Amazon Kindness

Here’s the thing; I believe that people really WANT to be kind.

I think it is an inherent thing, maybe baked into our DNA.

We want to be kind.  But sometimes, we don’t know how.  We don’t see the opportunities.  We feel there is nothing WE can do.  We are too busy, too tired, too overworked, too OVERWHELMED with life to seek out ways to be kind.

But when presented with opportunity, many, many people jump at the chance to be kind. And that fact warms my heart and keeps my work as a Kindness Activist going.

Case in point: over the last 18 or so months I have been working on the skill of delegating.  This is a tough one for me.  I have always unconsciously been of the “the only way to do it right is to do it myself” mentality, but I’ve been working to unravel that thread in my head.  One way I have done that is by outright asking for volunteers. 

That is hard to do…  It is admitting you need help.  Admitting that you CAN’T do it all yourself.

But in the ASKING, you are also OFFERING.  You are offering an opportunity for others to be kind!  And that might be just what they are looking for!!!

This week I asked for help laminating a big pile of signs (signs that I had previously asked for help making and a lovely neighbor took on the task!).  A volunteer popped up right away for laminating – she came and picked up the signs and returned them perfect and lovely - all laminated - the very next day!  I also asked for help breaking down a big donation of rice into smaller sealed packets for the pantry.  Several people volunteered for that task and a mom and her son came over and did it. 

See, people want to be kind.  Kindness can be a gift of support, of help, of time.  I am going to keep trying to improve my skill of offering those opportunities to be kind to the world.

I was fortunate to witness a great act of kindness today!!  You may have seen me mention the Amazon man who bid in the online Kindness Auction.  If you haven’t heard of him, here is the story in a nutshell (then the act of kindness after I catch everyone up on who he is!):

We are hosting a huge community-wide yard sale October 14 and 15.  It is a fundraiser for Kindness Activist, an organization whose mission is simple – SPREAD KINDNESS.  Many, many people in the community donate items to be sold at the fundraiser and shoppers pay what they wish, with the understanding that all money raised will be used for kind acts.

The yard sale was supposed to be in September but got postponed due to rain.  That postponement means another month of our porch being full of boxes and donations.  Another month of having to put ropes up in front of the porch to “subtly” tell passersby that even though it may look like our porch is a yard sale, it is not open yet.

We get a lot of Amazon deliveries because kind people all over the country order from our Amazon wish list and send items to fill the Little Free Pantry outside our home.  So, it is not unusual for Amazon delivery drivers to be on our porch. 

But recently an unlikely interaction with an “Amazon man” happened.  The doorbell rang and my partner David answered.  An Amazon man was standing on the porch and had peered through the front door and spied a Messe Football/Soccer jersey hanging in our dining room.

“I want to buy that!” he told David.  David explained to him the sale was not on yet, and that the jersey in question was not for sale, but it was up for auction in an online auction.  He told him how it all worked and the man gave David his phone number so that we could send him the auction link.

We texted back and forth with him a couple of times, but he never bid.  I thought maybe he lost interest, but then he called us.  He needed help figuring out the system of the auction, so we walked him through it. 

As he was registering, he told us that he had played soccer his whole life and Messi is his favorite player.  He really “needed” that jersey!  He was so excited at the possibility of getting it!

When he finally got into the auction he placed his bid - $14.  Then he quickly placed a second bid - $15.  “You just outbid yourself!” I explained, laughing.  “I know!  But I WANT THAT JERSEY!  I am going to put $20!!” he exclaimed as he upped his bid again.

“Ohhh, there are MORE THINGS in the auction!!” he said.  He started to scroll as we talked and expressed interest in some jewelry.  “I am from Ethiopia, and I am going home soon to get married.  This jewelry would be very nice for my fiancé!”.

We enjoyed chatting with him a bit, then wished him a good night.  The concept of an auction seemed new to him, so David reminded him to keep an eye out for messages to see if he got outbid and needed to bid again (though secretly David told me he was going to keep bidding for the Amazon man if someone outbid him, because we were squarely in the TEAM AMAZON MAN corner by that point!).

