Twin Cities Women Deliver Below Zero Sleeping Bags To Homeless
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Even though we are getting a break from the extreme cold, we know it will return.
That's why two Twin Cities women are personally handing out below zero sleeping bags to the homeless.
Diane Dodd and Hayley Hogan of Eagan started a GoFundMe page earlier this month after seeing people sleeping on the streets of downtown St. Paul.
They've now warmed the hearts and bodies of dozens.
It was opening night of Irving Berlin's "White Christmas" at the Ordway. And as Diane Dodd left the theater, the musical fantasy was quickly replaced by a harsh reality.
On a cold December night, she saw a man sleeping outside on the ground.
"It was freezing. We were freezing. We were shivering. It was just so cold. And I saw this man laying down. He had what looked like a black tarp over him," Dodd said.
The next day, Dodd reached out to her friend Hogan, and together they researched a good way to help the homeless stay warm.
They decided to buy sleeping bags custom-made for below zero temperatures.
They set up a fundraising page and within days had enough money to buy the first 10 online, and then personally give them away.
"They just had this huge smile on their face like they had won the lottery. They just were in disbelief that they were getting this, and the way they held them so gingerly," Dodd said.
They've now raised enough money to broaden the shopping list to coats and thermal underwear and socks.
And they've ordered dozens more of the special sleeping bags, still with the intent to personally deliver them to those in need.
"This is just a huge project that we are just so thankful to be able to help other people like this. It's just been awesome," she said.
Dodd and Hogan set a fundraising goal of $10,000 and so far they have raised nearly $9,000 already in less than two weeks.
You can find the GoFundMe page here.
