Hoodies of Hope

During the coldest winter of the decade in Robbinsville, while walking barefoot in circumambulation, I felt the cold bite on my foot sole — and a realization struck me with quiet force: if a few minutes of cold felt so intense, what must it be like for someone who has no warm place to return to? Especially during COVID, when fear distances us not only from one another, but from our own humanity.

That winter, me and my brother set out to bring warmth to those who were invisible in plain sight — the homeless living in and around New York Penn Station and New Jersey’s streets. With the guidance of my mentoring monk, I adopted a zero-budget ethos of service: where determination becomes the currency and compassion becomes the capital. After negotiations with vendors across the USA, India, and China, we managed to procure 200 hoodies within the cost of 100$ and made the matter move from spire to street.

We distributed 189 hoodies directly to people braving about the winter without shelter — each hoodie handed in conversation, eye contact, and dignity. The remaining 11 hoodies were given to the craftsmen working outdoors at the construction site, their hands shaping divinity in freezing air. To enhance safety, we added reflective strips on every hoodie so that anyone resting on the roadside at night would remain visible to passing drivers.

To fund the project, we simply chose not to travel at hometown in India that year. Instead, we traveled inward. We chose service over comfort, presence over distance, love over fear.

These hoodies were just not garments. They were warmth, visibility, acknowledgement, and hope — a small reminder that even in the coldest winters, humanity can still feel volcanic.