Homeless Inuk man's selfless act inspires donation from Alberta entrepreneur

Exactly 504 tuques have been delivered to Montreal's Open Door homeless day centre, all thanks to one selfless act a few weeks ago that inspired others to pay it forward.

• Meet the homeless Inuk man behind the selfless gesture caught on video
• Homeless Inuk man's selfless act caught on camera in Montreal

A few weeks ago, a teen spent a day living on the streets of Montreal as part of a social experiment. 

He was being filmed by his brother when a homeless man walked over and literally gave him the coat off his back.

That man was Putulik Qumaq, originally from Cape Dorset in Nunavut. He's been living on the streets of Montreal for 17 years.

The story got attention all around the world, and eventually made its way to Scott Vyse.

He's a managing partner with Northern Mat & Bridge, a construction company based in Alberta. 

When he watched the video, Vyse noticed that Qumaq was wearing a tuque with his company's logo on it.

Vyse said he was inspired by Qumaq's generosity and decided to pay it forward. 

So he sent hundreds of the tuques to the Open Door, a centre that Qumaq visits daily, as well as hundreds more to shelters in Calgary and Edmonton. 

Qumaq said he's grateful for all the good that's come out of his act of kindness.

"I hope this message I gave will be recognized more to help others," he said.

A homeless man's selfless act

9 years ago

Duration 1:07

"It's cold. Like myself, I'm homeless too for all these years, but I had a feeling. He's young and I've been through that," Putulik Qumaq said of handing his own coat over to an apparently homeless teenager.