GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Two British social media influencers helped raise $47,000 for a Grand Rapids homeless shelter after a chance encounter with staff members led to a tour of the facility.
Josh and Jase, who have more than 2 million followers, were touring West Michigan when they met Mel Trotter Ministries staff members at a local restaurant. The meeting resulted in a visit to the nonprofit organization and a social media post that generated significant donations.
"A couple of our staff members were having lunch down the streets, and they recognized Josh and Jase, two media influencers, and they're like, ‘Hey, we recognize you guys. We actually work right down the street at Mel Trotter Ministries,’” Mel Trotter Ministries CEO Chris Palusky said.
During their tour, staff explained the organization's approach to helping people experiencing homelessness.
"We were talking about the emergency shelter part, and then also, we've told them we don't want people to have to stay here. We want them to get out as soon as possible, so to launch successfully. So we want to help them to find affordable housing, transitional housing, workforce development, and get them in jobs," Palusky said.
The pair explained on their social media page that Jase grew up in a similar environment, where some of his time as a child was spent in a shelter. The two donated $500 and shared how others can donate to their 2 million+ followers.
The influencers shared Mel Trotter's mission with their followers, who responded with donations totaling $47,000. Many of which were for different corners of the world.
"We actually were able to raise $47,000 which was amazing," Palusky said. “For like, the first time we got some from Germany. There were some from England. They came in from a couple of different countries. So we are very grateful for our new followers across the globe.”
The timing couldn’t have come at a better time for the organization, as January typically sees fewer donations compared to December.
"Because we are in January. People love to give in December, and we live off of donations for many months that we get in December, because January, February, March, they're not big giving months at all," Palusky said.
The unexpected funding boost will support expanded outreach activities.
"A bump like that with $47,000 we were very grateful. And it's actually helped to fund expanded Code Blue activities or outreach activities. And so we've been very grateful," Palusky said.
Palusky said donations in 2025 came extremely close to their target, though the number of donors decreased while individual donation amounts increased.
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