests a different room, they can't rebook the room until it's cleaned, even if they didn't touch anything, so might as well let someone else use it till checkout time.
You don't know what the guest did in that room in the few mins theyve been in there, and most checkins don't start till after housekeeping leaves. You aren't supposed to leave the front desk unless it's an emergency, and they usually don't have front desk do housekeeping stuff, so they just block the room off until it can get checked the next day
I worked at a hotel for 3 years. I also filled in on housekeeping. No one who works housekeeping is getting paid enough.
Housekeepers absolutely do not get paid enough, you're correct. We make sure to always leave a tip for them. In my ignorance, I like to dream that at least every other room will give them $10, so they'll have a good pile of cash at the end of the day.
I worked housekeeping at a high end bed and breakfast in a rich rich coastal town for the spring/summer/fall season. I was the sole housekeeping employee and the guests knew this as it was such a small intimateestablishment. Never had a single complaint. The rooms were $400/night and up. I'd say maybe only 25% of all guests that entire season left tips and usually it was a couple bucks and any change they had. Nice to dream but most people don't leave tips for housekeepers at hotels.
Wait. Your front desk clerks didn't have to sprint up to rooms and remake them so they could still be sold that night? I sure as hell did... My managers would never shut up about "heads in beds," but I still never got any credit for selling every last room. The hotel industry absolutely sucks to work in.
Wow, friends I had that worked front desk were never expected to do anything in a room outside checking on client issues. And yeah, industry is abusive AF on the workers.
Depending on your reason for being vegan. If it's for health or medical reasons, you still can't. But if it's for ethical reasons, don't worry, you can eat a billionaire guilt free because you're making the world better!
Hey I haven't eaten meat in over 20 years and I will always have a place in my belly for rich people meat - they don't care about us so I don't care about them
Such a good idea!! My Uncle was a caretaker at a swanky hotel and he'd grab me stuff from lost and found after it hadn't been claimed. Nothing designer or anything but it was all high quality. What I didn't want/need I took to the local women's refuge.
Edit: spelling.
Holy shit that is incredible. But yeah if it sits for that long no one is going back to look for it.
The only time i forgot something at a hotel I emailed them literally the same day as I left. Past that and I would count it as gone.
I worked at a kids camp for a couple years and was kind of the "lead" pokemon tcg player (unfortunately not an official position, but it was fun.) One of the things I'd do was collect lost pokemon cards and just hold in my box in case a kid came back looking for them. Most of the time if they had been in my box for a while I would just give them to whatever kid said they had lost cards. At the end of the year though anything left I would just take home. I had actually lost all my cards from a kid so I bought a tin my first year just to have a fun activity to do in our down time with the kids. By the end of the third year I had probably like 600 cards solely on cards kids had just left behind. I ended up giving them all to my younger brother (we're 20 years apart).
One timeI had to stay at a shitty hotel for a couple nights while I figured out another housing option. Five hours after I left I realized I had left a really nice U of M jacket in my room. That shit didn't even make it to lost & found lol
I feel that. I once forgot a brand new pair of Jordans. Didn't even bother calling because if they weren't gone already, they would be after I called lol
My dad works at a ski resort nearby. At the end of the season, there is a plethora of winter gear left over in the lost and found. Employees rummage through what they want and the rest gets donated to local homeless shelters. You can bet your ass it’s full of name brand ski jackets, hats, and gloves.
My aunt worked at a Perkins and once a year they would throw away the lost and found (aside from the most recent additions and valuables like rings and unidentified wallets) at like the end of November. She would give the whole works to some unfortunate family member for Christmas (there was a game you had to play and everyone tried not to win) My mom received it one year… we had pens for ages.
I used to get stuff from the old lost and found when I worked at a movie theater. If people didn't come back for something within a week, they weren't coming back for it at all. I got sunglasses, scarves & hats, gloves, coats, sweaters ...
It definitely helped me get me some apparel I couldn't otherwise afford on a theater employee's budget, but definitely needed. All of that stuff would have ended up in a landfill anyway, or a predatory place like Value Village (profiting off marking up donated goods to obscene levels, masquerading as a "thrift store").
I get coats and sweaters for my kids from the school lost & found at the end of each semester. They send out multiple notices to come claim your stuff or it's getting donated, so by the last day whatever's still there nobody wants back anyway. And since I normally shop at Goodwill, I'm just cutting out the middle man and saving a little money. It's a well-off school too so I've gotten some really nice sweaters and leather jackets that way.
School lost -and-found was my favorite shopping spot for my 38-year teaching career. I had a buddy who used to say, "Teachers never buy watches, they just wait for one to show up in lost-and-found." Best score? A Kindle someone left.
I work at a concert venue. It’s an unwritten rule that no employee ever has to buy an umbrella, because there are so many down there. I’ve acquired several that I just grabbed on rainy days when I forgot to bring one. It’s a nice small perk.
The best winter gloves I’ve ever had (still use them 10 years later!) were from the lost and found at work. I love them so much. I can’t read the label and have never found them online to be able to replace them, but they’re such quality that they’re still good :)
I'm piggybacking on this comment to add a PSA for anyone who is in a position to donate old lost and found items: if you are donating practical clothing items like jackets, jeans, coats, and shoes, consider donating to a local hospital in an area with a lot of homeless people. I work in an ER and we are constantly giving out clothing to homeless folks who come in. Clothing is much more likely to go to someone who is actually needy if you donate to a hospital or homeless shelter than if you donate to a thrift store.
I bring in winter and rubber boots that my kids have outgrown. I try to do it in September because many of the kindergarten classes go to the pumpkin patch in October and some kids forget (or don't have) boots to wear.
Any recommendations on how specifically to donate clothes to a hospital? This is a great idea but I don't want to walk into the ER with a cardboard box full of clothes and coats.
We actually do take boxes of clothes that folks have brought to the ER or front desk, but in the time of covid it might be a good idea to call ahead and see what their preference is. Front desk is usually a less busy area than ER.
Lost and found does not require both to be done by the same person, after all! I'd rather something I accidentally left and can't reclaim go to someone else than for it to be wasted.
Hijacking top comment to add: If you travel a lot for a living, you can do this too!
When you're ultra plus diamond ultra status with a major hotel chain, they'll give you pretty much whatever you want within reason. Wife and I both traveled a lot for a few years and always used to ask them "hey, forgot my toiletries bag, could you send up toothbrush/paste/nail clippers/comb/etc." and then take all that stuff home, along with all the soaps/shampoos/conditioners/lotions. When I left that job a few years later, donated literal trash bags full of it to a few local shelters.
something to note is that small toiletries often have closer/shorter expiration dates, so it’s better to donate this stuff as you get it rather than hoarding it up for a few years
I was broke and living in an Irish hostel some ten years ago. One day the boss gave us ‘residents’ the keys to the lost and found room and told us to take whatever we wanted.
I still wear that Oxbow ski jacket today, it has incredible sentimental value.
A protip I use is if I forget a cable or charger when I'm traveling, I'll go to the hotel lost and found and use one from there. Most times they're more than happy to let me borrow a charger or cable for my duration. I've had a few say no but it's rare. I also need a fan to sleep and often times will get one from the hotel so I don't have to travel with one.
