HONY. Humans of New York. Whatever you may call it, many people have heard of this social experience in form of blog or book. Sixteen million followers on Facebook. Five million on Instagram. Three hundred thousand on Twitter. These are not the numbers that matter. The number that does matter is the number of people Brandon Stanton, the creator of HONY, continues to help everyday. He inspires and serves people both in our nation and on a global scale.

Brandon Stanton, through HONY, shares the story of New Yorkers that he approaches. Stanton takes his or her picture and posts a quote from the individual along with the picture. Many times, the person being photographed shares something deep or personal. It makes the person seem more real, more three-dimensional. It puts a face to the story, and makes us (or at least me) realize that there are stories and experiences of these individual people- people that we may never otherwise know.

Humans of New York has served as an eye opener to many of the world’s problems. Many teens and adults today are out of touch when it comes to  America and the world’s problems; they are not aware of what is going on in the world. Recently, HONY has documented the stories of Syrian and Iraqi refugees, and of prisoners in jails and correctional facilities in the United States. A lot of us may live a sheltered life, but Humans of New York has opened the eyes of many to the issues in the world that we may never be directly affected by.

Through Humans of New York, Brandon Stanton has raised over half a million dollars, just for one cause alone. Aya, a refugee who was denied her appeal for American resettlement, received widespread support from the HONY community. In fact, over four percent of the HONY community, which is quite large, signed the petition for Aya’s appeal for American resettlement. In addition, he raised around five hundred thousand dollars in total for the refugee families he profiled in December of 2015. This granted each family about forty thousand dollars.

Stanton continues to inspire countless people, colleges, and more. There are Humans of ______ for many schools and towns. There is a “Humans of JCHS” (James Caldwell High School), “Humans of UMASS” (UMass Amherst), and much much more. He has inspired and helped not just a college or a town, but a nation.