Jahmal Cole: Rescuing his neighbors after a snowstorm
In February, Chicago got hit by a powerful snowstorm, and in his predominantly poor, South Side Chicago neighborhood, Jahmal received many pleas for help.
Those pleas came from physically limited senior citizens, some with oxygen tanks, who without someone shoveling the snow out of the way, were prisoners in their homes.
34-year-old Jahmal, who runs a tiny non-profit organization, sprang into action.
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He issued a tweet requesting 10-volunteers to help him shovel the snow. They would meet at the train station at 10 am.
But when Jahmal arrived at the train station, he was stunned. For it wasn’t 10-people that arrived, but about 120-people, people from all over the city.
“The people who showed up, they showed that whether people have privilege or don’t have privilege, everyone recognizes a need,” Jahmal told The Washington Post.
They then shoveled the snow at dozens of homes. .
And the cause was so compelling, that people from across the U.S. offered money and even a snowblower.
At about 3 pm, when the job was done, Jahmal and the volunteers had lunch together at a local restaurant.
“I’m proud of our city. We’re getting things done,” Jahmal told The Post. “People could have been doing anything in the world. They could have been home with families or making snowmen, but they came out to help.”
Editor's Note
To learn more, click here.
To learn more about Jahmal’s four person (two are part-time) non-profit organization: My Block My Hood My City, click here.
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