Viral Canadian trio spark local interest feeding the homeless

@ron.gives/TikTok | @koda.gives/Instagram

If you’re on TikTok, there’s a good chance you’ve seen Ron, Dan, or Koda’s videos pop up on your feed in recent weeks, and if you haven’t, they’re definitely worth watching.

Ron and Dan are the content creators behind the viral account RonGives, which is based in Calgary, and they’re making waves further west with their second account, koda.gives, run by Koda in Vancouver.

@rongivesGetting A Slurpee And Pizza For A Hungry Man! 🥹🥰♬ original sound – RonGives

Their videos are not unlike ones you might have seen on social media before from areas in the United States. Popular accounts like josh.the.npc and the_giv3r have reached between 18.1 and 23.5 million views for sharing videos of themselves providing food to people experiencing homelessness.

While Ron and Koda’s videos haven’t reached that number (yet), there is obviously a lot of local interest; their videos collect millions of likes and lots of engagement.

Ron says what sets them apart is their Canadian focus.

“What we’re finding here in Canada is people are just so friendly, and we don’t have anything like this. Like Dan mentioned, there’s no big creators here. So as soon as Canadians see it, they’re like, Oh man, that’s my city. Or, like, that’s in Canada.”

@rongivesGetting A Hungry Man A Burger And Fries! 🥹❤️♬ original sound – RonGives

Ron isn’t new to social media attention, having amassed over 50 million followers when accounting for all of the various accounts he’s worked on, including a viral account that had him in a goofy character, “Captain Bling Bling.” He says he’s been happy to focus on authentic social connection with this new content.

“You don’t have to fake being a character or whatever, right? So it’s really fun. I enjoy creating content again because you get to talk to new people every day.”

Dan is often behind the camera, helping to film, carry food (on e-scooters), and responding to emails. He says that for now, this is their full-time job, and they’ve invested about $25,000 of their own money into the initiative hoping to break even through monetization. Whatever hasn’t come out of pocket has come from the help of local businesses.

@koda.givesHanding Out Chicken Sliders To Hungry People 🥹 ❤️♬ original sound – Koda

@rongivesHanding Out Lots Of Burgers To Hungry People! 🥹🥰♬ original sound – RonGives

“If [local businesses] wanted to do a brand deal, we don’t take any money from them. We never will. That’s not part of our image. We just want to be a vessel for them, right? So essentially, like I said, they can live vicariously through us. They get to showcase their food. They see it’s going to people. And this is just feel-good all around, I think.”

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So far, they’ve collaborated with places like National and KK Shawarma in Calgary, which they say led to a boost in business and Google reviews. According to the duo, one thing that makes the city stand out is the number of farmer’s markets and mom-and-pop shops.

“These local mom-and-pop shops are super friendly. You can tell they’re passionate. Because it’s typically the owners of the shops that are working, or someone that’s closely related, so yeah, and you don’t see that in Vancouver, they don’t have farmers markets like that.”

Employees have also been enthusiastic about helping; some of them even give up their meals as donations.

Ultimately, the videos are part of breaking down the stigma of homelessness.

“When you’re talking with homeless people, there’s a stigma that they’re not approachable. And it’s making people realize that, you know what, I mean, everyone’s human at the end of the day, right? Sometimes, someone just wants to be talked to,” says Ron.

There’s no doubt that videos like these can be a welcome change for viewers or people who are tired of seeing divisiveness and negativity on social media. Dan says that connection is something their videos can help create.

“When you go on social media … there’s an ulterior motive and it’s really inauthentic. So when you get these candid moments where people genuinely appreciate it, or something like that, it’s really special.”