Lincoln man collecting donations for homeless from every street in the city

"My goal, my ambition, and my purpose is to do all 2885 streets.”

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – On the last Saturday morning of every month, Kirk McManus can be found in his car, driving the streets of Lincoln, doing his part to help the homeless in the city.

McManus does a monthly food and clothing drive for the People’s City Mission, Lincoln’s homeless shelter. He keeps a list of all of the streets in the city of Lincoln. His goal? He wants to collect donations from every street in the city, one street at a time.

“There are about 2885 streets,” McManus said. “My goal, my ambition, and my purpose is to do all 2885 streets.”

McManus begins by picking a street at the beginning of a new month. He proceeds to send each resident a postcard informing them that he will be collecting food and clothing donations on the last Saturday of the month. People are encouraged to leave their donations at the end of their driveway or at his house.

“You don’t have to be rich or famous to help your community,” McManus said. “You don’t have to be rich or famous to make your community better.”

McManus started doing food and clothing drives for the homeless in July of 2018. When he was in college, McManus says his father was close to becoming homeless and ended up declaring bankruptcy.

“He was depressed, he was angry at himself, he was disappointed, he didn’t feel like a provider, and he went into a dark place,” McManus said.

McManus used a student loan check to help his father pay first month’s rent at an apartment and helped his family move out of their previous home in two days. McManus says this period of his life always stuck with him and motivated him to do his part to help out those in need whenever he had a chance.

“It took another human being to look outside of homelessness and say, ‘How can I make this better?” McManus said.

McManus says he gets two to four donations per drive. Since starting in 2018, he has collected donations from a total of 27 streets. He has a long way to go to get to all 2,885 streets in Lincoln, but he’s determined to get there, one street at a time.

“I don’t care how long it takes,” McManus said. “My purpose is to make people’s lives better. If you’re living your purpose and doing what you believe you’re supposed to do and what you’re called to do, it doesn’t matter how long it takes.”