Kids make meals and care kits for homeless New Yorkers

NEW YORK - New York City's young philanthropists are helping the homeless community prepare for the coronavirus as its impacts continue to be felt throughout the boroughs and beyond.

Liam Kavanagh Luff, 12, is part of a youth group that volunteered at a pop-up shelter on the Upper West Side this weekend. They prepared meals and handed out goody bags filled with powder, deodorant, hand sanitizer, tissues, and many essentials the homeless population may not have had access to beforehand.

"They gave us a lesson on how to serve, how to stay clean and hygiene, about what's going on right now about how people are getting sick," Liam said.

The city's homeless community is especially at risk of catching and spreading the coronavirus because they often don't have places to wash their hands and may live in close quarters.

"It's an everyday reminder for them about what's around us in the city and that people need help all around us in various ways," said Eileen Kavanagh, Liam's mom.

The charitable event was coordinated by the Imagine Society, a nonprofit that unites young teens from a wide variety of city schools and hosts service projects. Director Jeannie Gaffigan said the care kits were a huge success but she said that all in all, the kids really wanted to give back during a time when it is needed the most.

"We were able to spend the past month getting donations of these items and then the kids made little goody bags and began handing them out after dinner," Gaffigan said.

The Imagine Society usually hosts events like this once a month and plans to organize another pop-up shelter in April.