Great idea. Simple as that.

(Excerpt)

From the New York Times’ Rings blog. http://vancouver2010.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/11/vancouver-group-combines-olympic-housing-with-effort-to-fight-homelessness/

Vancouver Group Combines Olympic Housing With Effort to Fight Homelessness

By Ian Austen, NY Times

Vancouver has two major problems: a shortage of reasonably priced accommodations for Olympics visitors and an excessively high number of homeless residents. Home For The Games is an attempt to alleviate both of them.

The concept is straightforward. Residents of Vancouver and Whistler who want to rent out rooms or their entire homes during the Games can do so through its Web site without charge, provided they ask “affordable” rates. In return, half of the rental income will go to registered charities for the homeless and the renter will receive a charitable tax deduction.

The idea for the service came from Charles Montgomery, an author and magazine writer in Vancouver, who initially enlisted, among others, members of his soccer league to launch it in August. The group hopes to raised 750,000 Canadian dollars for charity.

(The article continues at http://vancouver2010.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/11/vancouver-group-combines-olympic-housing-with-effort-to-fight-homelessness/)

Thanks to Shannon Moriarity at Change.org* for making her readers aware of this article and innovative program. You can read Shannon’s piece at http://homelessness.change.org/blog/view/vancouver_olympic_homeless_displacements_spark_innovation.

*Change.org has a host of excellent blogs discussing a wide range of issues, including Social Entrepreneurship, Education, Poverty, Homelessness, and Women’s Rights.