The auction ended – Amazon man was the winner of the jersey.  We were really psyched for him.  When we woke up the next morning we found a text that had popped in at 1:48 am.  It was from him and simply read, “Halleluiah”. 

Now, here comes the first act of kindness in this story (well, really it’s the second, because the jersey itself was donated by a kind person!).  Anyway, another bidder, a friend, had seen my mention of the Amazon man in a post.  She contacted me and said, “If it was the Amazon driver who won the jersey for $20, I would like to pay for it”.

Isn’t that so sweet and KIND???

We didn’t tell the Amazon man that someone was treating him until he showed up this morning to pick up his jersey.  I brought it out to him, and he had the biggest smile!  “It is REAL!  It is FIFA!” he exclaimed.  I showed him that it was brand new, and he held it up proudly.  As David snapped this photo of him, the driver of a passing car honked and said, “Hey, I want one, too!” and we all laughed.

Then I told him the news that someone else had already paid for him.  He was stunned!  I explained that the auction was raising money to be used to spread kindness, and someone had given him an act of kindness by covering his cost.  He couldn’t believe it and was so thankful.

We talked a bit.  He showed us photos of his beautiful fiancé, who he will bring to America from Ethiopia this November. 

And before he left to start work for the day, he said, “May I still donate the $20??”.  I told him he did not need to, that his purchase was paid for already.  But he wanted to.  He wanted to help spread kindness, too!

So, this sweet man, this man who works very hard for a living driving and hauling heavy boxes, this man who is probably saving money to pay for his fiancé’s airline ticket and wedding expenses, reached into his pocket and donated $20.

And if that isn’t kind, I don’t know what is.

PIE It Forward! Kindness Yard Sale 2020 Accounting Update

There’s a lot of negativity going around lately, what with Covid raging and the election almost a week away. So, I thought I should take a moment to update you on how I have used more of the money raised at the Kindness Yard Sale! Nothing like a bit of KINDNESS to take the edge off of a tense time. First off – PIES! “What??” you wonder. “Pies? What does PIE have to do with kindness?”. Well, I PIED IT FORWARD! More specifically, I went into our amazing local pie shop, Acme Pie, and left 2 cards (each with $40 in them) for the next 2 pie shoppers to come in. I figured the shoppers could get their pie with that money and use the left-over money to spring for some ice cream to put on top of the pie, a cheap bottle of wine to drink with it, or whatever else they wanted! I have no idea who came in after me to find that their pie had already been paid for, but I can only imagine it brought a smile to their face. 

Total spent: $80

Acme Pies in Arlington, VA are the BEST!

Next up – COFFEE! A neighbor is on furlough due to the pandemic, so has limited funds for groceries. The local grocery store had an amazing sale on bags of coffee, it was “buy 2, get 3 free”!!! PLUS we had a coupon! Well, I couldn’t pass that up! So we got lots and I left the bags of coffee on the neighbor’s doorknob. Boy was she happy. She said she would have enough coffee to last a good long time. 

Total spent: $16 

See this girl? Her name is Bella and she is 14 years old. Not only is she smart, she is also an entrepreneur. She has opened her own online business selling earrings that she creates from fun stuff!!! I donated $50 of the Kindness Yard Sale funds to help her buy more knick-knacks to create earrings. I wish her and her new earring shop well! If you are in the market for funky earrings, you can find her work here:  Bella's Earring Shop

Total spent: $50 

Bella and her dog

I am a sign language interpreter. Professionals in my field, like many others, have been hit hard by the pandemic. Many interpreters freelance – going to doctor appointments, therapy, business meetings, etc. And many of the settings where they normally work have been closed since March. This has meant no income. So, I used some of the yard sale money to donate to a fund started by RID (Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf). The money will be used to support interpreters in need. I am proud I am proud to say that as of tonight, 27 donors have raised over $6000 for the fund. If you would like to contribute to this fund, go here: https://secure.givelively.org/donate/registry-of-interpreters-for-the-deaf/covid-19-certified-interpreter-relief-fund Because interpreters are ESSENTIAL. 

