It’s time for a KINDNESS YARD SALE
UPDATE!! Because the sale was soooo successful,
there’s a ton of kindness to spread this year, and it is exciting! So, let’s take a peek at the recent kindness
that has gone down:
A woman named Tracey in my local Buy Nothing
group posted that she was looking for white shoes to wear to nursing school. Wait – what??
You can’t wear USED SHOES when you are learning to be a NURSE! I pictured her standing on her feet all day,
walking the hospital hallways, learning how to chart and take blood pressure,
etc. No, used shoes would not do in that
situation. She needed BRAND NEW ONES –
shoes with good support and in perfect condition!
I contacted her and asked if it would be ok to
get her some, and she was thrilled. She looked
online and found just the ones she liked.
I ordered, we waited, and VOILA – new white shoes!!!!
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| Nurse-to-be rocking her new white COMFY shoes! |
Tracey - I hope nursing school goes
great. I know from experience that
nurses are some of the most IMPORTANT people in the healthcare industry. I bet you will be an awesome one!
(Spend on the nursing shoes: $64.26)
A neighbor sent me a message recently asking
if I take nominations for people to receive kindness. Hmmm. The
woman contacting me had both donated and shopped at the yard sale, so I didn’t
have to think long before saying, “Well, sure!
What do you have? I would love to
consider it!”. She explained that she
had a friend who was feeling isolated during Covid. My neighbor wished she lived closer to her
friend so that they could visit in person, but wondered if perhaps a little
kindness from a stranger would bring some joy.
That sounded like a perfect fit for a Kindness Activist act, so I started
online shopping!
Before long I landed on the website Uncommon
Goods. Boy oh boy, if you ever want to
get someone an interesting, unique gift, check it out! I asked my neighbor a couple of questions about
her friend, then narrowed my search down to a few items. My favorite was this bracelet, so I was glad
it was my neighbor’s favorite, too!
Here is the description of it from the website:“Shooting stars.
Birthday candles. Found pennies. The perfect moment to make a wish doesn't have
to rely on chance. Hidden within this bracelet's clasp is a secret compartment
to stash your personal wish - whether it's a daily intention, a meaningful reminder,
or exactly what you've been wishing for. Simply write your wish on a tiny bit
of paper (a set of just-the-right-sized sheets is included), roll it up, and
tuck it into the opening. Wear it as a daily reminder to keep at it and stay
focused on your goal—because putting what you want out there is the first step
in making your wishes come true. “
Just a few clicks, a little note to insert with
the bracelet, and then we waited!!
I was so excited the day my neighbor messaged
me and said, “IT ARRIVED! And she is trying
to figure out who it is from!!”. The mystery
of it all made me giggle. Eventually my
friend revealed the back-story, and the bracelet recipient might even be
reading this now! If so, hope you liked
your special gift. I hope you wear it in
good heath and tuck a special wish or dream in the secret compartment. And I hope when Covid is over and you come to
visit Arlington, I get to meet you!
(Spend on the bracelet - $54.64)
You may remember a story I wrote about a young
man I met at the Kindness Yard Sale and really took a liking to. His name is Langston, and he is in the ASL
(American Sign Language) club at his school.
I am an ASL interpreter, so I encouraged him to keep studying and come
work with me someday! The field needs
more male interpreters and interpreters of color.
He and his mom bought several things at the
sale. One thing he picked out for
himself was a Fit Bit. He walked by a
couple of weeks after the sale his dad and they stopped to chat. I was thrilled to hear that Langston is using
that Fit Bit every day! His record is
over 23,000 steps in one day!
Anyway, to continue to encourage him to study
ASL, I used Kindness funds to buy him a t-shirt made by a Deaf woman. It says “equal” in ASL. It can also mean “equality”. I thought it was really fitting with the
Black Lives Matter movement happening now.
I wore my ASL shirt when we delivered Langston’s so we could take a
photo together. On mine, the “O” in the
word “vote” is the sign for vote! Isn’t
it cool?
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| EQUALITY! |
(Spend on t-shirt - $24.45)
A woman in town is taking care of her mother who
has memory issues. That duo has such a
soft spot in my heart - watching their relationship is beautiful. When there was a little wicker desk/vanity
left over after the Kindness Yard Sale, I hoped her mom could use it! She likes to write cards and letters to mail
to people. Sure enough, it was a size and style that
would fit in their home, so we put it in the back of our car and brought it to
them.
But you can’t have your own DESK without a
little PLANT on it… So, we got a little
potted mini rose bush. And if you are going
to have a desk, you need PAPER… Got some
memo pads. And if you are going to write
cards, you need CARDS! Grabbed some
cards.
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| Desk with supplies - all ready for the new owner and lots of letter writing |
It was very fun to drop everything off at the
house. Because of Covid we socially
distanced and set it up in the front yard (they brought it in later that
evening). But we talked a while and the
mom smiled. She was very curious about
the tiny roses. And as we pulled away I
saw her move the desk a bit so she could sit at a bench in the yard and “work
at the desk”. Made my heart very happy.
(Spend on desk supplies - $14.52)
And finally for this update – a MYSTERY GIFT!!! I read somewhere that someone bought
something for a stranger off of their Amazon Wish List. I do not use an Amazon Wish List, so I wasn’t
sure how that would work, but I called my big sister on video, shared my
screen, and off we went!! It was FUN!
We decided a BABY GIFT would be good, so we
went to the Baby Registry. Then I made
up a name (a common-ish sounding name) and typed it in – VOILA! There were about a dozen women with the name
I entered who were having or had had babies and had wish lists!!! We chose a woman whose baby is due soon (September
3rd) who lives in Kentucky.
We could tell from looking at her wish list that she is having a boy,
and it looked like it was probably her first baby.
Nothing on her list had been purchased so we
had lots to choose from! We debated
which route to go – diapers would be PRACTICAL but also maybe something local
friends and neighbors would give her. In
the “go big or go home” department – we decided on the most expensive item on
her registry – a video baby monitor!! It
looked really nice and I bet she will get a ton of use out of it. And it
is also something that would be hard to buy out of a pocket when you are also
dealing with getting all of the basics. We also bought a little board book about
animals.
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| New baby monitor for a brand new baby |
We included a note that the money used to buy
these gifts was raised at the Kindness Yard Sale in Arlington, VA and we had chosen
her at random on Amazon. The gifts were
delivered this Saturday! I wish I could
have seen her face when she got them.
She doesn’t have my name or contact info, but who knows, maybe she will
Google “Kindness Activist” and end up reading this!
(Spend on baby gifts - $179.83)
That's the 2020 update so far. More Kindness Yard Sale news as it happens!!
