Sweet 16 Kindness

I really believe that the vast majority of people WANT to help, want to be KIND.  But sometimes we get so busy and overwhelmed by our own lives that it is hard to see where we can help out in someone else’s. 

But when people are brave enough to raise a hand and ASK for a little assistance, kindness and love overflow.  It’s beautiful!

And that’s what happened recently here in Arlington, Virginia.  A mom contacted me and explained that her daughter’s 16^th birthday was coming up.  She wondered if there was any way our community could help make it a SPECIAL day for the girl, even though Covid restrictions are still in place and money is tight.

And do you know what?  That’s all that was needed.  An ASK.  A clear request for what would be helpful – a blow-out party for a special girl turning 16!!!

A group of 18 women had been working together to help another family.  I posed the question to them – would they like to work on a 16^th birthday party, or were they “helped out” from the other generous things they had been doing for the other family??

I bet you can guess where this is going, can’t you?  Those 18 women rolled up their sleeves and went to WORK!!!  “What is her favorite flavor of cake??”, “What does she enjoy doing??”, “What is her favorite color???”…  Messages and questions flew for days!!  We were ENERGIZED – we had a MISSION!!!

And even though we all had our own things to be worried about – sick family members, school starting, house renovations, work, etc. – having this PARTY to plan seem to give us energy and life!!  I don’t think any of us KNEW the birthday girl.  But we had all turned 16 before.  And we all wanted to make it a special day for her!

Each person pitched in.  One offered to make cupcakes!  One ran to the store to find a shirt in just the perfect color for the birthday girl!  One asked other people to donate items that the girl would like!  And piece by piece it came together – like a big birthday puzzle!!  The birthday girl had a wish for special shoes.  She had picked out some really cool Vans.  So, one group member scoured the internet and found the same exact shoes locally.  And even though she was super busy building a little schoolhouse and taking care of her family, she drove out and got the shoes.

Beautiful necklace for the birthday girl

Perfect make-up case for a strong woman

A member of our community heard the birthday girl liked skateboards so donated his longboard!  A member of the small group and her boyfriend had the equipment needed to make personalized vinyl letters to decorate it and spent HOURS getting them just right!  The longboard turned out PERFECTLY!  They also made the plain shirt into a printed workout shirt with the birthday girl’s favorite Bible verse on it! 

Longboard BEFORE

 

Longboard AFTER!!!!

Donated gifts came in – books, journals, beautiful photo prints….  Some gifts were purchased new with money raised at the Kindness Yard Sale.  And everything was wrapped carefully (and fancy!) to surprise the recipient.  20 presents were ready to surprise a special stranger.

Gifts just waiting to be opened!

A time and location was set.  A photographer was sent to the location (my partner, David 😊 ).  And 4 cars met up.  One was decked out with a sign and big bow.  One had HAPPY BIRTHDAY blaring from the speakers.  With secret messages to the mom, we headed over to the house.

And the birthday girl was SURPRISED.  She was HAPPY.  And she was GRATEFUL.

Here is a video of how it all went down.  You will smile if you watch it.  It will remind you that there is good in the world.  Drive By Sweet 16 Birthday Party Video

You only turn 16 once.  And I would like to think that the kindness of strangers made this girl’s 16^th birthday a memorable one.

Happy birthday, G-Zel.  We were honored to be part of your special day!

If you see a need in your community, reach out.  And if you could use a bit of assistance, ASK.  Don’t be embarrassed or afraid.  Because there is an army of people around you just waiting for a call to action.  We all want to help.  And who knows, maybe your request will be the one that makes us smile so hard our cheeks hurt.

Kindness Yard Sale Money spent on birthday gifts - $87.58 

Carts of Kindness

David and I both love grocery shopping.  In fact, going to the grocery store was part of our very first date!

But we are privileged.  We can basically put whatever we want in our cart and know that, come pay day, we should have enough to cover it.  That being said, we are thrifty shoppers, always hunting for deals and using coupons.

Yeah – COUPONS.

A grocery store in our area, Harris Teeter, built a new location.  They mailed people in the area coupons – usually a set of 4, one for each week of the month.  They vary in amount, but normally they are $10 off a $30 purchase.  Isn’t that a great deal??  As grocery lovers, we have made a game out of spending as close to exactly $30 as possible each trip (so after coupon, $20).  One time David hit it RIGHT ON THE NAIL (and danced a jig as we giggled at the register).

But in these very uncertain times in our country there are many households where grocery shopping is NOT fun.  Many people are laid off, furloughed, or simply out of work because of the pandemic.  So, I got the idea to use some of the Harris Teeter coupons for others!

First, I asked neighbors if they had any of the coupons they were not using and coupons poured in!  Then the fun part started – figuring out who to grocery shop for!!  Two people were easy to identify; they are both out of work right now yet are still volunteering to help OTHER people in the community as much as they can!!!  Their kind hearts amaze me.  Another neighbor told me about someone else who needed assistance, so they got added, too.

I asked them to write out shopping lists.  Whatever they wanted – totaling $30.  I said there was no judgement – if they wanted to spend the entire $30 on a fancy steak that they had been craving, or on bags of Doritos, it was their choice. 

And off we went!!  We got bacon, cheeses, eggs, waffles, tortillas, honey, ground turkey, ground beef, chicken, juice, bread, butter, cottage cheese, green tea, ricotta, and so much more!!  Whatever was on the lists, we put in the carts.  One recipient made me realize how fortunate we are when they told me, “We’ve been able to get eggs, rice, beans, pasta, milk, potatoes etc. from the free food distribution sites, but they don’t give any meat so this is such a great help”.  That made me think about how little CHOICE they have had in their food these last few months.  It is not like walking down grocery store aisles – it is taking whatever is given.  These are not families that are used to waiting in line for food assistance.  These are strong, proud, contributing members to our country who have been thrown for a huge loop with this pandemic.

I am glad the families were willing to accept the help.  Asking for assistance is not easy. 

We are looking for 5 or 6 more families in the Arlington area that could use a special grocery shopping delivery.  I feel like this is the perfect use of money raised at the Kindness Yard Sale.  If you know someone who is out of work and could use some groceries, please message me. 

Total of Kindness Yard Sale money spent on grocery deliveries so far - $79.66

P.S. - this would be a great act of kindness for you to take on, too!!  If you know someone out of work right now, have them write out a grocery list!  Pick up the food.  Deliver it to them.  It takes a village.