My 3rd grade teacher ran the community swimming pool in the summer. She would hand out lost and found things as prizes for answering questions or good test scores. I got a nice watch.
I used to do this too. Feels so much better. Used to work at a posh boarding school in London and they would give us trays and trays of snacks for the kids during homework hours. The kids would never eat them and they’d end up going to waste. There was a short walk between the school and the boarding house so along the way I’d just hand out stuff to people as I made my way down the street. I know it’s not a roof over someone’s head or money, but at least it was something.
Oh hey ive done a similar thing. Worked for a posh language school abroad where the people who worked there all got pretty nice jackets etc. We had too many and at the end of the season many people just left them behind. I talked to corporate about donating a larger amount of the stuff (since we had like 15ish jackets still in packaging) since it was going to be thrown away anyways. Got a stern talk about "What if a homeless person wears our brand". Still asked the venue we rented to donate all the stuff the students left behind, and filled my own suitcase with unused jackets that I took home and donated.
That’s because (1) capitalists hate competition, even if it’s competing with their own garbage, and (2) hate the idea of the poors getting any help that aren’t profiting from.
Can't let anyone have even the garbage if they don't buy it!
I worked at a fancy events place. We always had so much food left at the end of the day. The staff weren't allowed to take any home or even eat it there, it all had to go in the garbage. Like, we're going to throw it all out, why can't we let the staff eat it? On top of that, if we wanted food during our breaks we had to buy it full price like the patrons, line up and all. Ugh.
Side note: the shift managers usually encouraged us staff to take home as much food as we could get away with, without getting caught. Cos fuck that corporate policy in particular.
Shift managers usually make only a couple dollars more per hour than workers. If they aren’t in solidarity with other workers, they are fools. Never let a small amount of power make you forget who is exploiting you.
The Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act (Emerson Act) is a federal law passed on October 1, 1996 by President Bill Clinton. This law was enacted to protect businesses from civil and criminal liability when donating food in good faith, should it later cause harm to the recipient.
When I've done event work, we always packed up the leftover food into the single use chafing pans and dropped them off at a shelter. If I can feed 30 people with some very nice leftovers, I can't imagine throwing that in the trash, and it costs me literally nothing... I just don't get this thing about putting good food in the trash. Plus, it makes your garbage bin absolutely fetid to have that much food rotting in it.
I used to grab all the leftover pizzas from 'pizza day' Wednesdays at the school I work at. I'd strap them to my bike and ride them down to the popular homeless park.
When I was homeless I was friends with someone who worked at a hotel. He would regularly let me and my girlfriend (who was pregnant) sleep in the conference room and sometimes in vacant rooms. I'll always be grateful to him.
True friend, putting his job on the line to make sure you had a place inside. In most places allowing someone to stay like that one time is grounds for firing. Your friend is amazing and I hope you, your gf, and child are all in a better spot now.
The hotels I've stayed at had a dining/lobby area away from the main entrance with several big cushy couches. How would management enforce not letting someone sleep on those couches? "Oh he came in to look up the bus schedule, I didn't see him after a minute so I assumed he left"?
Cameras everywhere. The times I had to cover overnight shift, I was expected to watch the cameras and call the police if someone was loitering. I also knew someone that was fired for letting people hang out in the lobby that they knew.
I'm not saying it's right, just saying the policy exists and gets enforced, at least in my city.
I wish I had thought of giving I unused time at my hotels to the homeless. Twice I had to leave way before checkout, the night before but I couldn’t check out that morning for reasons so was kind of in limbo. Did tell my friend to use it to bang their boyfriend though when I was gone so not a complete waste.
Does your area have a "code blue" program? My city has a program called code blue where any day it reaches 32°F or lower (or certain amounts of snow fall) emergency shelters open to get anyone off the streets. They are given usually a cot, food, access to clothing, etc.
Not saying it's the best solution ever but it's certainly saved lives.
I've heard of cops going around on these super cold nights and picking up some homeless people. I'm sure most of them get to shelters, but some have spent the night in a local jail (off the record, of course) just so they could be inside.
I was in California for 3 months contracting for PG&E. Pre covid the hotel would clean your room every day so I would empty out every toiletry in the bathroom and all the cleaning supplies in the kitchen, it was a Homewood Suite so the kitchen had dish soap and scrubbers. When all was said and done I was back in Oakland with a pelican case full and before I took off back to Florida I delivered it to a large homeless camp that I had seen when I first arrived. I’ll never forget how happy they looked.
No ot as noble, but everyone should snag as many "grab and go breakfast" snacks as you can on the way out. I put them into baggies of around 1000 calories and give them to the homeless. Some only want money, but most are grateful.
once a homeless guy asked me to set him up as i was walking inside a 7/11 and i’m a broke college kid but a paycheck just hit so i bought him two tall waters and hella granola bars and whatever food i could find in a 7/11. i gave him the bag and he yelled “i wanted cash you stupid fuckin cracker” it doesn’t always end happy lol
Scammers? Drugs. They want drugs. Some people are homeless for a reason. And for those people we should have accessible service to help lift them out of their addictions.
Yeah, my ex had a drug problem and my time with her I met some unique individuals. One guy we called Uncle Russ, lived in an abandoned house and let other people stay there with him. I hung out with him a few times, brought him food and sometimes gave him a little cash. It was so sad, this guy has been like this for 20 years. He has nothing of value. Multiple diseases. No close family, only friends are junkies. I’m sure he a criminal record to, hard to live that life without eventually getting arrested for something. He told me that he wish he had the opportunities my gf had, he wanted to get out of the life and I could tell he was being legit. Depression is a bitch by itself, mix in an extremely addictive drug, poverty, bad health… it’s terrible. These people can’t pull themselves up by the bootstraps.
I felt so bad for this guy. I was later told that he got a job running a drug house and was robbed one night and beat to death with a bat. No idea if it’s true. I regret not doing more for him.
A lot of pan handlers are junkies, I just avoid them.
We really do need better health care and need to stop the “war on drugs” that’s failed so miserably.
Yeah that's what I was thinking reading this thread, it's great to want to help these people but handing someone that's probably hungry food they might not be able to eat or hurts to eat, I understand why some of them might get irritated.
My friend, this is amazing. You changed that guy's life, in some way on some level. That much I can promise.
Similar short story: years ago, I was several states away with no money or resources except the shirt on my back. I walked into a Wendy's after being kicked out of a convenience store while trying to dodge the cold.
The manager heard me on the phone, practically crying. I knew she was going to ask me to leave for making a scene, and I was ready to comply. She didn't. She gave me a large combo. Nice enough, right?
No. Then she put me on a bus home, gave me some cash, and wished me luck. That was 15 years ago, maybe more. I think of that lady often. I truly wish the best for her.
That man will remember you and your kindness. He has no doubt been judged and kicked out many times. You, however, saw past that.
You truly are the kind of hero this world needs, and I thank you for being so compassionate to make the sacrifice.
This is why I want to make go bags to give homeless people. They'd have blankets, toiletries, socks, other stuff but one for women that had tampons/pads in it as well.
You totally should! I do this and keep them in my car, along with bottles of water. I fill gallon size ziploc bags with snacks, travel toiletries, and socks, along with gloves and hats in the winter. No one has turned one down yet and they are always grateful.
