I have a vivid memory from when I was a boy. I grew up in New Hampshire in a small town outside Portsmouth and remember seeing a homeless man during a blizzard. The man was encased in snow and I remember it was my first time seeing somebody sleeping in the street. I thought it just wasn’t right.

That experience left a real impression on me and I have found many ways to engage with organizations that help the homeless throughout my life. When my wife and I lived in Washington, D.C., I was involved with a couple of local shelters and then in 2013 I moved to Stamford. I started looking around for opportunities to be involved in my local community when the be homeful project came along. I presented the concept of this new campaign to my family foundation and it was great to see how excited everybody was about how much good they could do.

As a father, I think giving back to our community is important and I do my best to lead by example, practicing the thinking I want to model. I liked that we were able to prevent families in our own community from becoming homeless since it means a lot to me to be able to make sure other children can grow up with the same necessities I am able to offer my son.