They are the best-dressed lamp posts you’ll ever see…
…because they’re wearing winter coats.
Teenagers are putting coats on posts around downtown Ottawa, not as an act of mischief but as an act of charity. The coats have a tag that reads “I’m not lost! If you’re stuck in the cold please take me to keep warm.”
The coats are donated, or from the teen’s own closets. Leaving them on posts is an initiative of the CastleStone Foundation – a youth-run organization that is working to alleviate poverty and homelessness in Ottawa-Gatineau.
18-year-old David Qiu is CastleStone’s founder. He got the idea of giving the coats away from a similar initiative in Halifax. He’s hoping the idea catches on. “We want to invite Canadians from across the country to do the same thing because every small action counts,” he says.
It’s a very Canadian version of pay-it-forward. And it’s a way for young people to make a difference. Qiu says dozens of teens are joining the movement through friends and social media.
“For me, it’s making the statement that our generation isn’t really as lazy as everyone thinks,” says 19-year-old Devonte Parke. “And also, I like to help people. I always felt the need to help the less-fortunate and this is one way to do it.”
The teens know that, once they walk away from the coat, it could be taken by anyone. Then again, there's nothing to stop anyone from leaving a coat as well.
Seeing street posts adorned with winter wear is certainly eye-catching. Passers-by Kent and Margo Charteris initially wondered where the coats’ owners were. But once they learned it was in fact a random act of kindness, they felt a little warmer themselves. "It brings tears to my eyes that young people are doing that,” says Margo. “It’s a great idea.”