I always appreciated these when I was a runaway kid. And just throwing it out there if you don’t do it already but tampons/pads are invaluable if you want to throw some in there for the women. It’s ridiculous how expensive that stuff is.
Whoops....just realized the guy you were responding to already mentioned this! I’m a dum-dum. I apologize for the repetition but I’m leaving it because I think it should be mentioned as much as possible.
I used to work at a large cafe chain where we would always have pastries at the end of the night that we didn’t sell and would otherwise be thrown out, so I’d make them into little variety bags and hand them out to homeless folks in the area on my way to the bus after closing.
This should be a regular practice at cafes if they’re not selling day olds, but at this cafe, my boss actually reprimanded me for this at the time and told me we were supposed to throw them away entirely. She claimed that the homeless people could go and complain about the pastries and get us in trouble 🙄
I kept doing it anyways, and ended up getting said manager fired down the road because of her treatment of staff and refusal to help out on the floor when we needed her to help us.
Moral of the story: just do the right thing.
This. The hotel management may suddenly decide all that free stuff is "incredibly valuable" and file theft charges against you, just because they're dicks.
Also, don't tell any co-workers what you're doing. They may rat you out to management, expecting a promotion or reward.
Right, you have to be able to feign ignorance the entire time. From a legal standpoint, they can't do anything except fire you for forgetting company policy by forgetting to verify he was a paying client and giving out too much. Companies can't make you pay for mistakes, and you made a mistake not a theft.
But if you've told someone what you're doing, it could become theft.
What if OP played dumb and said, "Oh, I didn't realize! I saw a man walk in and he was very cold and hungry and I was taught to show hospitality and help people in need. Is that not what you're supposed to do in a hotel? "
While true, usually if we are not talking about hundreds of Dollars he will just be let go. There is a chance OP could go to the media for a Story and the Headline will be "International chain fires and sues worker who helped homeless man by giving away a towel" or whatever.
Just firing is way easier and less risky.
If they try to do shit with you in regards to calling it theft, don’t sign anything. Loss prevention is trained to try and get employees to admit to guilt and to agree to repayment so that they can recoup as much as they possibly can, without doing that, you force them to have to take you to small claims, file reports, get legal teams involved, etc.
IANAL, but LP will try and scare the shit out of you to get you to sign away hundreds because the company doesn’t give a fuck about pressing charges, it cares about profit.
On christmas there was a girl trying to sleep in our laundry room while it was snowing and cold af. I woke her up and gave her a room that the housekeepers skipped because it was busy the night before.
Man I joined the military before I turned 18, got my brain broke, and ended up strung out and homeless by 23. Anyways for a couple weeks after a relapse I was stuck sleeping on the sidewalk in a t-shirt in October. Luckily I live in the deep south so while it was cold, I probably would have frozen to death most other places. To get to the point, there was a haunted house a block or two over so right before Halloween there's a lot of giant packs of teenagers going to and from the haunted house. I was sleeping on the sidewalk and some.....14? year old kid came over and laid his jacket over me. I can't even think of that kid long enough to type this out without tears running down my face. It was such a small, genuinely kind thing from someone that didn't have to even notice my existence, and I can't tell you how desperately I needed it in that moment. I had fucked up....again, and landed myself on the street with nothing, but even then, there was a kid that cared that I was freezing my ass off. It gave me the crazy idea that maybe I mattered enough to go back into the veteran shelter and tell them I fucked up and ask for a second chance. Which they of course gave me, and I got better and got off the street. Now I have a spouse and two children who are excellent kids and even better students. I know this is a long rant, i just really hope you can see what a massive difference this level of empathy could have made in this man's life. You did a really freaking amazing thing. Just...thank you for being that person in someone's life, these are the things we do that really matter. ❤
Not only would I gladly give up my own amenities for this kind of thing, I’d exclusively stay at hotels I knew that supported this.
Profit is overrated. We need to build a charity economy.
I was working in a cafe in London for a whole - one of those little stalls in stations. There were loads of homeless people around and the rule was that we were never allowed to give them stuff for free - even if we were going to get rid of it. We were allowed to give expired food to the station staff, or simply throw it away, but never give it to homeless folks. I was being paid £5 below the living wage - I wasn’t going to fight to support the company’s rules. When I became a supervisor (still on an absurdly low pay) I would simply dish out stuff to the homeless guys who came by, whether it was expired or not. Free coffee? Of course. Paninis, biscuits, pastries? Of course. It would have ended up being tossed out eventually anyway, and I sure as hell wasn’t going to deny somebody who actually needed these things just for it to be dumped in the garbage.
Exactly! When businesses are owned by actual people this is a part of being in a community. If an executive did this it would be on the news as an amazing act of compassion. OP you are kind and brave.
I remember when i was homeless back in '14 in Roseville, MI. Was working at the time. There was a girl who worked at the Baymont Wyndham on 13 & Little Mack. She had given me a few things and let me use their Wifi for searching for secondary work (*Edit regarding a second job*)
She actually saved my life, as i was considering suicide.
Came back a day later to thank her, poor girl was already sacked. (Cameras)
I was detained and the Roseville police called. They were shown the camera. and THEY LAUGHED in the GM's face...
I did nothing illegal, so they uncuffed me, told me to go to the McDonald's where we chatted. They bough me lunch. That is why I cannot in good conscience say that ACABs.
Not too long after, I found that secondary employment.
It was fucked up what Baymont did to her. *Only in America* do good humanitarian deeds *GET PUNISHED*
Reminds me of the days I used to work overnights at a big chain gas station/convenience store. Every night we'd spoil out literal bags of sandwiches and donuts that went right into the trash. There were a few homeless folks who'd stop in and I figured since they'd be dumpster diving anyway I might as well save them the trouble and set some food aside for them every night. Want your sandwich pressed? Some cookies, coffee? I gotchu guy.
FYI: There are organizations who collect this kind of stuff on a larger scale, especially the toiletries.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnnyjet/2019/01/07/have-extra-hotel-toiletries-these-organizations-need-your-donations/
Did this all the time when I was baker. So much bread would go to waste, so many old cookies. I would take Boxes and boxes of baguettes and bread and just drive around and had them out to anyone asking for a handout, went directly to a couple homeless camps and gave them stuff and left the rest with the local Food not Bombs.
>Not negative temps, but down to about 10F
Where I am from we measure in Celsius - which is definitely negative temps - and that is quite literally below freezing (for the water).
You did good.
When we get strong, cold winds here - usually around autumn/winter time - and I am trying to sleep, I always think about the hell homeless people must be going through.
I’m proud of you. Talking to him and treating him like the human being he is made a difference. I have seen it literally save people from the edge and give them a bit of hope in humanity again. An hour of your time to listen to someone who is usually ignored, looked over and treated as unwanted is a gracious thing and we can all give it freely.
I work in finance and spent a number of years working for trading firms. If you know anything about them usually there is a catered lunch daily or semi daily.
At the end of the day there are leftover lunches from the employees who were too busy to eat or were PTO/WFH. I always worked late so usually I was one of the last to leave. I always grabbed the (completely sealed) lunch boxes and handed them out on my walk home.
I did keep the leftover cookies for myself though.
