Winnipeg girl, 9, hands out care packages to homeless community as act of kindness

A Winnipeg girl wanting to give back to the city's homeless community handed care packages out to people outsideSiloam Mission over the weekend.

Nine-year-old Grace Kennedy handed out 18 care packages containing a sandwich, banana, cookie, waterand a clean pair of socks on Saturday.

She said handing out the packages made her "feel really good to be nice."

"What if that was you? You would want somebody to do that for you," she told CBC.

Her mom, Nellie, says Grace got the idea for the care packages around the beginning of the school year. Friends of theirs have been wanting to donate for future care packages, she said.

Her daughter got a warm welcome from those who received the packages, said Nellie.

"They treated Grace like a rockstar," she said. "They were really proud of a little kid thinking of them and doing something nice for them."

Jason James is one of the people who received a care package. He told CBC that he's been homeless for three years, after losing his construction job over the pandemic.

James says the world has changed over the last couple years, and it feels like people care less about others.

"It's a pretty cold world. It's not as good as it used to be," James said, but he was happy to see girls like Grace caring for others.

The Kennedy family now plans to hand out the care packages every October when it starts to get cold outside, said Grace.

"I just never expected it to go this far," she said.

"It makes me feel like maybe I could make the world a better place."

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