Say hello, won't you, to Jonathan Kumar, 26 years old and recently settled on the border of Capitol Hill and Madison Valley. He's originally from Michigan, where he earned a degree in Informatics and Economics; his mission in Seattle is to nibble away at two of urban America's biggest problems: feeding the hungry and housing the homeless. Not a bad set of goals for this holiday weekend.
With encouragement from investors in Ann Arbor, he developed an app, FoodCircles, that lets generous diners make charitable contributions that translate directly into meals for the hungry. Unfortunately, it hasn't been a particularly easy sell, though not for want of trying. Three restaurants so far: Sport and Branzino in Belltown, and La Bodega downtown. Better success with the non-profit beneficiaries, notably the Union Gospel Mission. Here's a link to the app's website: https://joinfoodcircles.org/
The other half of Kumar's mission is to provide services like laundry, groceries, clothing, and transportation to the homeless and forlorn folk who ask for spare change on street corners. Donors who sign up receive a "beacon" (a fob the size of a quarter) which they can activate to transfer funds (a dollar or more) to needy individuals. More online at vimeo.com
For Kumar, his charitable impulses come partly from childhood; his parents, immigrants from India, were briefly on food stamps while his father completed his college degree. Today, his objective has matured: "To help people help others."
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