Kenneth Kim, a pharmacist from Pennsylvania, has been using crypto to feed the homeless. According to Kim, he always “wanted to do something with crypto.”
To achieve his long-time dream, Kim established the Crypto for the Homeless (CFTHL), a nonprofit, which has fed over 5000 homeless people to date via crypto. According to a local media report, Kim always wanted to be involved in a crypto-related project that would make the world a better place.
History of the Non Profit
Kim began work on the nonprofit while he was studying pharmacy at Temple University, Philadelphia from 2018 to 2021. While on his daily commute from home to campus, he would pass dozens of homeless people. At around this time, the latest Blade Runner 2049 was released, which imagines a dystopian future where technology is at the center of everything. In this movie, the gap between the rich and poor is also highlighted, having widened to unimaginable proportions.
In the movie, the homeless, instead of panhandling for coins, were begging for credits. According to Kim, the movie depicts a future where technology has advanced so much that even the homeless have embraced crypto.
Kim Decides to Use Crypto to Feed the Homeless
After watching the film, Kim decided to use crypto to raise and distribute funds that would help the needy. On April 28, 2019, Kim delivered his first four meals to the homeless in Philadelphia. Three years later, his organization has fed thousands of people globally, with the aid of crypto donations, and a network of volunteers.
According to Kim, a major reason for choosing crypto was its decentralized nature. He noted that with crypto, the authorities could not freeze or lock up funds. Kim said he chose crypto because of the past bad experiences he had with PayPal. He noted that on various occasions, PayPal has closed or frozen accounts for varied reasons.
Kim said he did not like the idea that a central authority could just lock up his account at will, so he decided to use crypto to give him ultimate control over the funds. Besides that, Kim noted that using crypto came with significantly low barriers, and costs when sending funds to international volunteers.
The CFTHL Model
CFTHL works by reimbursing volunteers with the funds they use to buy hot meals that they hand deliver to the homeless in their area. Volunteers send receipts to prove meals were delivered, and take photos of those who received the meals. After verifying the food delivery, the organization will send funds to volunteers via a crypto coin of their choice.
Humanizing Crypto
In a statement on the third anniversary of the founding of CFTHL, Kim notes that the organization never tried to resolve homelessness around the world. However, it is trying to humanize charity, something that is missing in most other projects.
CFTHL requires volunteers to physically search out the homeless and deliver the food. It is about physically being there, and distributing food, such as under a bridge in a tent. According to the local media report, most charities today lack a human aspect to them.
CFTHL tracks every donation received since its inception and offers a public registry where the public can see how funds are spent. It is still a relatively small organization, which has just two full-time workers, and around 10-20 volunteers that deliver meals regularly. To date, it has raised around $75,000 in donations.
Kim heads the organization while still working full-time as a pharmacist at a CVS in Pennsylvania. Over the next few years, he hopes to recruit additional 3-5 volunteers. Thus far, they have fed the homeless in New Zealand, Nicaragua, Thailand, India, Paraguay, Canada, the US, Australia, and many other places.