Total spent: $50.40 

Image from the RID campaign

The other day I took myself out for breakfast at my favorite local coffee shop for the first time since Covid began. I sat at an outside table, but while I was inside waiting on my order I noticed a woman organizing school supplies by putting them into tote bags. She told me that her name was Anika and that she was starting a non-profit to help underserved youth in our community. She had run a Go Fund Me campaign, hoping to raise a lot of money to buy new school supplies for kids’ whose families could not afford them. Her Go Fund Me did not reach the goal she had hoped, but she was marching on anyway, making as many supply bags as she could. That sounded like just the kind of project that the kindness money was raised for, so I gave her $20 toward her cause. 

Total spent: $20 

Specially packed bags of brand new school supplies ready to be delivered

A woman in our county, Jaimee Wise, recently had a brain aneurism. Luckily, her young son noticed there was a problem and got help quickly. She is in a coma and the family will have a lot of medical bills, so $100 of the Kindness Yard Sale money went to a Go Fund Me for Jaimee. If you would like to help out, too, you can find the information here:  Go Fund Me for Jaimee Wise

Total spent: $100 

This is Tri. She lives in my community. She recently took a big step and sat for her lactation consultant exam. She, like me, is a nervous test taker. So BEFORE her test some Kindness money was used to get her a multi-amazonite bracelet (with the hopes the “woo woo energy” in it would help her be calm and take her test (the website says, If your nervous system tends to run away like wild horses over the hills, this Multi Amazonite Energy Bracelet is the ticket to temperance, hope and a happy can-do attitude. Amazonite is known as The Hope Stone, and this bracelet is comprised of specially selected stones that ebb and flow like sunlight on water and a thousand grains of sand on the shore.” Then, for AFTER her exam, I used a bit of money to get her a bottle of sparkling wine to celebrate. She doesn’t get her results until December, but I have a good feeling that she passed. 

Total spent: $23.99 

Tri, soon-to-be LACTATION CONSULTANT!

That’s it for now. More stories coming soon, including a re-telling of a recent Kindness Activist fundraiser – 2020 Sucks Bingo!! Until then, please keep spreading kindness. The world really needs it these days.  And if you know of someone that could use a little kindness, send me an email at:  kindnessactivist@gmail.com.  I am always looking for good ways to throw kindness around like glitter.

Kindness Yard Sale 2020 - GRAND TOTAL!!

My body is bruised, exhausted, and sore.

But my HEART, my heart is happy.

The Kindness Yard Sale 2020 is in the books!  We started at 8:30 am Saturday and Sunday, and we didn’t have a slow time the entire weekend!  You know how with most yard sales you expect to be busy the first 3 or 4 hours, then have long lulls between customers?  That is what we EXPECTED, but oh that is not what we got!  People just kept coming and coming and coming!  We had a large supply of re-usable fabric bags that we planned to put purchases in for the whole sale.  Those puppies didn’t even make it through the first day before we had to switch to plastic and paper bags.  It was amazing!!

If you know me (and you probably do because you are reading this) you know that I often have my camera in hand and I take photos (literally) every day.  So, it might help you understand how BUSY the sale was when I tell you that I didn’t take a SINGLE PHOTO of it!!  It wasn’t until we were starting to pack up that I even thought of photos!!!  So here it is – the terrific signs David made.

Speaking of the signs, that and posting in 4 Facebook groups was the only advertising I did.  As much as I planned ahead on the sale aspect, I sorely lacked in the advertising.  I can only imagine how much busier it would have been if we had found time (and remembered…) to hang up the signs we printed!  😊

I have so many fun and poignant memories of the sale.  Let me tell you about a few of them.

-          A little boy (age 2 I think) was with his parents.  His dad came to the sale on Saturday and was interested in a small child sized table, but wanted to come back with his wife.  So Sunday the 3 of them came to look.  After checking out he table, the parents shopped while the little boy played with trucks (his dad told me he loved anything with wheels…).  I decided to see if he would join me for a TEA PARTY.  I brough the tea set of Disney princesses down to the kid table, took a seat, and set up the cups, saucers, plastic silverware, and tea pot.  Then I invited him over.  He sat opposite me and I showed him that I had made some (pretend) tea.  I poured us each a cup and pretended (through my mask) to drink mine.  He wasn’t sure at first, but soon enough realized that tea parties are marvelous fun.  We drank “tea”, he stirred “sugar”, and a good time was had.  When it was time to leave, his parents were leading him out with their purchase of the 2 small chairs and kid table.  But he was having NONE OF IT.  He cried and cried.  And he had been so cheerful and attentive the whole time, but now he was S A D.  Turns out, the mom had packed up the tea set in the baggie and BOUGHT IT.  But my little friend thought packing it up meant leaving it at the sale.  Poor fella.  I hope he had a good tea party when he got home.

