Bags of Hope: A Mother’s Mission to Honor Her Son and Bring Care to People Experiencing Homelessness

Each year, Lori Hawes and her nonprofit, Cody’s Crew, travel to Asheville for their Bags of Hope outreach—a grassroots effort that brings care packages directly to individuals experiencing homelessness and hardship. But for Hawes, the work is not simply outreach. It is remembrance.

 Her son Cody experienced homelessness and spent years in Asheville, a city he deeply loved. After his passing, Hawes founded Cody’s Crew in his honor, turning grief into action and memory into service.

“This is how I keep my son’s memory alive,” said Hawes. “Every bag we hand out is about dignity. It’s about letting someone know they are still seen, still valued, still part of this community.”

Months of community donations and volunteer effort led to 100 fully assembled Bags of Hope this year. Each bag was thoughtfully packed with essential hygiene items, medicines, snacks, and handwritten notes of encouragement—simple but powerful reminders meant to offer comfort, dignity, and human connection.

NC MedAssist was proud to support this effort through its Hurricane Helene relief initiative, Project Dispensing Hope: WNC, by providing over-the-counter health and hygiene supplies included in each bag.

“A heartfelt thank you to NC MedAssist for your generous donation of two full boxes of over-the-counter items,” said Hawes. “Because of their support, we were able to include essential health supplies in each of the 100 Bags of Hope we distributed.”

In Asheville, volunteers distributed 60 of those bags directly to individuals throughout the community. The remaining 40 were later distributed in Charlotte on Mother’s Day, in partnership with a local volunteer group that regularly serves individuals experiencing homelessness.

Across both cities, the intention remained the same: show up, listen, and deliver something meaningful to people who are too often overlooked. Every Bag of Hope was a small gift of care for those facing a difficult daily reality. Not a solution to larger challenges, but a simple act of showing up with something useful, something warm, and something that might inspire hope.

To learn more and support Cody’s Crew, visit their website.