“Fresh Eyes,” written and performed by Andy Grammer, is currently sitting at nearly seven million views on YouTube, and was the subject of a recent NPR podcast. So what makes this song so powerful and gripping?

The song is a testament to re-creation, and the belief that everyone can be seen in a better light if given an opportunity. If you started out at the bottom, imagine how people would see you: a dirty, filthy beggar that’s taking up valuable walking space. There you are, huddled up in a ragged blanket, with nowhere to go. You look up, desperately begging for change, and you see all the people you could be. In thousands of cities across the world, this is the painful case, and Skid Row is one of the worst examples.

Los Angeles’ Skid Row is home to one of the world’s largest concentrated masses of homeless people. At the heart of Skid Row is Union Rescue Mission, a homeless shelter that was founded by the late Lyman Stewart, creator of Union Oil Company. The URM originated as a Christian missionary outreach project that sponsored revival meetings in tents, but eventually transformed into a charity that has served thousands of meals a day nearly every day since its establishment.

The Union Rescue Mission is currently at a new location, 545 S. San Pedro Street, Los Angeles, in a 225,000 square foot building that houses a library, gymnasium, computer-based learning center, and children’s study and play areas. All of the proceeds from “Fresh Eyes” will benefit the Union Rescue Mission and their causes, so go watch the music video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bgemCaaQkU  and/or go volunteer sometime at a nearby shelter, like West Side Catholic Charities or Herman’s House of Hospitality. Anything could help change someone’s life, you just have to change perspective.

Thanks for that, Andy.