It’s time for another
accounting report of how the money raised at the Kindness Yard Sale was spent!
Let’s start this one in
CHICAGO. My sweetheart and I were eating
breakfast at an amazing donut shop called Do-Rite Donuts. We sat at the counter facing the window and
watched the world go by as we sipped coffee and ate our treats - fried chicken sandwiches with DONUTS for "buns". Yum! I noticed that a lot of people in scrubs were
coming in, then realized the hospital was right across the street. So, I went up to a man in scrubs near the
register and said that I would like to buy his lunch with proceeds from a
Kindness Yard Sale. Boy was he
surprised!! He had ordered just a
coffee, but I said, “Don’t you need a SANDWICH or anything?”. He smiled a bit, hemmed and hawed with
feeling awkward about taking a free lunch from a stranger, then accepted the
offer of a sandwich. I learned his name
was Ryan and he was a tech at the hospital.
He thanked us 2 or 3 times before leaving.
Total cost: $7.23
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| Donuuuuuts at Do-Rite |
And since we are on the
HEALTH CARE and DONUTS theme, how about this one?? My sister brought me a Krispy Kreme donut
recently. I hadn’t had one in a long
time and had forgotten how delicious they are!
So, I decided to buy a few dozen and hand them out to nurses, because nurses are the hardest working people in health care! Lucky for me the woman working at the Krispy
Kreme on 72nd St in Omaha, Nebraska was super cool. I explained what I was doing and asked what
the best deal was she could give me. She
sold me 5 boxes of donuts (some glazed, some fancy) for $29.95! She
also loaned me a Sharpie so I could write messages like “Nurses Rock!” and “We
Heart Nurses” on the boxes. Then I took
them to Methodist Hospital and delivered them to nurses. It was a bit of a hard delivery – that is the
hospital where my dad and sister were both treated one year ago so it brought
back some sad and scary memories. But it
also felt GOOD to surprise the ER nurses, cardiac nurses, and rehab nurses with
sugary treats. They were happy to get
them and surprised they were “from a stranger”, not a family member of a
patient.
Total cost: $29.95
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| Donut delivery - coming up! |
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| Get ready nurses, here they come |
Sticking with the health
care and treats theme… My neighbor Stacia
gave me a great idea on how to use some of the money. She told me, “Special needs parents are some
of the most tired and stressed out people I know. May I suggest finding a speech therapist
office or an OT or a child therapy office and bringing some coffees for the
parents in the waiting room? It would
mean the world to them.” She then recommended
a medical office in Falls Church, Virginia called “Great Beginnings”, which fit
the bill and also had a Starbucks very nearby!
I stopped at New Beginnings and before I even got off the elevator I could
hear a child having a meltdown. In the
hallway I was greeted by an exhausted woman sitting on the floor talking on her
cell phone and other parents and kids standing around. I went into the office. There were 3 families in the waiting
room. It felt a little strange going up
to people I had never met and offering them coffee, but I went for it! The first woman was very surprised at the
offer and teared up a bit to think that she was going to be treated. She ordered an Earl Grey tea. She and her daughter were not regulars to Starbucks,
so the girl didn’t know what to order. 😊 The other people in the waiting room said
thanks, but no thanks. On my way out I paused
to talk with the woman who was sitting on the floor and offered her a coffee,
too. “Oh, yes!!!” she replied. When I asked what her order was, she said, “Oh,
umm, my usual drink is too expensive, so just get me a regular coffee please”. No,
no, no, I insisted. She deserved a
treat! So, she ordered a Misto with
cream. When I got to Starbucks I ordered the tea and coffee (venti of course!) plus a Strawberry Cream Frappuccino for the little girl and 5 cake pops. It was so fun handing the treats out! The hallway woman was very appreciative. The little girl was delighted with her pink
drink and cake pop. And the families who
had said “no thank you” the first time were happy to get a cake pop.
Total cost: $23.32
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| Starbucks run!! |
From Virginia to VIETNAM. Some of the money was used to give a Kiva
loan a woman named Mrs. Luyento. She was
trying to get a loan to buy materials to build a new toilet. Here is the piece on her from Kiva: “Mrs. Luyến
is 53 years old and married. Her husband is a fisherman. She sells seafood in
the local market and also dries fish to sell. Her family's income from these
businesses is unstable. She dreams of
having a hygienic toilet, but her income is not enough to get one. She is
asking for a loan to buy sand, cement, bricks, and pipes to build a new toilet.
They would like to improve their living conditions. This is her fifth loan cycle with Thanh Hoa
MFI. In the future, she hopes for her
business to do well.”
I love giving Kiva loans
(I have loaned to 14 different countries!), and this one touched my heart. Everyone deserves a hygienic toilet! It makes me happy to know that some of the funds
from the Kindness Yard Sale are helping her to improve her life. Our money was pooled with loans from 47 other
donors and she met her goal of $1300.
She has already repaid $1.67 of what we loaned her. When she repays it all, I will choose another
recipient on Kiva to keep the loans going. If you have never considered loaning through Kiva, please check it out. You will be inspired and grateful for all that you have. Link to Kiva here
Total cost: loan of $25, and $2.50 donation to Kiva itself
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| Mrs. Luyento - I hope she is happy with her new toilet! |
And finally, back to
Chicago. My sisters and I had a long lay-over recently
in Midway Airport and we noticed a lot of people in military uniforms. I went to the register at Einstein Brothers
Bagels and greeted a woman in an Air Force uniform. I thanked her for her service and said I would
like to buy her lunch with money raised at a Kindness Yard Sale. She was very, very happy to have lunch “on us”. And it turns out, she was deploying and was
on the way to the United Arab Emirates. Thanks
for your service, ma’am! Wishing you a
safe deployment.
Total cost: $7.92
There is $168.08 of
the “Kindness Money” left to spend (plus a few more investments that have been
made that I have not written about yet).
I know that I am going to miss this project when it is over. It has given me joy to spread this
kindness! Thanks again for donating and
shopping at the Kindness Yard Sale!
Until
the next update…
