When he started his new job and commute, David Greenberg found himself passing many homeless people along his walk to work. Chatting with a guy named Barry, who had all of his worldly possessions in a shopping cart, touched Greenberg. “His entire life is in that cart,” realized Greenberg, and his gentle, giving nature drove him to share all that he could.
For five years, Greenberg has developed a friendship with the homeless people he passes. He watches out for their needs and health and listens to their life stories. During his morning stroll, he hands out fruit, vegetables, and granola bars. He also goes to thrift stores to buy them warm winter jackets, socks, and books. “I try to do a mitzvah every day,” he explains — a mitzvah, in Jewish tradition, being an act of human kindness.
Despite the limited income he has to support his wife and two children, Greenberg plans to continue his generosity, as he says, “I call myself a common man philanthropist.”
—Dena Burke
For copy of actual issue, go to https://www.realchangenews.org/2007/02/21/feb-21-2007-entire-issue