Shortly after his brother died while experiencing homelessness in 2024, Minn Vo visited the shelter where he had stayed.
The high schooler vividly remembers the conditions inside the shelter and the feeling he had immediately afterward. Instead of feeling helpless, Vo said he became inspired to take action.
In December, about a year after his brother’s death, Vo launched the . The group of students from across Fairfax County, Virginia, is bonded over a mission to support community members most in need.
“I just feel like everyone should receive the same dignity and support that every other person should have, despite their background or wherever they’re coming from,” Vo told WTOP. “At the end of the day, we’re all human.”
The group features about 100 students from several Fairfax County schools.
Vo, a junior at Carter G. Woodson High School, said the nonprofit’s first project was a winter warmth drive. Students donated beanies, blankets and hand-warmers “for our unhoused neighbors to stay warm” during frigid conditions.
Separately, they assembled more than 70 dental hygiene kits, using items donated by area dentists. Each kit also included what Vo described as a kindness card, featuring a positive message and artwork created by a student.
The kits, Vo said, were distributed through the Northern Virginia group , which helps young people and mothers experiencing homelessness.
“Small things like making a kindness card or participating in activities like this goes a long way,” Vo said. “Even if you think that you’re not making that much of a difference just by making a kindness card, for example again, it really goes a long way, and it really does continue to help lead to positive impacts in our community and help those in need.”
Recipients of the kits or the group’s other projects, Vo said, are able to “see that they’re valued and seen and that they aren’t alone in their struggling situations.”
Vo said he works to balance the nonprofit work with his schoolwork and extracurricular activities because he wants to “make a positive impact and try to gather students and make meaningful change.”
He hopes to expand the nonprofit’s reach, by adding more schools and recruiting additional volunteers.
“I feel like if we have more outreach and community efforts, we could definitely make more positive impact and just continue to keep making meaningful change in support of our unhoused neighbors,” Vo said.
Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.
漏 2026 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.
