Rainbow-Tinted Bus Makes Someone's Day Feel Better

Rainbow-Tinted Bus Makes Someone's Day Feel Better

Jason Winter may not end homelessness, but with a set of clothes, water, and soap, he hopes he can make someone's day better.

Winter has a rainbow-tinted, compressed natural gas bus. Every Friday, he loads it with donated clothing and supplies. Then, on Saturdays, he drives an hour from Buford, Ga. to downtown Atlanta to fill up the shower trailer’s 125-gallon water tank.  With a full tank of water, he can serve twenty-seven people to a warm shower.

The sound of music and smell of hot dogs fill the air

He pulls up into an abandoned parking lot, beeps his horn, and people come over. Some people haven't showered in weeks or even months and would line up for a turn. While waiting, they can pick out a fresh set of clothes, get a haircut, dance to the music and grab a bite to eat. For the next few hours, the sound of music and smell of hot dogs fill the air.

The project started during the winter of 2016

Born and raised in Atlanta, Winter dedicated to helping his community and this is a unique way of helping others. Kind acts to make others in need feel good about their day. He feels very fortunate for having a lot of stuff as a kid, and when he got older, he decided it's all about giving back.

The project started during the winter of 2016 when Jason and his friends collected donations and handed them out to people in need every Saturday. It helped people stay warm during the season. As the months went by and the city thawed, Winter strived to continue helping his community.

Hope thru Soap

They would talk to folks and asked if they could have anything what would they want to do right at that moment and they all said shower. So he decided to bring the shower to them.

He bought a shower trailer hitched it to the back of his SUV. Back then, there were just three of them, Winter, Mike Stone, and Stephanie Dooley. Now, Hope thru Soap is an operation and they serve up to 300 people with the help of 6 to 30 volunteers. Their funds are entirely donation-based.

“Simple kindness may be the most vital key to the riddle of how human beings can live with each other in peace, and care properly for this planet we all share.”

- Bo Lozoff