A man in Orlando, Florida is planning on camping outside of a Best Buy for 33 days in order to be the first person in line for Black Friday 2015. However, 37-year-old Kevin Sutton isn’t concerned about scoring the best deals on electronics, he is doing this to raise awareness about the people who sleep on the street year round.
Last year, the internet was filled with news articles about two women who had camped outside of a Best Buy in Beaumont, California for three weeks. Sutton’s camp out will be considerably longer than that. During the encampment, Sutton will accept donations in the forms of money, toys, and food which will be given to the Love Pantry. Sutton is a radio host and the program director of a fatherhood program.
During his time outside of the electronics retailer, Sutton will sacrifice many of the comforts homeless people do not have. He plans on only eating food and water that is donated to him, and will bathe with baby wipes. He gives away perishable food like pizza and burgers to homeless people. He does, however, have the luxury of using the restroom in Best Buy. Many private businesses frown on the homeless using their restrooms, unless they purchase something.
This isn’t the first time Sutton has done this. Last year, Sutton camped outside of a Best Buy for 15 days. His efforts produced a lot more than just attention. In 15 days, Sutton collected 3 tons of food for charities.
Sutton says he got the idea when he was waiting in line for a Black Friday sale and saw homeless people in the area. In an interview with ABC News, Sutton recounts the time that he saw a man pull a sandwich out of a dumpster because he hadn’t eaten in three days. Sutton asked the man to join him and eat some of the food he had brought with him while he waited in line. It turned out the man had lost his job, and that was the reason he had not eaten in three days.
“We sat and talked for about an hour and that was the most heart wrenching conversation I ever had. … You know, that hit me so hard where I was like, ‘I don’t know what I can do to change this for anyone else,'” Sutton said.
Sutton said that people often do not know the true purpose of his encampment, leading them to shout things like ‘Get a job.” They are unaware that he is producing his radio show, the Kevin Sutton Show, right there in the parking lot.
Sutton says that he has learned a great deal about how important family and companionship is while doing while camping, and how loneliness can really be damaging to the homeless.
“I would say the biggest thing is like, emotionally, not having anyone to talk to. I could see where most homeless people start developing things mentally,” he said.
Congratulations Mr. Sutton, you have managed to become a beacon of light in the lead up to the blackest of Fridays of the year.
You can watch a video report on Sutton here.
Source Article from http://www.sott.net/article/305047-Man-camps-out-for-Black-Friday-sale-33-days-early-For-homeless-awareness
Related posts:
Views: 0