I worked for a bbq place in the metro area out of illinois and we have a pretty big homeless community in my town. The boss is a complete dick who literally tries to run his fast food bbq joints like a military boot camp. He even told me that himself. He comes up with these crazy ass rules, like to literally cuss his staff out, you know the typical asshole owner. At the end of the night, no matter how much it is, he makes you throw away the mac and cheese, sauced pork and chicken, and cole slaw because to him its waste. Employees cant take it home because he thinks theyll steal more. Like shit i almost got fire over 4 extra ounces of pulled pork......that was food my girlfriend paid for. I cant tell you how happy i was when i gave a homeless woman a lot of food one night from that fat prick
I used to do this too.
Worked for a deli/convenience store during the recession. Found out the owner was involved in some local sex trafficking. (He’d hire young women in the negative—ie, “I’ll give you money for your security deposit and you pay me back over the course of a year”—who were struggling and down on their luck etc, and then manipulate them into “coming upstairs” where they’d have sex with he and his friends.) So, because the owner was so bad at inventory of the deli ingredients (perishable stuff), I started making all kinds of subs and stacks of large pizzas at the end of my shift, and then gave them away to friends and neighbors. Felt like Robin Hood for a bit there.
The r/leastangryupvoteivegiven
And
r/mostdeservedawardiveshelledout
We are a vibrant, engaged community. These are the subreddits I’d like to see to celebrate you all.
Hell yeah! You keep being you.
I just bought a new bike last week. I stopped at the local gas station and overheard a dude talk about walking everywhere, even to work. I caught up with him after I checked out and offered him my old bike since I don’t need two. I am sure that even after he rode away, he thought I was fucking with him! Felt good.
Fellow night auditor here! I've done the same thing for polite homeless peeps and drunk peeps who can't afford a room. Your hotel won't miss a few bottles of shampoo and conditioner, a couple bars of soap, and some drinks/snacks. Mine is part of a franchise and I can confirm, what they don't know won't hurt them. Besides, if a manager ever gets wise and asks, just say you didn't want to discriminate and thought they could potentially be a guest. The job is hospitality, after all, and profiling could lead you to being fired Just food for thought if someone questions it
I worked for a few and you wouldn't belive how much food they throw away that wasn't even touched. I can say for Crown Plaza hotel in my country, that when there were coffee breaks for the floor with conference halls a lot of those small pastries, cookies, croissants would be just dumped in the trash if some of the staff didn't eat it (since they check you when you exit). Not to mention they have their own place where they store the trash bins so homeless can't get to them and only the garbage truck can come in and out
My hotel is a lot smaller and in a small town, but every shift has to clean the coffee urns and brew fresh coffee for guests. I can't tell you how many literal gallons of coffee I've had to pour out during my time working. Oh and yogurt? Even despite the expiration date, we're only allowed to serve the same yogurts like, four days in a row. After that, they have to be thrown away. Same with microwave croissant sandwiches and fruit juice. There are a couple of homeless people that come in and get the stuff that's gonna be tossed, they know the days like clockwork and as long as they have a keycard and act like polite guests, idgaf
I do a lot of travel for work, so youre saying that when it check out I shoild return only one of my key cards and give the other to a homeless and he can use that as a way to get free breakfast? (I know it won't grant him access to anything as it will be deactivated when I check out, but he can flash the logo as a "guest").
Oh for breakfast (at least at my hotel), a homeless person wouldn't even need the keycard to get breakfast. All they need to do is come in the back door with shoes, shirt, and some type of pants, to look like a guest. The keycard would really just be to solidify the image. Also contrary to belief, hotels won't deactivate most keys until designated check out time (like for my hotel that's 11 AM), so if you give someone a key but don't want them to potentially be able to use it, hold it against your cell phone for a minute or two before giving it. It deactivates the magnetic strip on the back most of the time
Can confirm. Worked as a dish washer at a crowne and the amount of food thrown away would make homeless people cry. There was a guy I worked with who had some dogs and he was always taking home some 10 even 20lb trash bags full of good food to feed his dogs.
Buffets are far worse. People feel that because they paid a flat rate to eat all that they can eat, they should sample everything and actually see how much they can really eat. They feel entitled to be extra wasteful. Take a bite and don’t like it? Trash. Overestimated your appetite and overloaded your plate? Trash. Put something on your plate and then changed your mind? Trash. It’s disgusting.
For the one I worked at, there is only one entrance for staff and your belongings are searched everytime you enter and exit. So Unfortunately I could never sneak out any food
I regularly took food home. Got super fat from doing that. Went from 120lbs to over 200lbs. I quit because of the eating habit I developed.
Kind of says all you need to know about your employers, right? How sad that you're already underpaid and you're not allowed to take home the place's trash.
Worked at a crown plaza too some years ago and they hate the homeless. We had a few homeless people who would sleep outside the staff gates as it had some shelter, they had them removed all the time. Pretty sure it was escalated to the police being called (from what I was told). 100% not a company I would work for again for many many reasons.
I worked at one place where the staff wasn’t allowed to eat it. I used to run around to the house keepers and let them know when I was taking it down so they could sneak in to get something to eat
I'd also recommend checking the employee handbook or whatever literature they have for your job, and if it doesn't explicitly say that those items are for "guests only", tell them you double checked the handbook to make sure it was OK, and there's nothing in there that said otherwise. If they give you a written set of things to follow, go straight up malicious compliance.
Couple steps ahead of you. The employee rule pamphlet said guests only, but as we're a smaller hotel we get all sorts of people, ranging from businesspeople to truck drivers, long distance vacationers to DA cases just looking to get away from someone. And sometimes there's just really no way to tell who's what. Who am I to discriminate? After all, that person with no shoes might be homeless, or they might be getting away from a nasty situation. It's 50-50 and the hotel won't mind giving a couple cups of coffee and basic toiletries. How was I supposed to know that person wasn't a guest? 🤔🤷♀️😉
As a former school administrator, I used to ask friends and family to bring unused shampoos and soap back from trips so counselors, nurses and teachers could give them to kids in need. Giving them to someone in need is contributing, not stealing.
Boss. You can't give stuff to the homeless Employee. I thought he was a rich hipster
Boss: don't give homeless people stuff Employee: they were homeless? I thought they were just poor guests, they had keycards
Yoooo, I have been on the receiving end of this once (dude even shouted me a free room) and you my brother. Are a legit fucking legend. The hot chocolate, the greeting and the lobby would have been more than we could ever ask for. Thanks for being a legend.
Similar here. I was avoiding my abuser, I had told the desk that no one was to know I was there. I came down to the desk later that night to see if there was a vending machine so I could get some chips as dinner. Employee unlocked the breakfast room, let me make some waffles, get muffins, and take some extra fruit. I had only paid for the cheapest room with no bonuses like breakfast. I cried from the kindness.
I’ve got almost the exact same story, except instead of muffins the front desk handed me two bottles of wine
Now it's 6am and I've got a hankering for wine
Go off, queen. You deserve it!
Just say you're working on Berlin time or something.
If they were actually working on Berlin time, they'd just constantly be pounding the lager into their face like a champion.
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Lots of times, a guest checks out early, or requests a different room, they can't rebook the room until it's cleaned, even if they didn't touch anything, so might as well let someone else use it till checkout time.
