Roses, Botas, and MUCH MORE (Kindness Yard Sale Update)

I am pleased to report that more of the money raised at the Kindness Yard Sale has been used to spread kindness!!  Here is an update:

-          $7.99 was used to buy roses.  But not just ANY roses, special roses for a man in hospice to give his wife.  We know them just as the “puzzle couple”, because we always see them sitting at a table in the common room at the hospice putting puzzles together.  They saw us working on another project that I am going to use Kindness Yard Sale money for (I have not done it yet…) and asked what we were doing.  I explained it had to do with roses, and the woman smiled.  The man said that he didn’t want any flowers, thank you very much.  So, I said, “Well, what if I gave you a flower for you to give to your WIFE???”.  That idea seemed to make him happy!  His wife looked at me and deadpanned, “Well, if that happened, it would be the THIRD time in 51 years he gave me flowers!  The first time was when our first child was born.  I stayed in the hospital for 2 days and when he came to pick me up the flowers were dying.  He said they were a WASTE OF MONEY!  So, for the next baby, he bought me a PLANT.  He only gave me flowers one other time, for a Valentine’s Day”.  They are a very sweet couple and I knew it would make her happy to get flowers from her sweetheart one more time, so I picked up these roses.  I had him write her a note and tied it to the flowers.  He told me to leave them on the puzzle table where she would be sure to see them.  She was excited to be treated (and he seemed proud to be able to spoil her a bit, I am sure she is the one usually doing all of the caretaking since HE is the patient).

3rd time's a charm - 3rd time to give his wife flowers in 51 years

-          $42.09 was spent on boots, 2 hats, 1 pair of mittens and 1 pair of gloves.  This kind act was actually hard to pull off!!!  I am living in Omaha temporarily and it is very cold.  There has already been ice and snow.  I decided that I really wanted to use some of the kindness money to outfit a child for winter – coat, hat, snow pants, boots, whatever they needed!   With most of the other kind acts in this project, I have tried to not make them “need based” – because everyone loves to receive kindness, no matter if they NEED it or not!!  But for this particular one, I really hoped to find someone who NEEDED respite from the cold temperatures. 

      So, I headed to Walmart to try and find someone shopping for a coat.  But even though I strolled around and around that store for an hour, NO ONE was shopping for coats!  No one in the men’s, women’s, kid’s or baby sections!  I tried again another night at a different Walmart.  Then again at a Target.  Then a 3^rd Walmart!  I told my sister that apparently EVERYONE in Omaha already has a coat, because no one seemed to be shopping for them!!  But one night I finally found two little someones one that needed warmth.  

      A man, woman, and two little girls were walking through Walmart.  They were speaking Spanish and I saw them looking at warm work gloves for the father.  I noticed that both little girls had on old, dirty coats, but no hats.  In fact, the smallest girl was BAREFOOT. 

It was a freezing cold night, and this little child had naked, dirty feet.  It made me so sad. But             those little girls were not sad!  Quite the opposite, they were having a very fun time out 

shopping with their parents.  They giggled and ran and played while their parents shopped.

I wasn’t quite sure how to ask if I could buy the kids hats.  It wasn’t only the linguistic barrier – I wanted to make sure the parents felt RESPECTED and not pitied.  I picked up a couple warm hats that I thought the little girls might like.  One came with a pair of gloves, and I grabbed a matching set of mittens to go with the other hat.  Then I found some courage and went over to the family.  I only have rudimentary Spanish, so I could not really ask them properly if it would be ok for me to buy them the hats and mittens.  But I asked in English and a bit of broken Spanish, then gestured a lot and showed them the items.  The little girls’ eyes lit up!  They look at their mother for permission, and she smiled at me and nodded “yes”.  I told them (gestured…) to stay where they were and I would go buy the items and bring them back to them.  Which is exactly what happened!  I bought them, found the girls, and sat down with them right there in that Walmart aisle to take all of the tags off of their new stuff!  They put those hats and mittens/gloves right on and gave me 2 very big smiles!  It was beautiful!!

