A father and son concerned about homelessness take a homeless person out to lunch every week.
10-year-old Chase Hansen and his dad John started Project Empathy when Chase was just 4 years old.
That was the first time Chase remembers noticing someone who was homeless when he and his dad were at Gateway Mall in Salt Lake City.
Chase didn’t understand why the person had nowhere to call home, so John turned the question into a teaching moment. After he explained how we can all fall on hard times, the two of them agreed they wanted to help.
They started Project Empathy as a social impact organization that fosters friendships and provides resources to individuals living on the streets.
They started by handing out smoothies to people at a park, and now every week, they take new friends out to lunch.
Wise beyond his years, Chase understands how important it is to feel valuable. That’s why he takes the time to get to know these strangers by asking about their lives and learning about their interests and hardships.
Since the compassionate pair created Project Empathy, they’ve shared more than 150 meals and have even traveled to Las Vegas and Phoenix to serve food at shelters.
John told the Washington Post, “Chase and I realized that the country needed an army of people to practice empathy.”
At the end of the day, John couldn’t be more proud of his son, who recently received a service recognition award from Utah’s Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox.