Jobless teen donates his $10,000 competition winnings to the homeless

When you’re a teenager, winning $10,000 is like winning the $10 million jackpot. But what did this this jobless teen do with his winnings?

He donated it all to the homeless.

Christian Hudson, who was the lucky recipient of $10,000 for beating 11 competitors at the last day of Calgary’s Stampede Talent Search, vowed to donate his winnings after spending a few nights with the city’s homeless, reports Calgary Herald.

After leaving his hometown of Airdrie, Alta., the teen took up couch surfing to participate in the competition at the Stampede. At one point, however, he couldn’t find a host.

In true rock-star fashion, the teen slept on the streets for a few nights – and that’s where he met his inspiration.

“They gave me a bit of a tour of downtown and they told me [some] of their backstories,” Hudson told CTV News. “I had a little bit of an epiphany where a lot of them are just normal guys who fell under really unfortunate circumstances [and] tragic scenarios beyond their control.”

And that’s why his hefty cheque went to the Calgary Drop-In and Rehab Centre, instead of his pocket.

“I wish I could claim it was spontaneous,” said the 19-year-old, who quit his job in order to audition for the talent search, told Calgary Herald. “It was in the back of my mind, the hope I would win. It was inspired right from the moment I met these people.”

Talent Search Committee chair Andrew Bunka called the gesture “a true testament” to the people who took time to participate in their competition.

“What Christian did tonight shows his generosity and where his values are.”

Hudson won the talent search through his rendition of ‘Be My Husband,’ originally sung by Nina Simone.

“It’s funny, I cannot sing like these other kids; they’re 100 times better at singing than I am,” he told the Calgary Sun.

“But this song has a catchy chorus that I got the crowd to sing along to, toss a rose out to one of the guys in the audience, just being able to interact with the crowd, I think that’s what sold it.”

And what did good-guy Hudson do? He dedicated the performance to his grandfather, of course.

“It’s from his generation,” he said. “I just wanted to revive something classic.”

The talent search drew in more than 300 performers, aged 13 to 21. After it was narrowed down to a measly 58 competitors, they competed for the big prize at the Boyce Theatre.

Talents ranged across the board from singing to dancing to card tricks.

But the best part, according to Hudson, was being back stage.

“You build friendships. We all jam together, we sing together. When you have that much talent all singing together, it’s heaven.”