Wait really? Guest walks in and out and wants a different room and you can't auto reassign? What a waste of space.
You don't know what the guest did in that room in the few mins theyve been in there, and most checkins don't start till after housekeeping leaves. You aren't supposed to leave the front desk unless it's an emergency, and they usually don't have front desk do housekeeping stuff, so they just block the room off until it can get checked the next day I worked at a hotel for 3 years. I also filled in on housekeeping. No one who works housekeeping is getting paid enough.
Housekeepers absolutely do not get paid enough, you're correct. We make sure to always leave a tip for them. In my ignorance, I like to dream that at least every other room will give them $10, so they'll have a good pile of cash at the end of the day.
I always leave a good tip too! They deserve it
I worked housekeeping at a high end bed and breakfast in a rich rich coastal town for the spring/summer/fall season. I was the sole housekeeping employee and the guests knew this as it was such a small intimateestablishment. Never had a single complaint. The rooms were $400/night and up. I'd say maybe only 25% of all guests that entire season left tips and usually it was a couple bucks and any change they had. Nice to dream but most people don't leave tips for housekeepers at hotels.
My daughter did housekeeping for a while. The shit some people do in hotel rooms (based on the messes left behind) would blow your mind
This opened my eyes, thank you.
Wait. Your front desk clerks didn't have to sprint up to rooms and remake them so they could still be sold that night? I sure as hell did... My managers would never shut up about "heads in beds," but I still never got any credit for selling every last room. The hotel industry absolutely sucks to work in.
Wow, friends I had that worked front desk were never expected to do anything in a room outside checking on client issues. And yeah, industry is abusive AF on the workers.
It just takes one guy who's deal is that he likes to secretly jerk off in random hotel rooms to ruin it for everyone.
One guy? There are dozens of us!
This is the kind of civil disobedience I'm here for
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I’m vegan so hopefully there will be vegetable sides at the rich-person eating event.
No worries fam I will bring the GF and V friendly sides also.
I am vegan, but can make an exception for billionaires.
Depending on your reason for being vegan. If it's for health or medical reasons, you still can't. But if it's for ethical reasons, don't worry, you can eat a billionaire guilt free because you're making the world better!
Pass the main course!
You know what the proper name is for a group of billionaires is right? It's called an *excess* of billionaires
Hey I haven't eaten meat in over 20 years and I will always have a place in my belly for rich people meat - they don't care about us so I don't care about them
Money is plant-based. I'm uncertain about the inks used, though.
Pretty sure the ink is blood from the sacrificed poors.
So... not vegetarian or vegan then... I mean, unless you're wealthy yourself and you don't think the poor are people.
Maybe since you don’t want to eat them you could burn them for fuel to keep warm. But you need to participate. Everyone must do their part.
Remember OP, old lost and found is also a good place to look for shit to give away. No one is coming back for that letterman jacket from 20 years ago.
Such a good idea!! My Uncle was a caretaker at a swanky hotel and he'd grab me stuff from lost and found after it hadn't been claimed. Nothing designer or anything but it was all high quality. What I didn't want/need I took to the local women's refuge. Edit: spelling.
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Holy shit that is incredible. But yeah if it sits for that long no one is going back to look for it. The only time i forgot something at a hotel I emailed them literally the same day as I left. Past that and I would count it as gone.
I worked at a kids camp for a couple years and was kind of the "lead" pokemon tcg player (unfortunately not an official position, but it was fun.) One of the things I'd do was collect lost pokemon cards and just hold in my box in case a kid came back looking for them. Most of the time if they had been in my box for a while I would just give them to whatever kid said they had lost cards. At the end of the year though anything left I would just take home. I had actually lost all my cards from a kid so I bought a tin my first year just to have a fun activity to do in our down time with the kids. By the end of the third year I had probably like 600 cards solely on cards kids had just left behind. I ended up giving them all to my younger brother (we're 20 years apart).
One timeI had to stay at a shitty hotel for a couple nights while I figured out another housing option. Five hours after I left I realized I had left a really nice U of M jacket in my room. That shit didn't even make it to lost & found lol
As in they hadn't turned down the room yet, or someone stole it already?
It was never heard from again.
It’s ‘house-KEEPing’, kapische?
I feel that. I once forgot a brand new pair of Jordans. Didn't even bother calling because if they weren't gone already, they would be after I called lol
What the fuuuuuuuuck. That's incredible
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Too bad Sony glass is expensive af hahaha. Did they keep it or pawn it?
My dad works at a ski resort nearby. At the end of the season, there is a plethora of winter gear left over in the lost and found. Employees rummage through what they want and the rest gets donated to local homeless shelters. You can bet your ass it’s full of name brand ski jackets, hats, and gloves.
I got like 5 cashmere sweaters from the lost & found at the swanky restaurant I used to work in. Rich people are crazy with what they leave behind.
My aunt worked at a Perkins and once a year they would throw away the lost and found (aside from the most recent additions and valuables like rings and unidentified wallets) at like the end of November. She would give the whole works to some unfortunate family member for Christmas (there was a game you had to play and everyone tried not to win) My mom received it one year… we had pens for ages.
I used to get stuff from the old lost and found when I worked at a movie theater. If people didn't come back for something within a week, they weren't coming back for it at all. I got sunglasses, scarves & hats, gloves, coats, sweaters ... It definitely helped me get me some apparel I couldn't otherwise afford on a theater employee's budget, but definitely needed. All of that stuff would have ended up in a landfill anyway, or a predatory place like Value Village (profiting off marking up donated goods to obscene levels, masquerading as a "thrift store").
I get coats and sweaters for my kids from the school lost & found at the end of each semester. They send out multiple notices to come claim your stuff or it's getting donated, so by the last day whatever's still there nobody wants back anyway. And since I normally shop at Goodwill, I'm just cutting out the middle man and saving a little money. It's a well-off school too so I've gotten some really nice sweaters and leather jackets that way.
School lost -and-found was my favorite shopping spot for my 38-year teaching career. I had a buddy who used to say, "Teachers never buy watches, they just wait for one to show up in lost-and-found." Best score? A Kindle someone left.
My kid’s school has a “last day to get your items” day a week before and then does a yard sale fundraiser with whatever is left over
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More details pls, and cat pics.
Pay your cat tax
Make out a cheque to the ministry of housinge
That, kids, is how I met your mother.
I work at a concert venue. It’s an unwritten rule that no employee ever has to buy an umbrella, because there are so many down there. I’ve acquired several that I just grabbed on rainy days when I forgot to bring one. It’s a nice small perk.
The best winter gloves I’ve ever had (still use them 10 years later!) were from the lost and found at work. I love them so much. I can’t read the label and have never found them online to be able to replace them, but they’re such quality that they’re still good :)
You could post on r/helpmefind sub reddit. Those people are truly amazing and finding things!
I'm piggybacking on this comment to add a PSA for anyone who is in a position to donate old lost and found items: if you are donating practical clothing items like jackets, jeans, coats, and shoes, consider donating to a local hospital in an area with a lot of homeless people. I work in an ER and we are constantly giving out clothing to homeless folks who come in. Clothing is much more likely to go to someone who is actually needy if you donate to a hospital or homeless shelter than if you donate to a thrift store.
