Two Calgary men are seeing quite the success on their social media platforms, as they provide fresh meals from local businesses to the city’s unhoused population.
Ron Wright fronts the videos, wearing a GoPro as he heads to local restaurants to buy large quantities of food. The videos follow him as he hands it out at street-level.
Their TikTok account @Ron.Gives in particular is seeing millions of viewers, but they’ve also gained quite a following on Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, and YouTube.
They started the account in June, and it now has hundreds of thousands of followers.
“We’re getting recognized everywhere. So when we do these videos, we kind of have to go in fast and hard and make sure it’s extremely candid because when they’re on the spot, you want that raw organic experience with whoever you’re talking to,” said Wright.
With extensive backgrounds in marketing and social media, they’ve been able to apply their knowledge to the videos and create a winning formula, but they don’t profit from the videos. They pay editors and of course spend hundreds of dollars on food. The hope is that one day, they’ll break even.
“This is a passion project for us,” said Wright.
Behind the scenes is Dan Dunareanu. He does things like hold the food before it’s handed out, sort through footage, correspond with local businesses, and make sure things go smoothly. He met Wright in a previous marketing business they took on together, and was happy to get on board with this one.
Dunareanu says his perception of homelessness has changed in the two months they’ve been filming.
“Before we started this content, I really didn’t know what to expect,” he said. “I didn’t know what the reception would be from the people on the streets, things like that.”
But honestly, the more you do it, the more you realize that there are just people who need help. They need something to eat. They need programs to get clean.”
“There are people who’ve been left behind by their family or friends or society, things like that. They just need anyone to know that they’re legitimately there,” said Dunareanu.
The videos are also part of a lifelong call to action for Wright, who grew up in low-income housing in Calgary.
“My dad raised me and my brother,” said Wright. “So I kind of grew up with less money and I was less fortunate. As I got older, we had a few successful endeavours and then (giving back) is just something I’ve always done.”
“I have compassion and empathy because of the way I was brought up,” he said.
Wright says he hopes to break down the stigma of being unhoused, and also inspire others to pay-it-forward as well. And he says they’re achieving it.
“We’ve had a lot of people come up even in our messages,” said Wright. “[Saying], ‘you inspired me to go and help someone out today.’ And that’s what means the most to us.”
The added bonus is the local businesses are also seeing a boost.
“We try to focus on the mom and pop shops,” said Wright. “The ones that really need it, and they’ve had a lot of great feedback for us. They’re like, ‘we’ve had like 20-30 people come in in just the past few days.'”
The men hope to continue expanding their reach with the videos.
“We’re doing this in hopes that one day it is self-sustaining and we can start doing bigger and better things,” said Wright. “Because obviously if we start making money, we’re going to be able to help more people.”