Three times a week, Marty Rogers and a group of volunteers, including middle school students and nuns, hit the streets of the South Bronx to distribute food, water, hats, and gloves to people who are homeless.

Over the last four decades, Rogers has organized a free Thanksgiving meal at his church, Immaculate Conception, serving food alongside his children and parishioners. A few years ago, a middle school student at the church’s school asked a teacher what they could do to help people who are homeless. The school contacted Rogers, and asked if he would help the student feed those in need.

Rogers organized “Hope Walks,” where every so often, students and volunteers from the church would get together to make sandwiches to pass out to people in the neighborhood. They stopped and chatted with people, asking their names and making them feel comfortable, and “by the end, we might be cracking jokes,” Rogers told CBS News. 

At the start of the pandemic, Rogers knew there needed to be more Hope Walks, and now, three times a week, his group make dozens of sandwiches to pass out, paying for the food through donations. He has gotten to know several people, including a woman named Virginia, who recently showed him the key to her new apartment. “We were so thrilled,” Rogers told CBS News. “We didn’t help her do it, but maybe we played a small part. We’re some people that at least she can share the good news with, and we definitely celebrate with her.”