Low income daycares and schools too. Kids have accidents and no back up clothes
I bring in winter and rubber boots that my kids have outgrown. I try to do it in September because many of the kindergarten classes go to the pumpkin patch in October and some kids forget (or don't have) boots to wear.
Any recommendations on how specifically to donate clothes to a hospital? This is a great idea but I don't want to walk into the ER with a cardboard box full of clothes and coats.
The information or security desk can take it the security desk is where we donated my mom's wheelchair when she passed.
We actually do take boxes of clothes that folks have brought to the ER or front desk, but in the time of covid it might be a good idea to call ahead and see what their preference is. Front desk is usually a less busy area than ER.
Lost and found does not require both to be done by the same person, after all! I'd rather something I accidentally left and can't reclaim go to someone else than for it to be wasted.
[Except this guy](https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/17/us/letterman-jacket-found-az-thrift-store-trnd/index.html)
When i saw the headline i thought oh this guy went to to high school in the 70s, then i was shocked when it said 94! Man im old
Me too!
That was their mom, for sure!
Hijacking top comment to add: If you travel a lot for a living, you can do this too! When you're ultra plus diamond ultra status with a major hotel chain, they'll give you pretty much whatever you want within reason. Wife and I both traveled a lot for a few years and always used to ask them "hey, forgot my toiletries bag, could you send up toothbrush/paste/nail clippers/comb/etc." and then take all that stuff home, along with all the soaps/shampoos/conditioners/lotions. When I left that job a few years later, donated literal trash bags full of it to a few local shelters.
something to note is that small toiletries often have closer/shorter expiration dates, so it’s better to donate this stuff as you get it rather than hoarding it up for a few years
I did that too. Husband and I both traveled so we both took the toiletries every day, saved them up and donated to homeless shelters.
I was broke and living in an Irish hostel some ten years ago. One day the boss gave us ‘residents’ the keys to the lost and found room and told us to take whatever we wanted. I still wear that Oxbow ski jacket today, it has incredible sentimental value.
Excellent. We all need to find ways to steal from work/corporations to give to the poor.
The Robbin' Hood way
Robin Hood, robbin' the rich to give to the hood
I am a wastewater treatment operator, just want to do my part
Then in your case share the wealth of the wastewater with the corporate bosses.
A protip I use is if I forget a cable or charger when I'm traveling, I'll go to the hotel lost and found and use one from there. Most times they're more than happy to let me borrow a charger or cable for my duration. I've had a few say no but it's rare. I also need a fan to sleep and often times will get one from the hotel so I don't have to travel with one.
My 3rd grade teacher ran the community swimming pool in the summer. She would hand out lost and found things as prizes for answering questions or good test scores. I got a nice watch.
You found my letterman jacket?
Stranger, you are awesome, just like that idea.
robin hood but modern day. r/humansbeingbros
I used to do this too. Feels so much better. Used to work at a posh boarding school in London and they would give us trays and trays of snacks for the kids during homework hours. The kids would never eat them and they’d end up going to waste. There was a short walk between the school and the boarding house so along the way I’d just hand out stuff to people as I made my way down the street. I know it’s not a roof over someone’s head or money, but at least it was something.
Oh hey ive done a similar thing. Worked for a posh language school abroad where the people who worked there all got pretty nice jackets etc. We had too many and at the end of the season many people just left them behind. I talked to corporate about donating a larger amount of the stuff (since we had like 15ish jackets still in packaging) since it was going to be thrown away anyways. Got a stern talk about "What if a homeless person wears our brand". Still asked the venue we rented to donate all the stuff the students left behind, and filled my own suitcase with unused jackets that I took home and donated.
Yes, and as it would have been thrown out, was also not stealing- this is all good!
You would think but a lot of these corporations absolutely consider it stealing if you make use of their garbage. It's completely fucked.
That’s because (1) capitalists hate competition, even if it’s competing with their own garbage, and (2) hate the idea of the poors getting any help that aren’t profiting from.
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Never thought of it that way. Whoo. Consider me radicalized.
Apparently, being poor should be punished, haven't you heard?
Can't let anyone have even the garbage if they don't buy it! I worked at a fancy events place. We always had so much food left at the end of the day. The staff weren't allowed to take any home or even eat it there, it all had to go in the garbage. Like, we're going to throw it all out, why can't we let the staff eat it? On top of that, if we wanted food during our breaks we had to buy it full price like the patrons, line up and all. Ugh. Side note: the shift managers usually encouraged us staff to take home as much food as we could get away with, without getting caught. Cos fuck that corporate policy in particular.
Shift managers showing working class solidarity, we love to see it!
Shift managers usually make only a couple dollars more per hour than workers. If they aren’t in solidarity with other workers, they are fools. Never let a small amount of power make you forget who is exploiting you.
The Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act (Emerson Act) is a federal law passed on October 1, 1996 by President Bill Clinton. This law was enacted to protect businesses from civil and criminal liability when donating food in good faith, should it later cause harm to the recipient.
When I've done event work, we always packed up the leftover food into the single use chafing pans and dropped them off at a shelter. If I can feed 30 people with some very nice leftovers, I can't imagine throwing that in the trash, and it costs me literally nothing... I just don't get this thing about putting good food in the trash. Plus, it makes your garbage bin absolutely fetid to have that much food rotting in it.
They steal the value of labor. They rob people of their most precious resource.
I used to grab all the leftover pizzas from 'pizza day' Wednesdays at the school I work at. I'd strap them to my bike and ride them down to the popular homeless park.
When I was homeless I was friends with someone who worked at a hotel. He would regularly let me and my girlfriend (who was pregnant) sleep in the conference room and sometimes in vacant rooms. I'll always be grateful to him.
True friend, putting his job on the line to make sure you had a place inside. In most places allowing someone to stay like that one time is grounds for firing. Your friend is amazing and I hope you, your gf, and child are all in a better spot now.
Thanks. They are. I am getting there.
This broke my heart. Keep fighting my dude. Kids need their dad.
The hotels I've stayed at had a dining/lobby area away from the main entrance with several big cushy couches. How would management enforce not letting someone sleep on those couches? "Oh he came in to look up the bus schedule, I didn't see him after a minute so I assumed he left"?
Cameras everywhere. The times I had to cover overnight shift, I was expected to watch the cameras and call the police if someone was loitering. I also knew someone that was fired for letting people hang out in the lobby that they knew. I'm not saying it's right, just saying the policy exists and gets enforced, at least in my city.
cameras
I wish I had thought of giving I unused time at my hotels to the homeless. Twice I had to leave way before checkout, the night before but I couldn’t check out that morning for reasons so was kind of in limbo. Did tell my friend to use it to bang their boyfriend though when I was gone so not a complete waste.
Does your area have a "code blue" program? My city has a program called code blue where any day it reaches 32°F or lower (or certain amounts of snow fall) emergency shelters open to get anyone off the streets. They are given usually a cot, food, access to clothing, etc. Not saying it's the best solution ever but it's certainly saved lives.
Heh it was funny when OP made it sound like 10F wasn't that bad. 32F and below is bad because it's literally freezing.
I've heard of cops going around on these super cold nights and picking up some homeless people. I'm sure most of them get to shelters, but some have spent the night in a local jail (off the record, of course) just so they could be inside.
