SACRAMENTO — To really understand Gloria Wadud you first have to know that she loves to smile and she loves people.
So, it’s no surprise that when she drove through certain parts of Sacramento and saw rampant homelessness all around her, she wanted to do something about it.
“It was just me and I just came up with it,” Wadud told FOX40. “It’s not really housing but it’s all I could afford.”
She said her idea was “little.” She would buy tents and pass them out to the homeless people on her streets.
And to her surprise, her little idea caught on in a big way.
“Facebook you could start your own fundraiser. I started a fundraiser and people just started donating. I’m like ‘wow,’” she explained. “And then people I didn’t know just giving from the heart saying, ‘Hey, that’s a nice thing to do.’”
She quickly raised more than $2,000, which was enough for 110 bright green tents. Suddenly, 110 people had a place to call home.
She had the help of 12 volunteers spread across six parts of the city. They went to some of Sacramento’s poorest areas to spread her trademark green tents and her goodwill.
“It just warms your heart. It makes you feel good,” Wadud said.
Round one of Wadud’s experiment went so well she’s planning another. She’s only a few hundred dollars from being able to buy 110 more tents.
She said as long as there are people in Sacramento without a roof, expect to see bright green tents on the streets.
“If you’re not going to be a blessing to somebody, what’s the point?” she said.
