NEW ORLEANS -- On a cold and blustery Sunday morning, 7-year-old Cody Hosch ended up at a homeless shelter -- not looking for warmth, but instead, offering some.
"It could change the world, you know," he said.
It all began several weeks ago, when the Mandeville Elementary School student saw a homeless man on the street. That got Cody thinking.
"In school, they had colored a picture of a Fleur de Lis," said Cody's mother, Lori Hosch. "And he jumped off the school bus and ran to the front porch, and he said, 'Momma, Momma, I have an idea. What I want to do is take a picture like this and make lots of them and turn them into ornaments also and sell them. And all the money I get, I'm going to give it to charity.'"
The charity, Cody decided, would be one that helped the homeless. He began selling his Fleur de Lis pictures for a few dollars a piece and ended up raising $518. His enthusiasm spread to his friends, who pitched in to help.
"I started buying four or three pictures and then I was like, 'well, this isn't a lot of effort.' And so we kind of gave in and started helping," said Emily Procell, Cody's friend.
When several store managers heard about what Cody was doing, they helped out too with donations. The end result, dozens upon dozens of backpacks, with things like blankets, hats, gloves, food and water -- all nestled inside. Cody and his friends gave them out at Ozanam Inn Sunday, much to the surprise of those receiving them.
"It is blessing for him to come and do it and we thank him," said David Brandon, who is homeless. "It's fantastic, really."
"We picked the Ozanam Inn because they were so sweet in letting the kids actually come in and physically give the bags to the people and meet the people," said Lori Hosch. "It was important for the kids after they worked so hard and raised so much money, that they see the fruits of their labor. And they wanted to look people in the eye and let them know they are thought about and they are loved."
"It's unbelievable that a 7-year-old would think of that," said Clarence Adams, Ozanam Inn assistant administrator. "We can all do something to help and I think Cody is living proof of that. He decided that he wanted to help, he wanted to do something and he made it happen. Made it happen in a big way."
However, it's the small gestures that meant the most to Cody.
"They shook my hand and said, thank you thank you, thank you very much," said Cody Hosch. "It felt good."
The children and their parents say they plan on returning on Ozanam Inn again in the coming weeks to volunteer.
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