We can learn a lot from children.
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They look at the world with a curious mind, they always make time for play and they’re always honest.
And children almost always see the good in people.
This is the case for eight-year-old Aurora Southern Highlands Steiner School student Luca Fidler, who wants to make the lives of homeless people a little bit easier this winter.
Luca is collecting blankets and sleeping bags for people who are sleeping rough on the street.
He started small with a collection drive at his school, and his mother and Snax on Trax mobile cafe co-owner Simona Angeli posted a call-out on social media.
The gesture resonated with people, and Luca gained the support of his school and the wider community almost immediately.
Luca has had a sense of compassion for the homeless from an early age.
His parents took him to Wentworth Park and Martin Place in Sydney to help the homeless and get to know some of them.
It was there that Luca was taught that homeless people were not bad people, but rather people that had something go wrong in their lives.
This is a reality for everyone.
All it takes is one thing to go wrong, then another thing to go wrong for any one of us to become homeless.
This could happen through any number of circumstances including a job loss, bankruptcy, an illness or injury, a marriage breakdown or domestic violence.
Like Luca and his family, we should all have compassion for people who are homeless – because one day this could be us.
It is common for people to walk by a homeless person on the street, without a second thought or glance.
But it doesn’t cost anything to give them a smile or say hello, and make people living on the streets feel like a human being.
Better yet, why not find out how you can help or donate your unused blankets and sleeping to Luca’s drive?
People can drop off their items at three collection points across the shire, including Equilibrium Bowral, the Wingello Village Store and the Moss Vale Aquatic Centre.
You can also message the Snax on Trax Facebook page to arrange to make a donation.
The donations can be second-hand as long as they are clean and in good condition.