Posted on 07/13/2007 10:26:59 AM PDT by SubGeniusX
He's picking up 80 bags of trash a day in return for donations
TORONTO (Sun Media) - Marc the Litter Guy needed money to pay the rent but he didn't want to panhandle.
So the 30-year-old got some garbage bags and put a sign on his back saying he was cleaning the city for donations.
"I needed to make my own job, so I thought I'd go around and clean the streets. I wear a sign -- it tells what I'm doing and asks for donations -- but I don't ask for money verbally, I leave it up to people," said Marc, who has been picking up about 80 bags of garbage a day for the past 11 months.
Marc was struggling to get work as a day labourer and was tired of lining up at 4:30 a.m every day looking for a job that wasn't there.
"I can have crappy days where I don't make minimum wage, but some days I can make $10 an hour," he said.
Marc has some specific areas where he works, and it's not uncommon for businesses to donate garbage bags and give him a few bucks to clean up their areas.
Marc is talking to faculty at the University of Toronto about starting a pilot project, where panhandlers could meet at the university and then disperse with garbage bags to different locales.
"I just think this is a viable option for panhandlers and it is good for the city," he said.
It is commonplace for many panhandlers to stake out the same corner every day to beg for money.
"I think this guy has a great idea," said Robin MacDonald, a customer at Starbucks on King St. E.
"Here you have a guy who doesn't bother people and he gives back. I wouldn't mind giving my change to him."
In response to complaints about panhandlers, the city is looking into whether downtown beggars who are not homeless need help in making use of social programs.
The executive committee has met with restaurant and other business owners who are frustrated with panhandlers on downtown streets.
The committee unanimously voted to launch a pilot project -- from July 3 to Sept. 17 -- which will include meetings between senior officials and businesses to find ways of addressing the panhandling problem.
Still doesn't count ....
he's Canadian ...
Surviving most likely. Toronto is a very expensive city. Think NYC prices, excluding ghettos.
ping
at least he doesnt pay rent!
Ordinary jobs Canadians won’t do?
does it matter ... it's his money ...
Nothing in the article indicates that he is homeless.
That is — the article does not support the headline.
Marc is an entrepreneur in his own right! Good on him!
“What does the IRS care about some dude in Canada?”
Doh.
Toronto. :)
>nothin in the article indicates that he is homeless.<
The first sentence says he needs to pay the rent.
well nothing execpt for maybe the HEADLINE
"Homeless man cleans streets instead of begging"
just sayin...
Of course there is the little thing about the first two words of the article headline : HOMELESS MAN
oops now lookin at other posts ... good point dudes ...
um, yeah but whether or not i give him some of mine depends on how he is going to spend it. i think thats fair.
LOL, now that is true, the article doesn;t really say he is homeless. It says he is doing it to get money to pay the rent.
Semantics here , but you are correct if he is getting money to "Pay The Rent" - that indicates he has someplace that he lives and needs to pay rent too.
If I had to guess, i would say this is just a lazy reporter putting the story together of a FORMERLY "Homeless Man" who came up with a way to get enough money to "pay the rent"
Maybe he’s homeless b/c it’s cheaper than having to work and pay all those Canandian taxes.
Does Michael Moore know that Canada, the land he loves, has homeless people?
....but he does have “free” healthcare!
Or could be homeless but saving up for a first month’s rent. Who knows with reporters these days, eh?
Actually, I thought American-style "Adopt a Highway" programs would be completely useless in Canada simply because they don't litter all over the roads like we do down here. I've walked for miles in places like Ottawa, Calgary, Edmonton, etc. without ever seeing so much as a cigarette butt in the street.
That’s a good point. I hadn’t even picked up on that.
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