Pennsylvania pharmacist feeds thousands of homeless using crypto

cointelegraph.com:

Pennsylvania-based pharmacist Kenneth Kim had always “wanted to do something with crypto” that could “make the world a better place”. 

In 2019, he founded what is known today as Crypto for the Homeless (CFTHL), a New Jersey registered non–profit organization, which has fed more than 5,000 homeless people around the world through the use of digital currencies.

“I always had the desire to get involved with some kind of project in crypto… if it made the world better that would be the best possible scenario,” Kim told Cointelegraph.

Whilst he was a pharmacy student at Temple University in Philadelphia between 2018 and 2021, Kim would walk past scores of homeless people just on his route between the campus and his home.

It was also around this time that the new Blade Runner 2049 movie was released, depicting a dystopian future where people are augmented by technology, but the gap between rich and poor are as wide as ever.

Instead of begging for money, the homeless were begging for digital credits.

It was then that Kim got the idea of using crypto to collect and distribute funds to help those in need.

On April 28, 2019, Kim delivered his first four meals to the Philadephia homeless. Three years later, this organization has celebrated its third anniversary, feeding thousands globally through the help of crypto donations and a tireless volunteer network. 

Kim said one of the main reasons he chose to use crypto was because of its decentralized nature. Funds can’t be frozen or locked away by authorities.

The pharmacist said there have been more than a few occasions where PayPal would shut down or freeze accounts for varying reasons.

The secondary reason, is that it significantly cuts down the hurdles to reimbursing his volunteers