In recent years, especially in the wake of the pandemic, I began noticing more people living on the streets as homelessness grew into a global crisis. Each time I passed someone sleeping on a sidewalk, I felt a growing sense of helplessness. I didn’t think there was much I could do to make a real difference until one night changed everything.

While camping without a sleeping mat, I was shocked by how quickly the cold seeped through the ground and into my body. I had always assumed mats were only for comfort, but that night I realized that they provide vital insulation against the cold. As I lay there shivering, the vivid images of people I had passed on cold sidewalks came flooding back, and I couldn’t stop thinking about those in Toronto who sleep outside every night, especially in the rain and freezing winters.

That moment stayed with me and became the spark behind Bags to Beds, an organization that transforms plastic waste into warm, waterproof sleeping mats for some of the most vulnerable members of our community. As Bags to Beds grows from one mat into a movement, it has strengthened my simple belief that community service can be joyful, meaningful, and unifying.