Philly’s ‘Kind Strangers’: These Saint Joe’s grads will help you move, clean or do your chores — even if you can’t pay

From Philly and the Pa. suburbs to South Jersey and Delaware, what would you like WHYY News to cover? Let us know!

Four close friends and recent graduates from Saint Joseph’s University want their Philadelphia neighbors to know that it’s OK to ask for help. That’s why Carter Karpinski, Gavin Kuebler, Alex Andahazy and Dennis Coyne launched “Kind Strangers,” a project providing pay-what-you-can labor services to anyone in the Philadelphia region in need of a helping hand.

“Our system is pay-what-you-can, but if you can’t, then we are still willing to help you, and we try to make sure that people don’t feel bad if they can’t pay us,” Andahazy said.

From dream to reality

The idea for Kind Strangers came to Karpinski after he started doing housework for a local woman who recently had surgery and didn’t have nearby relatives. Karpinski cleaned her house, cooked for her, and the two went on walks.

As they spent more time together, Karpinski began to think about how many people in Philadelphia need assistance with various tasks but are too afraid to ask for help.

“At one point I just got the thought, ‘There’s a lot of people like this, and I wish I could do something,’” Karpinski said. “And I was like, ‘I can. I have that power. I have that time.’”

The next day, Karpinski called Kuebler, and they talked about different ways they could help the community with tasks and jobs. Soon after, they brought Andahazy and Coyne into the project and titled the group “Kind Strangers.” They created an Instagram account, posted about their services on Reddit and launched a website with a form to ask for help.

The group has completed about 30 jobs since the graduates started the project two weeks ago and have received over 200 requests. Karpinski said he’s responded to all of them and tries to honor requests based on the order in which they’re received and each person’s responsiveness. Most group members have flexible work schedules, making scheduling easier.

“It takes up all of our free time, and we’re pretty happy about it,” Coyne said.

‘Kind and empathetic’ help for those who need it

Many of the jobs the Kind Strangers have taken on involved cleaning, moving, organization and construction, but the four are open to trying any work within their skill sets. This includes odd jobs or comedy, as the four did improv in college and love to give others a laugh.

“I would love to do whatever random jobs people need of me,” Andahazy said. “We pitched on the original post, ‘If you need us to dress up as waiters for a fake fancy restaurant, we’ll do that.”

Andahazy said the group’s friendship dynamic can help people feel more comfortable because there’s natural banter and easy conversation.

“In the event that we get someone who’s a little shyer or who’s not really talkative, then we can talk to each other, ease some tension and keep the conversation going,” Andahazy said

Feedback from community members has been extremely rewarding, Karpinski said. He recalled a moment where he and Andahazy cleaned the house of a local man for almost three hours but were worried their progress wasn’t visible. The man’s gratitude reminded them of the difference they made.

“He gave us this long review,” Karpinski said. “He was like, ‘I just really needed someone who was kind and empathetic to come in here and change some stuff up for me.’ It was pretty awesome,” he said.

‘A vibe of giving back’

Kuebler said people also view working with the Kind Strangers as a way to participate in the community, offering items or services to the group as a “thank you,” including baked goods, recipes, login information for streaming services and even a TV.

“There’s kind of a vibe of giving back,” Kuebler said. “It’s great to see that they are not only grateful for the help they can get, but they want to participate.”

Karpinski said he’s looking to take the project one step at a time as it expands. The group’s biggest goal is to continue building community and make people feel like they’re not alone.

“The ultimate goal of this is to not only connect with people but have them connect with each other and create a community of like mutual aid,” Karpinski said.

However, Kind Strangers is also about meeting the community that currently exists. The group has found that people all over Philadelphia are interested in getting involved to make a difference in their communities.

“When you really think about it, the kind strangers are all the people out there already, and we’re just meeting them,” Karpinski said.

Andahazy said that long term, the group strives to create a community where asking your neighbors for help is common practice.

“Ideally, in the end we are obsolete,” Andahazy said. “We have created a community in Philadelphia where if somebody needs a couch moved upstairs, they don’t need to … call these strangers on the internet. They can reach out to their neighbor.”

After all, selflessly helping others — the mission the project was founded on — is the key to making meaningful relationships, according to Kuebler.

“The two easiest ways to make a friend are to ask for help or to offer it, and I think that asking for help is the underrated and underexplored part of that equation,” Kuebler said. “I think that people want to do favors for one another, and the bravery to reach out and say that you need someone is just as great.”