New Yorker uses Amazon Prime Now to deliver gifts to the homeless
Dec 15, 2017, 12:24 PM | Updated: Oct 1, 2024, 10:01 am
Two-day shipping is a wonderful gift (that we pay $99 a year for) but we live in a world where you can get just about anything in two hours, granted you live in a major or major-ish city.
Some of us might take advantage of two-hour shipping to fulfill our sudden wants, but New York director Rob Bliss decided to use this power for good as first reported by CNET.
In a now-viral video, Bliss asks how we can use this technology to help people experiencing homelessness.
“What if we could presuppose the same apps we use to bring ourselves ice cream and iPhone chargers to finally bring that guy a pair of socks,” Bliss asks in his video.
(By the way, in all of the stories I’ve done with people experiencing homelessness socks continue to be one of the top requests.)
Bliss decided to go find out for himself on the streets of New York City, approaching men and women with cardboard signs. In one instance, he approaches a man named Jack and asks if there’s anything he needs. Jack asks for socks. Bliss tells him that he’ll see what he can do and walks away but keeps the camera on Jack.
Bliss uses his Amazon mobile app to order the socks, gives the address of the store the man was sitting outside of and writes special instructions: “Give it to Jack – the guy sitting outside with a grey beard and brown jacket.”
You’ve got to watch the video to see how it went. I would love to try this in Seattle.
You can hear Colleen O’Brien’s “Daily Dose of Kindness” segment every morning at 7:30 a.m. on KIRO Radio 97.3 FM.