-          A woman was shopping for clothing and asked me if there was a place to try it on.  There was not, so she asked if she could maybe take a few things to her house to try on.  I asked where she lived and she gestured 2 houses down.  As we talked I learned that she is an au pair for a neighbor.  She moved to America from Mexico the DAY BEFORE the quarantine started!  She brough very little with her, thinking she would buy used clothing when she got here.  But everything has been closed.  So I asked her sizes, needs, and preferences, then headed toward the basement to look through the stacks of clothing that I didn’t have space to hang outside.  I filled up a big plastic tub of clothes for her to take home and try on.  She took pictures of the ones she wanted to buy and brought the rest back.  She ended up with sweaters, a winter scarf, a winter headband, snow boots, a swimsuit, and some all season clothes!  It was so fun to be able to welcome her to the neighborhood and the country.

-          Many items found the RIGHT HOMES.  Lots of people were careful about their purchases, really looking things over, considering them.  It was obvious that they would value and care for them.  One of those was a little girl whose parents bought her the American Girl horse.  It was a beautiful horse and came with horse accessories, too!  The girl beamed when I showed it to her.  And about an hour after they left the sale they sent over a photo of her playing with her new toy.  Heaven.  These items also found perfect homes!

Who doesn't love a good Todd Parr book?? 

A Minnie Mouse fan and his new stuffie

-          A man who I never met volunteered to sew MASKS for the sale!  Someone had donated really pretty fabric, and this man said he would make masks with it.  We required all shoppers to wear masks (and were glad that people respected that rule).  So even though people already had masks ON, they still wanted to buy the pretty handmade new ones.  It was great.

Great handmade masks

-          A couple of nights before the sale a group rode by on bicycles.  They asked if we could use CDs for the sale, and bookends.  Ummm, sure!  Why not!  Off they rode, only to came back an hour or so later with almost every cd known to mankind!!  They had spied a dumpster full of TREASURES and rescued some for the sale!  Isn’t that fantastic??  And you know what?  So many people wanted those CDs!  There was music of every genre!  And lots of the book ends sold, too.  Thus proving, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.

-          Many people involved their CHILDREN in the sale this year.  Some kids came with their own money (little kids!) and the assignment of choosing something to buy.  One brother and sister duo had the sale concept explained to them before arriving, then the mom asked me to explain it, too, so that they clearly understood what the money was for, how prices were decided, etc.  Then they set about perusing games, toys, jewelry, and clothes.  When they came up to pay the mom asked them how much THEY thought the price should be.  Each child carefully considered the items.  One said, “Umm, I think $21.”  The other said $24.  So the mom and I decided to split the difference - $22.  But as the mom was pulling the money from her wallet, the little girl said seriously, “Mom, wait.  I think it should be $25”.  So that is exactly what they paid.  I loved that those children learned about so many things – kindness, generosity, value… 

-          Sooo many families donated this year.  It was INCREDIBLE.  And trust me, this yard sale had the widest variety of items of any sale ever!  There were cat beds, bundt pans, sleeping bags, a Scarlett O’Hara doll, a grown your own avocado set, books on a very wide variety of topics, Easter decorations, a food truck for kids to play with, furniture, a huge selection of jewelry, even a SQUATTY POTTY!!  But here are a couple of MY favorite donations (and yes, of course I bought them!)

Hey look - a wrestling singlet!  Can't pass that up!

Wait a gosh darn minute...  Did whoever donated this know that I am a MERMAID??

