'Blankets of Hope' efforts to warm up homeless veterans
'Blankets of Hope' founders and brothers Nick and Mike Fiorito discuss how they are helping homeless veterans stay warm this Veterans Day
This Veterans Day Fox News is joining two New York City brothers who founded "Blankets of Hope," a non-profit dedicated to warming up homeless veterans across America.
Founded in 2016, Nick and Mike Fiorito quit their 9 to 5 jobs and began the organization - which has since grown from a small idea into a big business. During an appearance on "Fox & Friends," Tuesday, the Fiorito brothers laid out the organization's simple mission: to "inspire a global movement of kindness."
"Blankets of Hope" accomplishes this goal by pairing up with schools across the country, from 43 different states, in hopes that students and teachers alike will write notes for and take donated blankets to veterans in need within their community.
Nick Fiorito says students, teachers, and administrators are encouraged to sign up for "Blankets of Hope" to bring "kindness into the classroom," or help purchase blankets by providing donations of seven dollars online. The organization uses the 100% non-profit model, which means the blankets cost the same as the seven-dollar donation recommendation.
Over the past five years "Blankets of Hope" has donated over 50,000 blankets to the homeless. This year the non-profit has touted the ambitious goal of donating the same amount of blankets within just one year. The brothers say they think they can hit that goal:
"We have relied on the help of just everyone along the way," said Mike. "Nick and I never really thought that we’d be running this non-profit but the funny thing is that we set these big goals and for some reason, all these people just come together and want to help us. So, with everyone’s help, including you guys here at Fox, we’ll hit the goal."
Nick said that it was "awesome" to give back a little to veterans who "have given so much" to the country.
"It’s so easy to feel invisible when you’re out there, right? When people are walking right by you. And to feel that connection back to society is something we think is really important," said Nick.
Veterans Day, an annual day of celebration for our nation's heroes, is this Thursday, Nov. 11.