About Helping Hands

Founded by students. Built for service. Centered on dignity.

About Us

Helping Hands for Homelessness is a nationally expanding, service-learning nonprofit that connects university students, campus organizations, faculty advisors, community partners, and volunteers to support people experiencing homelessness with dignity-centered care. Founded at San Diego State University in 2024, Helping Hands began as a student initiative rooted in education, direct service, and community engagement. Today, the organization is growing into a repeatable chapter-based model that empowers students across universities to learn about homelessness, lead meaningful service projects, and provide immediate support to their local communities.

Through workshops, volunteer opportunities, outreach events, resource drives, educational content, and pop-up resource fairs, Helping Hands helps students move from awareness to action. Each chapter is designed to develop compassionate civic leaders while addressing real community needs, including access to hygiene supplies, food, clothing, hydration resources, health-related support, personal care services, and human connection. By combining student leadership with community partnership, Helping Hands creates a model where universities can serve the public good while students gain the experience, empathy, and responsibility needed to become future changemakers.

Our Story

Students United by Care

Helping Hands for Homelessness was founded in 2024 by approximately 30 students from the SDSU Weber Honors College who shared a commitment to addressing the complex challenges of homelessness. What began as a student-led initiative quickly grew beyond a traditional campus organization.

Building a Student-Led Organization

In its first year, Helping Hands built a foundation through educational programming, direct service, and community engagement. By its second year, the organization had grown into a fully operational team led by approximately 20 undergraduate executive members.

Expanding Impact

With the support of SDSU students and faculty, Helping Hands has distributed hundreds of hygiene kits and Helping Hands Hydration Kits, shared information about public access to clean drinking water, created educational short films, and organized outreach efforts that connect students with the broader community.

Today

The Helping Hands executive team remains committed to expanding community support, increasing access to essential resources, and honoring the compassion and dedication of our SDSU student founders. Today, we provide education, service opportunities, and resources to students and people experiencing homelessness in multiple states, while continuing to grow our network of university chapters, community partnerships, and student leaders dedicated to creating lasting impact.