Camping Kindness

I got to sit down and chat today with a new little friend, Owen.  He is only 3, but he is FULL of energy, ideas, imagination, and KINDNESS.

He is a funny one, my new friend!  Made me laugh

Owen’s birthday party this year was CAMPING themed – complete with a bonfire, smores, a tent, and even a campfire pinata that his dad made!  But even though the official theme was camping, a “sub-theme” of kindness was woven in, too.

Cool campfire pinata

Because you see, instead of asking for GIFTS, Owen asked his guests to bring food donations for the Little Yellow Free Pantry!  Isn’t that amazing???  His mom and dad brought him by today so that we could talk a bit and learn about the sweet little boy and his birthday donations.

Owen’s mom, Janelle, works with United Way so knows alllll about non-profits and volunteerism.  A friend of the family had a birthday party and asked for food donations, so Owen’s parents were inspired to do the same for his event.  “At first we were going to collect for AFAC, but then I remembered your posts about the pantry and thought that would be even more local to help out,” she said. 

The birthday boy and his kind parents

And help out they did!  Owen’s guests brought bags of shelf-stable food, which they then donated to the LYFP.  And today when the family came over to talk about it, they got to meet a pantry guest who stopped by.  I love it when that happens – connecting donors to receivers – it really brings the system “full circle” and makes it real. 

Owen is a sweetheart.  He loves reading books, his favorite color (today) is blue (his dad says that changes quite often…).  He likes hopscotch (though he says he is not that good at it, and walks on the hopscotch board instead of hopping) and has a great imagination.  And this little dynamo is really kind.

Owen tried out our newest project, the "stress relief" station :) 

Happy belated birthday, Owen!  I am glad you got to go to Great Wolf Lodge and celebrate after your party.  And I am very, very thankful that you collected food for the Little Yellow Free Pantry.  Because of YOUR KINDNESS, other neighbors have fuller bellies.

Kind kids rock.

P.S. – items currently most needed for the Little Yellow Free Pantry are dried beans of any kind (we are out of lentils and almost out of other kinds as well), single serving heat and eat soups in cups, single serving drinks of any kind except milk which we have enough of (water, iced tea, juices, etc.), cans of fruit of any kind, deodorant, and sun screen.  Our Amazon wish list can be found at the link below (Costco wish list coming this month).  THANK YOU!

Little Yellow Free Pantry Wish List