Alex Clavering — or Lolo, as he’s better known on TikTok — is a lawyer and content creator who calls himself a “court-appointed hype man.”
Lolo’s content varies between pop culture humor and thoughtful commentary and advocacy — often, a combination of the two. But in a moment of earnestness, he took to TikTok earlier this week to ask his followers (of which there are over 800,000) to help him out.
“I haven’t done this in a while, but I need your help with something that could actually help people who are living on the street,” he started the video.
He then points viewers to check out a wish list in his profile, where people can purchase a winter coat for a New Yorker in need. There are 500 coats on the list, most of which are priced at about $50 each, and they’ll be distributed through a project called Connie’s Closet.
“Unfortunately, the reality is in New York City, there are a lot of people who are living on the street, and shelters can be dangerous and become full,” Lolo continued. “A lot of those people are very young people, sometimes teenagers.”
Lolo is a criminal attorney with New York’s Legal Aid Society, which specifically works to increase justice for low-income New Yorkers. And based on Lolo’s previous videos, where he shares stories from court, it makes sense that he’s using his platform to tangibly help unhoused people in his community.
“You guys are pretty amazing, and I can guarantee these jackets are going to people who really, really need them to stay alive,” he said. “This is a great way for you to help somebody who really needs help. Happy holidays — let’s do something nice.”
About ten hours after he posted his original video, Lolo was back with another.
“Here’s an update, you little goblins,” he said in his update video, endearingly. “So far, you’ve bought over 175 jackets, which is almost $10,000 in jackets.”
Lolo goes on to say that his followers purchased so many of one jacket that they bought out all of the available sizes. So he decided to add a few other options, as well as gloves, for a more affordable donation option. (However, someone also purchased all of the available gloves within an hour.)
Additionally, commenters suggested adding other items to the wish list, like long underwear, wool socks, and pocket warmers.
At the end of the update video, Lolo shows a screenshot of a thank-you email he received from another coordinator of the coat drive, tears welling in his eyes. In his signature comedic style, he then jokingly rolls his eyes and raises a fist toward his camera, signaling his pretend aggression toward his followers for making him cry.
But they’re not turned away. Commenters celebrated in the comments and made good on their word to boost the call to action.
“Good,” one person writes. “HAPPY TEARS!!”
“Our lawyer’s power grows daily,” another said. “Today it’s coats, tomorrow the presidency!”
“You bring me so much hope, Lolo,” another user shared. “Keep doing the good work!”
Header images courtesy of Alex Clavering/TikTok