It's a safe bet that the last thing you'd do after losing your job is give away money. Reed Sandridge was laid off last year as a director of a nonprofit group in Washington, D.C. The 36-year-old came up with a pet project to keep him busy while he looked for work. He calls it the "Year of Giving."
Every day, Sandridge walks up to a stranger and gives away $10. So far, he's handed out close to $1,200. He also interviews the recipients about their lives and posts their stories on his blog. Think of it as Studs Terkel meets Santa Claus.
Sandridge agreed to meet NPR's Liane Hansen and Jack Zahora in the city's Chinatown neighborhood on a busy corner above a subway stop. It wasn't long before he stopped someone on the street and started making his pitch. His subject for the 116th day of his project was Molly M.
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