Pretty PINK winter wear

But that left the more obvious problem to deal with – the tiny barefoot girl…  She needed boots for winter, but I didn’t want to make her parents feel bad for bringing her out in public with no shoes on.  But I decided I couldn’t ignore it, and gestured to her feet and asked, “Boots??  Yes??”.  The mother smiled again and nodded, and I gestured to the girls to FOLLOW ME!!  The 3 of us marched Pied Piper-like to the shoe department.  They were all smiles and big eyes.  I asked the mom which size and we narrowed down our search to that size.  I started with SHINY PINK ones, which the little girl seemed happy with.  But I didn’t want her to take the 1^st pair I put in front of her – I wanted HER to pick her new boots!!  Eventually she spied these tan Ugg-style boots and pointed to them.  She and I sat down on the floor again and I put her dirty, naked little feet into those soft boots.  She smiled and modeled them.  Then we repeated the routine – they wait, I buy, I return.  I told the mom I knew the word “zapatas” for “shoes” in Spanish, but what was the word for “boots”?  “BOTAS!” the mom and girls gleefully told me!!!

As I finished my shopping I saw my new friends giggling in an aisle, new botas and all.

BOTAS!

 -  $5 was left on a bathroom wall!!  I met a friend for brunch at a hip Denver restaurant called “The Corner Office”.  After dining on delicious red velvet waffles, I excused myself to go to the restroom.  There I found this great wall full of colorful sticky notes, and extra sticky paper and pens to leave your own note!  Perfect!  So, I hung this:  I would’ve loved to be a fly on the wall when someone found it and seen what they decided to use it for.

FUN bathroom!

I wonder who found it...

   -  $51.04 was used to help make an immigrant’s Christmas more joyful.  My sister is living in a hospice house, and the cleaner there named Angelique is a sweet, elderly African woman.  She doesn’t speak much English, but always has a nice smile.  One day I figured out from the accent she has when she speaks English that perhaps FRENCH is her native tongue.  I called my sweetheart (who is fluent in French) and he played on-phone translator for me and Angelique!  She was so excited when he spoke French to her! 

She is from Congo and has no family here.  She told me, “You are my family”.  She does not interact much with the other staff or guests here that I see, and I imagine she may be quite lonely in America by herself.  So, I got a $50 gift card to Walmart and a nice card to surprise her!  Walmart is very near the hospice house and I bet she shops there sometimes.  I hope her holiday season is a little bit brighter because of this kindness.

A sweet gift for a sweet woman

- $5 was used to “help kids that don’t have moms and dads”.  My friend Tanya has two adorable little boys, and one of them, Sam, posted a plea video on Facebook. 

I mean, after seeing THAT, how could I NOT share some of the kindness money with him??  He was doing a super kind thing of HIS OWN!!!  Sam surpassed his monetary goal and is well on his way to being an amazingly kind human.    

-          $20 was donated to help a woman rebuild her café after everything for it was stolen.  Her name is Sandra Rivers and she is a CODA, child of Deaf adults.  She had a dream to build a café where Deaf people could socialize and there would not be linguistic barriers.  Her own parents have died, but she wanted to build “Deaf Delight” for other Deaf people.  Just 3 days before her insurance for the business started, she was robbed of everything.  She has not given up her dream, but she used her life savings to buy the equipment that was stolen, so is hoping to fundraise money to start over. 

-          $5 was used to purchase then donate a handmade bead that will be used in the “Beads of Courage” program.  I had never heard of the organization before but they had a booth set up at an art event that we went to and they sound amazing!  Participating hospitals give each child who has to undergo procedures (pokes and sticks) a handmade bead for each procedure!  Kids who have very serious illnesses have looong strings of beads!  The children can play with them, wear them, or just use them as a symbol of comfort and strength for all they have been through.   See more about this unique program here:  Beads of Courage website

-          And finally for this report, $41.07 was used to “Be a Santa to a Senior”.  A grocery store had a Christmas tree with paper ornaments adorning it.  Each ornament had a “wish list” from a senior citizen of what they would like for the holiday.  I looked the wishes over and decided to choose Paul.  His wants were very simple – a book and one white t-shirt.  

