Origins
The Doe Fund was founded in 1985 by George McDonald during a sharp rise in homelessness in New York City. McDonald, an executive in the private sector at that time, began by distributing food to homeless people on the floor of Grand Central Terminal for 700 consecutive nights. McDonald later recalled people telling him "'…this is a great sandwich, but I really wish I had a room to stay in and a job to pay for it.' People wanted to work, and I wanted to help." George McDonald's conviction that paid work and personal responsibility could turn lives around became the foundation for The Doe Fund's "work first" philosophy. He and his wife, Harriet Karr-McDonald, developed The Doe Fund’s key programs based on their belief that most homeless individuals will seize the opportunity to change their lives if given the opportunity.
Read more about this topic: The Doe Fund
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