When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, 13-year-old Liem Kaplan recognized an immediate need to help the homeless population. Kaplan, who lives in Sammamish, Washington, initiated The GivingHope Project to collect donations for the underprivileged.
Kaplan reached out to various local organizations, including family members, schools, community members, and local youth movements and the response was overwhelming. Kaplan describes delivering his first donations: “The streets were quiet and abandoned. I was excited and anxious and didn’t know if people would want masks. But seeing how grateful everyone was and how excited they were to see us made me realize how important it was for me figure out how to get enough supplies to everyone.”
Since the fall of 2020, Kaplan and his team of volunteers have distributed thousands of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, hand sanitizer, bagged lunches, pairs of socks and more than 20,000 masks to the homeless population in his area. They receive donations from Florida, Pennsylvania, and the greater Washington area. The GivingHope Project also continues to donate kits containing necessary food and hygiene items for both the winter and summer.
