Throughout the end of last week and over the weekend, temperatures plummeted as low as -65 degrees Fahrenheit in some parts of Minnesota, while temperatures elsewhere dropped well below freezing. 

In Chicago, temperatures dropped to 50 below zero, and a good samaritan named Candice Payne decided to take it upon herself to rent out hotel rooms to more than 100 homeless people, who would have had to endure the frigid temperatures on the streets if not for her kindness. 

Payne traveled to a tent city in Chicago, where she met with the tenants and “asked as many people as she could to go with her to the Amber Inn,” according to The New York Times (NYT).

Not only did Payne rent hotel rooms, but she bought “toiletries, food, prenatal vitamins, lotions, deodorants and snacks,” to make care packages for the people there, The NYT reported. 

As donations flew in, there was enough money available to rent the rooms for eight days instead of the original six. 

Recently, “40 pounds of food from Reisner Dining Hall [was] taken to local organizations that help feed the Shippensburg community,” reported The Slate. 

Volunteers were able to help with the services, which is the first step to being able to extend help to the Shippensburg community’s (but not limited to) growing poverty and homeless situation. 

This act of kindness is something that Shippensburg University students can follow. 

Getting involved with the community can be an easy way to improve the lives of those who may have fallen into cyclical poverty and may have lost their homes during the cold winter months. 

A little kindness goes a long way. It improves the lives of those that fall under the radar of people who can receive help from the government, or from food pantries like the Salvation Army that require proof of residency to receive food. 

Payne has become a name to remember, and is someone to follow when it comes to interacting in your own community. 

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