Tree of Senior wishes

      On the other ornaments people were hoping for things like iPads and DVD players, but Paul must be a simple man who enjoys simple pleasures.  I liked that!  And I figured, since he didn’t ask for much, I should spoil him a bit…  So instead of ONE white t-shirt, he got a whole pack.  Plus the book he wanted (which looks good by the way).  Plus a box of chocolates.  Plus 2 fancy candy canes.  HAPPY HOLIDAYS PAUL! 

Paul is a man who knows what he wants.

Another $10 donation came in (thanks!!!), bringing the total raised for Kindness from the yard sale and donations to $1565.76.  $24.26 of that remains to be used, and there is a bit that has already been used but not written about here yet!  If you would like to help this project continue, donations of any amount are appreciated.  You can PayPal them to:  thompsongaines@msn.com or contact me at kindnessactivist@gmail.com . 

I hope this project inspires YOU to go out into the world and spread kindness.  Because every little bit makes the world a better place.

Beachy Boho Kindness

Do you ever meet someone who just emanates KINDNESS?  Like, before you even really get into a conversation with them, their kindness just sort of radiates out of them?  I am not trying to be all hippy-dippy-woo-woo here, but that is how it felt when I met Lyn.  She was a shining, quiet, beautiful beacon of kindness!

Beachy Boho Kindness

Here’s the scoop:  I was in Ormond Beach, Florida.  It had been “cold” there for a couple of weeks.  I must put the word “cold” in quotation marks because, well, let’s be honest, temperatures in the 50s are not exactly COLD to the rest of the country…  But to be fair, there WAS a frost warning 2 nights in Ormond Beach and everyone had to cover up plants for safety!  😊 But when it gets down in the 30s at night, that is COLD for this neck of the woods.  And people here, especially homeless people, do not have scarves, hats, gloves, and warm sweaters at the ready when the temperatures drop. 

During the cold spell, I drove by a shop that had a rack out front and a handwritten sign saying the items on the rack were free, and people could take one.  This caught my attention…  A couple of days later I saw a short write-up in the local paper about it, and I decided I needed to go check it out myself.  And that is how I ended up at OCEAN CHILD (A Beachy Boho Boutique)*…

Ocean Child A Beachy Boho Boutique in Ormond Beach, Florida

I was greeted by Lyn, the mom of the owner, Andrea.  Lyn and her husband were working the afternoon I stopped in.  They welcomed me, and we sat down to talk about the shop and what the front rack on the sidewalk was all about.

Lyn and Andrea are women with huge, kind hearts.  They do a lot for the community.  When weather got cold in Florida, they were concerned that not everyone had a roof over their heads or a sweater to keep warm.  So, they put a few of their own warm clothes on a rack outside the store, with a sign inviting passersby to take something if they would like (or to leave something).  Well, it wasn’t long before people noticed…  People started helping themselves to the lovely gift of warmth, and they were gone almost instantly.  (Sure, some teen girls who think “vintage fashion” is cool also got a free item or two, but things mostly went to the homeless men and women who really needed the warm clothing.)  There are quite a few homeless people in the area, and I bet they were thrilled when this rack of warm clothing went up.  I am guessing that word got ‘round quickly!

Pretty soon Ocean Child needed MORE items to put on the rack, so Andrea ran down to the Humane Society Thrift Store to pick up some coats.  Only, because kindness begets kindness, the thrift store was kind to her, and when they heard about what she was going to do with the coats she was buying, they reduced the price from $5 each to $1 each!  (And, again, because kindness begets kindness, Andrea promised to donate any unused coats back to the thrift store when the weather warms up!)  Ocean Child also put a post in a local “What’s Happening” group on Facebook, which got over 700 “likes” and many offers of donations.  Someone called into a radio station and told the listeners about the amazing project, too.  Donated items are coming in at a steady stream – children’s, men’s, and women’s items.  Some people have brought in blankets, which Andrea reports are taken by those who need them almost immediately.  