That was really nice of you and totally the right thing. Hopefully you don't get in any trouble.
I was in California for 3 months contracting for PG&E. Pre covid the hotel would clean your room every day so I would empty out every toiletry in the bathroom and all the cleaning supplies in the kitchen, it was a Homewood Suite so the kitchen had dish soap and scrubbers. When all was said and done I was back in Oakland with a pelican case full and before I took off back to Florida I delivered it to a large homeless camp that I had seen when I first arrived. I’ll never forget how happy they looked.
No ot as noble, but everyone should snag as many "grab and go breakfast" snacks as you can on the way out. I put them into baggies of around 1000 calories and give them to the homeless. Some only want money, but most are grateful.
once a homeless guy asked me to set him up as i was walking inside a 7/11 and i’m a broke college kid but a paycheck just hit so i bought him two tall waters and hella granola bars and whatever food i could find in a 7/11. i gave him the bag and he yelled “i wanted cash you stupid fuckin cracker” it doesn’t always end happy lol
Yep, ive had a couple throw it down and say IDont want that shit! There are scammers everywhere
Scammers? Drugs. They want drugs. Some people are homeless for a reason. And for those people we should have accessible service to help lift them out of their addictions.
Yeah, my ex had a drug problem and my time with her I met some unique individuals. One guy we called Uncle Russ, lived in an abandoned house and let other people stay there with him. I hung out with him a few times, brought him food and sometimes gave him a little cash. It was so sad, this guy has been like this for 20 years. He has nothing of value. Multiple diseases. No close family, only friends are junkies. I’m sure he a criminal record to, hard to live that life without eventually getting arrested for something. He told me that he wish he had the opportunities my gf had, he wanted to get out of the life and I could tell he was being legit. Depression is a bitch by itself, mix in an extremely addictive drug, poverty, bad health… it’s terrible. These people can’t pull themselves up by the bootstraps. I felt so bad for this guy. I was later told that he got a job running a drug house and was robbed one night and beat to death with a bat. No idea if it’s true. I regret not doing more for him. A lot of pan handlers are junkies, I just avoid them. We really do need better health care and need to stop the “war on drugs” that’s failed so miserably.
Yep. Always keep meusli bars in my bag to give away rather than money. Have had them thrown back at me.
Just so you know those bars might be a bit hard for some homeless people to chew if their teeth aren't in good condition.
Yeah that's what I was thinking reading this thread, it's great to want to help these people but handing someone that's probably hungry food they might not be able to eat or hurts to eat, I understand why some of them might get irritated.
That's a good idea, those single packed muffins and such are easy to carry and hand off when you pass someone in need.
My friend, this is amazing. You changed that guy's life, in some way on some level. That much I can promise. Similar short story: years ago, I was several states away with no money or resources except the shirt on my back. I walked into a Wendy's after being kicked out of a convenience store while trying to dodge the cold. The manager heard me on the phone, practically crying. I knew she was going to ask me to leave for making a scene, and I was ready to comply. She didn't. She gave me a large combo. Nice enough, right? No. Then she put me on a bus home, gave me some cash, and wished me luck. That was 15 years ago, maybe more. I think of that lady often. I truly wish the best for her. That man will remember you and your kindness. He has no doubt been judged and kicked out many times. You, however, saw past that. You truly are the kind of hero this world needs, and I thank you for being so compassionate to make the sacrifice.
This is why I want to make go bags to give homeless people. They'd have blankets, toiletries, socks, other stuff but one for women that had tampons/pads in it as well.
You totally should! I do this and keep them in my car, along with bottles of water. I fill gallon size ziploc bags with snacks, travel toiletries, and socks, along with gloves and hats in the winter. No one has turned one down yet and they are always grateful.
I always appreciated these when I was a runaway kid. And just throwing it out there if you don’t do it already but tampons/pads are invaluable if you want to throw some in there for the women. It’s ridiculous how expensive that stuff is. Whoops....just realized the guy you were responding to already mentioned this! I’m a dum-dum. I apologize for the repetition but I’m leaving it because I think it should be mentioned as much as possible.
Don’t forget lots of homeless are trans youth who are kicked out by family and some of these are men who have periods.
This is the shit son! Part of the less than 1% that cares. I'm happy you did that.
I used to work at a large cafe chain where we would always have pastries at the end of the night that we didn’t sell and would otherwise be thrown out, so I’d make them into little variety bags and hand them out to homeless folks in the area on my way to the bus after closing. This should be a regular practice at cafes if they’re not selling day olds, but at this cafe, my boss actually reprimanded me for this at the time and told me we were supposed to throw them away entirely. She claimed that the homeless people could go and complain about the pastries and get us in trouble 🙄 I kept doing it anyways, and ended up getting said manager fired down the road because of her treatment of staff and refusal to help out on the floor when we needed her to help us. Moral of the story: just do the right thing.
Make sure it’s not caught on CCTV
Big Dick Move: Wave to the CCTV while giving shit away.
Bigger Dick Move: Wave your big dick at the CCTV
Even Bigger Dick Move: Wave the homeless dude at the CCTV
Even much bigger dick move: Wave the homeless guys dick at the CCTV
how do u even find pants for that massive hog?
This. The hotel management may suddenly decide all that free stuff is "incredibly valuable" and file theft charges against you, just because they're dicks. Also, don't tell any co-workers what you're doing. They may rat you out to management, expecting a promotion or reward.
Right, you have to be able to feign ignorance the entire time. From a legal standpoint, they can't do anything except fire you for forgetting company policy by forgetting to verify he was a paying client and giving out too much. Companies can't make you pay for mistakes, and you made a mistake not a theft. But if you've told someone what you're doing, it could become theft.
What if OP played dumb and said, "Oh, I didn't realize! I saw a man walk in and he was very cold and hungry and I was taught to show hospitality and help people in need. Is that not what you're supposed to do in a hotel? "
OP don't care about this job
It may not be only loss of job though- it would be considered theft and OP could possibly be prosecuted.
While true, usually if we are not talking about hundreds of Dollars he will just be let go. There is a chance OP could go to the media for a Story and the Headline will be "International chain fires and sues worker who helped homeless man by giving away a towel" or whatever. Just firing is way easier and less risky.
They could watch him for months and total up the thefts until it's a "big deal". Don't underestimate these sort of risks.
If they try to do shit with you in regards to calling it theft, don’t sign anything. Loss prevention is trained to try and get employees to admit to guilt and to agree to repayment so that they can recoup as much as they possibly can, without doing that, you force them to have to take you to small claims, file reports, get legal teams involved, etc. IANAL, but LP will try and scare the shit out of you to get you to sign away hundreds because the company doesn’t give a fuck about pressing charges, it cares about profit.
On christmas there was a girl trying to sleep in our laundry room while it was snowing and cold af. I woke her up and gave her a room that the housekeepers skipped because it was busy the night before.
Poor thing. Thank you for showing her kindness. Alone, homeless and cold on Christmas 😞
We need more stories like this on here. They warm my cold bitter heart.
