I think we all have a general desire within ourselves to do good and give back to our communities . It can be hard to come up with new ways to do this, but one Denver man saw a prime opportunity for it.
He decided to build benches for the seatless bus stops in his area and give commuters their dignity back.
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A man partook in a selfless act for his community recently.
James Warren lives in Denver, Colorado, and he noticed a rather disturbing feature about his neighborhood.
His local bus stops don’t have any benches, meaning those waiting for a bus are forced to stand or sit on the ground.
He found that totally unacceptable.
When speaking to CBS News , he described the moment he noticed this issue. “A woman was waiting for the bus, sitting in the dirt. And I was like, ‘Oh man, that sucks.’ That’s not dignified at all. We need to be doing better by our fellow city members.”
“And so, I thought, ‘I could do something about that, I can build a bench.'”
So he did just that!
He sourced scrap wood from nearby construction sites, and used skills learned from his home-building father to assemble simple, yet functional benches.
His project has grown beyond that first bus stop.
He’s now built eight of them for various stops in the city. They all look different due to him using scrap wood, making each a unique feature of their area.
The only trait they all share is the message he writes on each bench, “Be Kind.”
He hasn’t spoken to the city about the benches just yet.
He doesn’t really plan to either. “I have not asked the city yet whether I’m allowed to do this […] Until they stop me, I’ll just keep doing it, I guess.”
He’s immensely proud of the difference he’s made.
He notes that others have started following in his footsteps, inspired by his actions, and building benches of their own.
“[…] it’s cool, it’s no longer just one dude doing something for his neighborhood, it’s dudes and dudettes all over the community doing things for their neighborhoods. So, it’s really inspiring to see that.”
Warren proves that one simple idea can help so many people.
“Sometimes it’s difficult to really make a change in the world around us, or it can feel really difficult to make a change in the world around us. But the truth is, anyone can be kind,” he explained, “And by being kind, you can make a difference in the world around you. And that difference matters a lot.”
h/t: CBS
