Today we’d like to introduce you to Peter Bond.
Hi Peter, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
My journey started after a cold, 20-degree night in Times Square, NYC, mid-January 2021. As I left a restaurant with friends, a homeless man had approached us, asking for change. I had a $20 bill in my wallet and gave it to the homeless man instead of getting change. He expressed his gratitude, and my friends and I went about our night… so, we thought. As we walked up the block, my friend signaled that the homeless man was pacing up the block. Our initial thought is that we would be attacked. As the homeless man approached, he wanted to give another ‘thank you’ and were almost on the verge of tears. He had told us that my help was the first time in a week. He had asked for a hug, so we hugged and went our separate ways. After the encounter, my friend said that I had a ‘connection’ with homeless people that the average person doesn’t. He had suggested that helping others was my ‘calling.’ I was working at ‘Chipotle Mexican Grill’ at the moment. My friend encouraged me to document my encounters on social media. I took a few months before deciding to embark on my journey to help others. I was well aware that with charitable acts being on camera, criticism would linger. I knew that I would receive unwarranted comments, and some people would say that the homeless people were being “exploited.” With those comments being considered, I went to all 5 boroughs of New York City and asked 100 homeless people (20 from each borough) on their opinion of receiving help on camera. All 100 said that they didn’t care. The important part was them being helped and not feeling like they’re forgotten in society. I used their answers as my green light to make my videos. For the lighter half of my videos, I used my own savings from Chipotle to fund my videos and give to the homeless. At this current time, I use crowdfunding for people all over the world to donate and help me give money to the homeless and strangers in need.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The journey was a rocky road in the beginning. I used my own savings for a few months to help the homeless. It was definitely a leap of faith from cutting chicken in Chipotle. If my videos didn’t garner public attention, most would say I “wasted” my money because I’d have to work many overtime hours to make my money back. Another challenge was to find viable candidates to help. Many of the homeless are, unfortunately, drug addicts, and that’s why I’ve had to use a vetting process to decide if a person is suitable.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I currently work at a smoothie shop. I’m trying to make my videos my full-time career. I’m not known for anything special, but hopefully known as someone who cares in the future. I’m just proud that I’m helping change lives, and the more resources, money, and connects I garner, the more people I can help and help change their lives permanently.
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
My biggest risk was using my savings from my then-job (Chipotle). Risk is necessary when you believe in your vision and realize that there are very little to no options to obtain your desires.
I knew that there was a huge chance that my videos wouldn’t blow up or garner any attention. My vision was clear. I knew that it would work because I was also willing to work 80–100-hour weeks or even picked up another job if I had to and keep the videos going. My passion told me that I couldn’t take no for an answer. When people would say, “If this doesn’t work, you spent your savings for no reason,” my response would be, “The reason was to help, regardless.” I’m just glad that my leap of faith is actually paying off.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: Instagram.com/bondgives
- Facebook: bondgives
- Twitter: Twitter.com/bondgives
- Youtube: YouTube.com/@bondpeter
Image Credits
Arcky
