Tolerant World: Adding warmth to those that don't have it...

As I sit under the moon, typing by the warming hum of my PC, I can only sense the feelings that hamper our homeless citizens. The town that I live in is home to many without a safe-space; sleeping in doorways and hoping for a couple of quid for a 'bite' is all they have.

It would be easy, and is for many, to look down on these individuals, knowing that we are tucked away in the relative security of our closed block. I am not going to do this, and want us all to make a step into the new initiative, that is, Tolerant World.

Picture it: I was in a McDonald's restaurant in Stoke-on-Trent, having a coffee with a friend, when suddenly I noticed that the 'loyalty' stickers, that I collect and swap for another beverage after the sixth, were making huge leaps forward, into the trash!

What do you think was running through my brain then? What if...we could gather the dead stickers and offer them to the homeless on cold, winter, nights? If only 25% of people that threw them away would place them into one place, we could make sure that the cold months were a little more easier than what they are now.

I have come to these assumptions:

1. McDonald's must budget for these stickers being used at least 75% of the time, if not, it could have ramifications beyond their control,
2. The people that throw them away aren't bothered anyway, what is the loss to them?
3. In every 1000 binned stickers, 25% would equate to 250 of them, which then would cover 41 loyalty-cards with 4 left over.
4. There are other loyalty schemes for hot beverages in the market place. Can we get something out of these multi-billion dollar companies? They could help the 'high-street' in the process!
5. As a hot beverage drinker, I believe they do make a difference in the cold weather, even if it is a small one.

So, with these in mind, a little more research and some 'fire' in the form of support, this could become a reality. Whether they are issued to charity houses like Shelter, of to hostels that are already on the ground, it could start a ball rolling in a positive direction.

STEM should not sit in the background, keeping the buildings high and providing technological breakthroughs without first being mindful of what is on the ground beneath it all. A tolerant world would make all the difference, not just to the poor and needy, but to ALL of us, we are all human and could all try a little harder to respect it as a fact!

What are your thoughts? Are there ways that you could help? You may have ideas that could launch this initiative and help it become a reality? For now, let's hope that one day we cold really see a 'Tolerant World'.