ASU student wins Pay It Forward award

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MESA, AZ (3TV/CBS 5) -- We Paid It Forward in East Mesa to Austin Davis, a college student who makes it his mission to help others.

“It is awesome to see – I feel like in a world of a lot of negative right now to see a young kid like him give back to his community and doing it with so much passion. It feels really good to see, and I hope that he is a leader for many other kids,” said Brooke Daniels, who nominated Davis.

Davis has been helping homeless people in downtown Phoenix for the last three years and even started a foundation called AZ Hugs for the Houseless. Davis establishes connections with the people in need; not only that, but he provides them with blankets, tents, and other essentials. Because of his hard work, Daniels wanted to Pay It Forward to him.

“On behalf of Channel 3 news, you are getting a pay it forward award of $500. You do amazing work, Austin, and your passion for this community is awesome. Thank you so much hugs,” Daniels said.

Davis puts a lot of miles on his van, delivering supplies and giving rides to medical offices, job interviews, or whatever is needed. His van is on its last leg, but Davis says he will drive it to the ground and continue to help others in our community.

“It’s all about the love. That’s what it’s all about, these people are my family, and I care about them so much. When you see someone in the place of struggle, you go all in. it’s all about the love,” Davis said. If you would like to nominate someone for our Pay It Forward Award, fill out the nomination form on our community page.