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Meet Sydney Grover of Can You Spare A Story in Tempe

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Sydney Grover.

Sydney, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Growing up, when little girls were interested in playing dress up and chasing the neighborhood boys. I had other interested that raised some eyebrows, I was constantly curious about individuals struggling with homelessness. I never understood the concept of a human being only having the concrete to call home. As a young girl, I was determined to understand the ins and outs of homelessness.

As a lover or writing and of people, the art of storytelling has always been a passion of mine. An individual’s story provides an inside look into who they are and why. A story is such a powerful tool for human connection and I have treasured this. As time went on, my love for others and for writing never changed. Following high school, I decided to attend Grand Canyon University and was greeted with an overwhelming amount of support for my passion for individuals struggling with homelessness.

As my freshman year continued, I felt an unfilled void inside me where serving should have been. I now had large amounts of time on my hands and I wanted to explore how I could impact individuals struggling with homelessness. In October 2016, I started my blog, Can You Spare a Story, in my freshman dorm room. With a camera and notepad in hand, I went out to speak with members of the homeless population to find out who they are and what I can do to help them be who they aspire to be.

Can You Spare A Story was started simply as a blog to share stories of incredible individuals struggling with homelessness with friends and family. A means of ending the stigma attached to homelessness within my inner circle so others could see my passion. It was never intended to grow and gain the popularity it has found today. But, as time went on I continued to share real-life stories of individuals struggling with homelessness and people began caring.

With 10,000 followers on our blog, Can You Spare a Story saw an opportunity to truly change the relationship between the average individual and the homeless population. With help from my professors, my family and my homeless friends, Can You Spare a Story became a nonprofit organization in the summer of 2017.

The summer of 2017 was spent focusing on hosting our Priceless Pop-up Shop. A Priceless Pop-Up is a free personal shopping experience for individuals in need to find pieces that make them feel confident within their own skin. Through families and local businesses, we collected over 400 bags of clothing to sort. On July 29, the Can You Spare a Story family celebrated its first event as a nonprofit, the Can You Spare a Story Priceless Pop-Up Shop. Words cannot describe the excitement we felt as 30 volunteers helped us serve more than 150 homeless individuals. Since then, we have hosted four other Pop-Ups in Vegas and Phoenix. We are currently preparing for our 5th in collaboration with Central Arizona Shelter Services on July 20th. If you are interested in volunteering, please submit this form: https://canyouspareastory.org/volunteer-signup/?fbclid=IwAR3WXc5B1hTZfq1jhWcHmSuatBI3J5spavAZqzC4xdP0B2LlgyOY3lxisgg

A Can You Spare a Story volunteer opportunity is unlike any other, as our volunteers have explained to us. We encourage our volunteers to truly connect with those we serve to change their perspective of the homeless community. We are completely blown away by the connections made between our volunteers and our friends who are homeless. All of our volunteers have made us proud to call them members of the Can You Spare a Story family.

Over the course of the past few years, Can You Spare A Story has shared the stories of countless individuals on various platforms. Our main website features stories of individuals I have met throughout the past few years. Recently, we have launched the ability to submit stories of individuals you have met through our website. In our Featured Stories tab, we feature stories and photos you have submitted. Didn’t capture a photo? No need to worry! On our Faceless Stories section of our website, you can share an encounter or story of individual you have interacted with. We also have recently launched a podcast to share the stories of individuals who have broken the cycle of homelessness and ended up on top. Storytelling comes in many forms and we hope these stories contribute to a change in the stigma surrounding homelessness.

In an effort to be self-sustaining, We recently launched our new website, which includes an online store where you will be able to purchase Can You Spare a story merchandise while supporting individuals struggling with homelessness. All proceeds go toward serving the homeless population, and wearing the brand proudly shows your support of our cause.

As Can You Spare a Story continues to grow, so does my passion for the homeless community. A passion project has nothing to do with the individual who runs it but everything to do with those who are so deeply influenced they feel the need to hop on board.

Our organization works tirelessly to provide our readers with an understanding and our homeless clients with the feeling of individuality once again. To tell you my story, I must tell you theirs.

I encourage you to think of our stories the next time you see someone begging on the street. A wise homeless man once told me, “Accept me as I am, not as I look.”

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I truly believe that all things worth having come with obstacles and challenges, the creation of Can You Spare A Story has been no different. I cannot tell you the amount of time I have been told no to a story. Instead of getting frustrated, I chose to be respectful of privacy and offer an opportunity to just talk with no interview. Many of the stories I encounter go unshared and I am okay with this. Human connection is so valuable and precious that some stories are just between myself and my new friend.

With all non-profits come the issues of funding such a large mission, I am so grateful for all of the generous donations we receive. Our Can You Spare A Story family is constantly growing in size and in spirit. We also receive funding from our merchandise sales on our website. I am so grateful to all of our supporters as they are patient with me being a student, worker, and running a non-profit at 21. Although this is stressful, seeing the real social change and human empowerment is so worth it. Every individual I meet is a new opportunity to empower someone who has been treated like a second class citizen.

Please tell us about Can You Spare A Story.
Can You Spare A Story’s main mission is to end the negative stigma attached to homelessness through the sharing of stories. Stories come in many different shapes, sizes, and platforms so we are grateful for every comment, like, and share we receive. Together we are ending the stigma and empowering such worthy individuals.

We are most proud of the volunteer experience we offer. We like to call it a warm volunteering experience where volunteers truly get to interact and build relationships with the individuals they serve. We really try to focus on human empowerment as well as human connection.

Any predictions for the industry over the next few years?
As Can You Spare A Story continues to grow in numbers and spirit, we are simply looking to expand. We hope to have writers all over the country who share the stories of individuals struggling with homelessness in their neighborhoods. We also hope to host Priceless Pop-Up Shops across the nation.

The non-profit industry is so incredibly competitive when we are all working towards the same goal. We really try to focus on collaborating with other organizations so that we can serve more intentionally. In Arizona, we have been so lucky to partner with organizations like Cloud Covered Streets and Central Arizona Shelter Services. In Las Vegas, we have partnered with Homeaid Southern Nevada and The Care Complex. We hope to collaborate with as many organization as we can because at CYSS we truly believe that together we can end the negative stigma attached homelessness.

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