Simple rack, simple concept, MUCH KINDNESS AND WARMTH SPREAD

Andrea told me the story of one of the people who stopped by, “I had the sweetest man on a bicycle earlier.  I went out to hang up some new items. He had a blanket that had just come in.  But he was just wearing a lightweight shirt.  I said, ‘Don’t you want a jacket?’.  And he said, ‘Well the sign says to take ONE or leave ONE…’  And I told him, ‘Oh honey, you take whatever you need.  If you have friends wherever you are headed to, you take some for them.’  And he grabbed my hand, his hand was so cold.  And he just said, ‘Bless you’ over and over.  It brought tears to my eyes.  I wish there was more that we could do.”  Another woman that stopped was a teacher of disabled children.  The kids were coming to school during the cold weather without anything warm to put on for recess.  Andrea hooked the teacher up, sending her on her way with warm child size clothing for the class of 5, ensuring that recess could continue.    

The kindness just keeps on spreading!  “One woman went to WalMart and bought brand new knee socks and sweater boots to donate.  Those went almost immediately!” Andrea told me.  “And 3 people tried to pay for things on the rack!  We told them no, no!  Those were donated to US, they are for YOU.”

The rack is right in front of the store

I asked Lyn where her inclination towards kindness came from, and she explained that her family has always done charitable things. 

·         She grew up in a military family.  On holidays, her father would always bring men home who did not have family nearby.  They would eat holiday dinner with the family. 

·         The family makes “kindness bags” full of things like crackers, socks, toiletries, candy, Sunny D drink, etc. and keeps them in their car truck to give out to people in need.  “The Sunny D is always a bit hit,” she told me. 

·         On the anniversary on the death of any of their female friends, they get a purse and fill it with “female” items.  They draw a heart that says, “In Memory Of ___”, put it in the purse, then give it to a homeless woman.  It doesn’t cost a lot of money – they get a very nice purse at a thrift store and items to fill it at a Dollar Store.  It is a beautiful way to keep the memory of their friend alive and to pass on kindness in her name. 

·         At Easter time Lyn invited a homeless woman to their family home to eat dinner with them, but the woman was not comfortable coming.  So, the family made a plate of food from the meal and took it to her.  They also gave her a battery-operated fan in the summer to help her keep cool. 

 

This family really shows how kindness spreads from generation to generation.  Lyn was taught to be kind by her parents.  She taught her daughter Andrea to be kind, and now that is being passed on to her 13 year old granddaughter.  “When we are driving down the street if my granddaughter sees a homeless person she says, ‘Oh!  We have to go get food for them!’.  There are a couple of homeless people outside the McDonald’s that we go to.  We always include them in our order as we go through the drive-through.’ “

The store is lovely.  The paintings on the wall that you see here were made by Lyn!

Please keep the kindness going.  Be kind to those who are less fortunate.  If you are in the Daytona Beach area, swing by Ocean Child (164 West Granada Blvd).  Donate some warm clothing (they would especially like gloves and hats).  The boutique hopes to give out free sunscreen and bottled water to those who need it this summer, so you could also bring in some sunscreen to help them stock up for the warm weather that is around the corner.  And while you are there, THANK THEM for their kindness and check out the amazing work of local artists. 

* Ocean Child (A Beachy Boho Boutique) is a lovely store!  It is a warm, welcoming space that carries gift items, clothing, and artwork (on consignment) made by 26 local artists.  When Andrea opened the store one of the main goals was to have a space for local artists to sell their work without having to set up and tear down repeatedly at local art shows.  Artists who sell their work at Ocean Child make a wide variety of things – bath products, crocheted items, painted wood, jewelry, purses, clothing, etc.  Please stop in and shop (164 West Granada Blvd, Ormond Beach, FL) – support local artists.