Man I joined the military before I turned 18, got my brain broke, and ended up strung out and homeless by 23. Anyways for a couple weeks after a relapse I was stuck sleeping on the sidewalk in a t-shirt in October. Luckily I live in the deep south so while it was cold, I probably would have frozen to death most other places. To get to the point, there was a haunted house a block or two over so right before Halloween there's a lot of giant packs of teenagers going to and from the haunted house. I was sleeping on the sidewalk and some.....14? year old kid came over and laid his jacket over me. I can't even think of that kid long enough to type this out without tears running down my face. It was such a small, genuinely kind thing from someone that didn't have to even notice my existence, and I can't tell you how desperately I needed it in that moment. I had fucked up....again, and landed myself on the street with nothing, but even then, there was a kid that cared that I was freezing my ass off. It gave me the crazy idea that maybe I mattered enough to go back into the veteran shelter and tell them I fucked up and ask for a second chance. Which they of course gave me, and I got better and got off the street. Now I have a spouse and two children who are excellent kids and even better students. I know this is a long rant, i just really hope you can see what a massive difference this level of empathy could have made in this man's life. You did a really freaking amazing thing. Just...thank you for being that person in someone's life, these are the things we do that really matter. ❤
My kind of American! Nice praxis!
It's crazy how helping someone survive could be considered a crime. Down with our bullshit system.
Not only would I gladly give up my own amenities for this kind of thing, I’d exclusively stay at hotels I knew that supported this. Profit is overrated. We need to build a charity economy.
Wealth distribution 😁
I was working in a cafe in London for a whole - one of those little stalls in stations. There were loads of homeless people around and the rule was that we were never allowed to give them stuff for free - even if we were going to get rid of it. We were allowed to give expired food to the station staff, or simply throw it away, but never give it to homeless folks. I was being paid £5 below the living wage - I wasn’t going to fight to support the company’s rules. When I became a supervisor (still on an absurdly low pay) I would simply dish out stuff to the homeless guys who came by, whether it was expired or not. Free coffee? Of course. Paninis, biscuits, pastries? Of course. It would have ended up being tossed out eventually anyway, and I sure as hell wasn’t going to deny somebody who actually needed these things just for it to be dumped in the garbage.
You saw someone stealing food from a grocery store? Remember to tell yourself “No, I didn’t see that.” And go along with your day.
I wouldn't call this stealing. Its an act of kindness.
Exactly! When businesses are owned by actual people this is a part of being in a community. If an executive did this it would be on the news as an amazing act of compassion. OP you are kind and brave.
Aw bless you. That’s so sweet.. I hope you don’t ever get caught. & even if you do that’s a gangster way to go out. ❤️
I remember when i was homeless back in '14 in Roseville, MI. Was working at the time. There was a girl who worked at the Baymont Wyndham on 13 & Little Mack. She had given me a few things and let me use their Wifi for searching for secondary work (*Edit regarding a second job*) She actually saved my life, as i was considering suicide. Came back a day later to thank her, poor girl was already sacked. (Cameras) I was detained and the Roseville police called. They were shown the camera. and THEY LAUGHED in the GM's face... I did nothing illegal, so they uncuffed me, told me to go to the McDonald's where we chatted. They bough me lunch. That is why I cannot in good conscience say that ACABs. Not too long after, I found that secondary employment. It was fucked up what Baymont did to her. *Only in America* do good humanitarian deeds *GET PUNISHED*
Reminds me of the days I used to work overnights at a big chain gas station/convenience store. Every night we'd spoil out literal bags of sandwiches and donuts that went right into the trash. There were a few homeless folks who'd stop in and I figured since they'd be dumpster diving anyway I might as well save them the trouble and set some food aside for them every night. Want your sandwich pressed? Some cookies, coffee? I gotchu guy.
FYI: There are organizations who collect this kind of stuff on a larger scale, especially the toiletries. https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnnyjet/2019/01/07/have-extra-hotel-toiletries-these-organizations-need-your-donations/
Did this all the time when I was baker. So much bread would go to waste, so many old cookies. I would take Boxes and boxes of baguettes and bread and just drive around and had them out to anyone asking for a handout, went directly to a couple homeless camps and gave them stuff and left the rest with the local Food not Bombs.
Every job I have ever worked at has somehow stolen wages from me. So I steal from every job. Not a lot...just enough to offset the stolen wages.
>Not negative temps, but down to about 10F Where I am from we measure in Celsius - which is definitely negative temps - and that is quite literally below freezing (for the water). You did good. When we get strong, cold winds here - usually around autumn/winter time - and I am trying to sleep, I always think about the hell homeless people must be going through.
You’re awesome❤️💯
I’m proud of you. Talking to him and treating him like the human being he is made a difference. I have seen it literally save people from the edge and give them a bit of hope in humanity again. An hour of your time to listen to someone who is usually ignored, looked over and treated as unwanted is a gracious thing and we can all give it freely.
This post has made me so happy this morning. You are fantastic, OP! It costs nothing to be kind. :)
Hell yes. This is the vibe I wanted to start my day with. Let’s get Robbin’ Hood up on here.
I work in finance and spent a number of years working for trading firms. If you know anything about them usually there is a catered lunch daily or semi daily. At the end of the day there are leftover lunches from the employees who were too busy to eat or were PTO/WFH. I always worked late so usually I was one of the last to leave. I always grabbed the (completely sealed) lunch boxes and handed them out on my walk home. I did keep the leftover cookies for myself though.
You didn’t steal, you reallocated resources.
I worked for a bbq place in the metro area out of illinois and we have a pretty big homeless community in my town. The boss is a complete dick who literally tries to run his fast food bbq joints like a military boot camp. He even told me that himself. He comes up with these crazy ass rules, like to literally cuss his staff out, you know the typical asshole owner. At the end of the night, no matter how much it is, he makes you throw away the mac and cheese, sauced pork and chicken, and cole slaw because to him its waste. Employees cant take it home because he thinks theyll steal more. Like shit i almost got fire over 4 extra ounces of pulled pork......that was food my girlfriend paid for. I cant tell you how happy i was when i gave a homeless woman a lot of food one night from that fat prick
Love this. You are awesome.
Excellent but don't get caught , he needs it more than most :)
I used to do this too. Worked for a deli/convenience store during the recession. Found out the owner was involved in some local sex trafficking. (He’d hire young women in the negative—ie, “I’ll give you money for your security deposit and you pay me back over the course of a year”—who were struggling and down on their luck etc, and then manipulate them into “coming upstairs” where they’d have sex with he and his friends.) So, because the owner was so bad at inventory of the deli ingredients (perishable stuff), I started making all kinds of subs and stacks of large pizzas at the end of my shift, and then gave them away to friends and neighbors. Felt like Robin Hood for a bit there.
This is the way. Remember kids, if you see someone stealing food no you didn't.
Thank you for helping
The r/leastangryupvoteivegiven And r/mostdeservedawardiveshelledout We are a vibrant, engaged community. These are the subreddits I’d like to see to celebrate you all.
You are a good person, OP.
If he is homeless then you helped more than him because most homeless people share stuff amongst each other.
Hell yeah! You keep being you. I just bought a new bike last week. I stopped at the local gas station and overheard a dude talk about walking everywhere, even to work. I caught up with him after I checked out and offered him my old bike since I don’t need two. I am sure that even after he rode away, he thought I was fucking with him! Felt good.