A pretty amazing story of residents’ generosity and compassion for the homeless reached its peak early Sunday afternoon as dozens upon dozens of citizens of Fountain Hills and Rio Verde converged on the parking lot behind Burger King to drop off a mountain of blankets, warm clothing, shoes, bicycles, toiletry articles, pet food and a host of other items for the homeless forced to sleep outside on concrete parking lots.

The effort in Fountain Hills seems to have been sparked by a single person who saw the plight of one homeless person on television who couldn’t find any warm clothing for his XXL size needs.

Thus began an effort to collect items for him and many others in need and unable to find shelter in the freezing weather. A plea was put on social media and, within days, word spread and a shipment was collected and taken to Phoenix on Dec. 31 with the promise to collect even more on Sunday, Jan. 4.

The result was mind-boggling. Within the short 30-plus minutes that were scheduled for drop-off, at least three trucks plus a trailer were filled to capacity with even more stacked on the ground needing to find somewhere to be loaded. The scene was truly magical and heart-warming.

I only wished I could have seen the reaction of the homeless when the trucks arrived in Phoenix later in the day! Compassion and altruism lives! Happy New Year.