More Than A Nonprofit.

In 2012, Alex met Matt during a St. Patrick's Day weekend trip to New Orleans. Matt hadn't anticipated the chilly evenings and arrived without any long-sleeved shirts. Seeing his new friend in need, Alex offered to loan Matt one of his own shirts for the weekend so he could stay warm and continue enjoying the festivities.

Although they had only just met, the gesture left a lasting impression on Matt. "I really thought this was cool, coming from someone I had just met. Alex surely saw I had a need, and he met it so that I'd be comfortable and continue to have fun with all of our friends," Matt wrote on his wedding website in 2017. Not long after that weekend, Matt moved to Denver, and the two eventually lost touch.

Then, one morning, Matt received devastating news. During his lunch break, Alex had returned home and unexpectedly encountered a burglar inside his apartment. He was shot and killed in his own home at just 30 years old.

Reflecting on the tragedy, Matt wrote: "Alex is the fourth person in my life that I have known to have been killed by a gun in Atlanta. Fourth. Four people, all taken entirely too young. I try to see the good in everything, but these deaths are tough because they are always cold, senseless."

Years later, as Matt and his fiancée, Ashleigh, planned their wedding in Denver, they remembered Alex's simple act of kindness. Their reception was held at the Denver Boathouse, an open-air venue where evenings could become quite chilly. Because portable heaters were prohibited due to fire code, they invited guests to bring a sweater, pair of gloves, scarf, or warm socks to keep comfortable during the celebration. At the end of the night, guests were encouraged to leave those items behind so they could be donated to people in need. By the end of the evening, 181 pieces of warm clothing had been collected.

Afterward, Matt and Ashleigh wrote a heartfelt note to Alex's mother, sharing the story of the shirt Alex had loaned Matt years before. They explained how that small act of generosity had inspired hundreds of people to help keep others warm during a Denver winter. That single act of kindness became the spark for Something For Alex.

What began with one borrowed shirt has grown into a mission of paying kindness forward. Today, Alex's family continues that mission by honoring his legacy and inspiring others to see a need, meet it, and make a difference, one simple act of kindness at a time.