Howie Allan is on an unexpected journey that began where life often ends.
A decade ago, he started visiting a burial park and cleaning the headstones of up to 100 strangers a day.Although he suffered a stroke that left him paralyzed on the right side, he volunteers here for hours.But, after his son died in a workplace accident in China and strangers raised thousands to help bring his boys remains back home, this is what Howie felt he had to do.“This is one way I can give back to everybody,” he says.“And then my whole world changed,” Howie says.
Instead of running away from tragedy, Howie started responding to the police and fire calls he’d hear on his portable scanner, by racing towards it, on his mobility scooter. “We got to help the ones that are in tough situations,” he says. “And that’s where my group comes in. They are so special.”, encouraging his more than 46,000 followers to help victims with whatever they need, donating everything from clothes and food to housing and money.When he’s not arranging BBQ lunches for first responders, or collecting more than 800 toys for kids at Christmas, Howie’s celebrating his recent 60th birthday by offering 60 hampers to families in need.
While Howie says he can’t feel more humbled by the generosity, he also couldn’t be more thankful for his beloved boy.He says his son taught him that while tomorrow is never guaranteed for us, there’s always an opportunity to make a better today for others.
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