-         And so many people helped.  The general consensus is that next year, we need to schedule people to work in shifts.  But even without that, I had TONS of help this year.  Neighbors who came with their kids to help put merchandise out.  A neighbor who bought us dinner after the first day of the sale (and stayed super late the night before the sale to help finishing putting things out).  Neighbors who loaned tables.  A neighbor who stopped by almost DAILY for 10 or so days before the sale delivering finds – tables, clothes racks, etc.  Neighbors who delivered bottles of wine!  Neighbors who did not complain when I repeatedly begged for more hangers.  Seriously too many people to thank.

We still have a LOT of items left.  We miiiight open up again this weekend.  You will for sure see me auctioning off more items during the year on my Facebook page.  I might sell a few items online and put the money in the Kindness fund.  And I will for sure pack some things away for sale at the Kindness Yard Sale 2021.

Here is what you likely have been waiting for – THE GRAND TOTAL….  This will go up after we close out 3 auctions tonight, but for now, the grand total of the Kindness Yard Sale 2020 is….

(DRUM ROLL….)

$5,543.69!!!!

Can you believe it????  We almost TRIPLED the amount that we raised last year!

That money has been safely deposited in the bank.  And pretty soon, after we are no longer stiff and sore and the house has been tidied up, I can start to mull over ideas for KIND WAYS TO SHARE it.  I can’t imagine how much kindness that amount of money will spread!  It makes me giddy to think about it.

THANK YOU.  Thank you shoppers, online auction bidders, people who donated, people who helped, people who shouted out encouragement as they drove by.  THANK YOU.

Be on the look-out for KINDNESS coming your way.

Kindness Yard Sale - THE TOTAL IS IN!

We did it!

The Kindness Yard Sale is complete.  It was a full day, that’s for sure!  David and I started putting items out at 7:00 am, and we had not ever really finished that task when we finally closed up shop at 6:15 pm!   There were just SO.  MANY.  DONATIONS!  It was amazing!

Many neighbors stopped to chat and shop.  It was lovely!  I met some people that I had only known online (nice to put a face with a name) and saw people I hadn’t seen in a while.  I foolishly thought that once we got everything set up in the morning, I would spend the rest of the afternoon chatting, “ringing people up”, and serving lemonade.  Wrong, wrong, wrong!  When there weren’t customers, we would pop back inside to bring out more goods! 

We had incredible support from generous shoppers, much more generous that I could have imagined.  A couple of people even gave donations and didn’t buy anything!!  But counting the money is the easy part.  I think at this point it is more important to think about the day – the experience – and what it meant.

Talking with neighbors all day reminded me of the importance of COMMUNITY.  People rode up on their bikes, walked, pushed strollers…  And what a SEA of people – every age, different languages being spoken, different beliefs I am sure.  And yet here we were – most of us strangers, but still a COMMUNITY.

I had several favorite moments of the day.  One was when 3 girls dressed in PRIDE gear were on the lawn trying to figure out how to open a suitcase David had donated.  It used to be his favorite bag and he had a bit of a difficult time deciding to let it go.  He rushed down to show them how the lock worked and they were so excited!  They ended up buying the suitcase and a couple of other things so came up on the porch to check out.  As we talked they told us they are not official neighbors, but they are interns here for the summer.  One girl said she teared up when she read the sign on the gate saying the money raised was being used for kindness.  I told them about my Kindness Activist project and gave them each a Kindness Activist button, which made her cry again!  They were so sweet.  When I asked how much they would like to donate for their items, they, like many shoppers today, hemmed and hawed a bit.  It is HARD to price your own items!  So someone (I think it was David) suggested maybe $15 for everything they were getting.  They smiled and said, “Well, we were going to give you $20 just for the SUITCASE, so how about $25 for everything…”.  ISN’T THAT BEAUTIFUL?

Another favorite moment was when an early teen child came up to me and asked a bit awkwardly, “Are you having a yard sale?”.  Ummm, no kid, I just like having my grass and porch filled with stuff and walking around wearing a fanny pack…  😊  Once he was assured it was indeed a yard sale, he set about exploring.  He was meticulous in his shopping, but once he heard me mention LEGOS to a little boy his behavior changed a bit.  I brought out a big tub of Lego, and those boys, 1 probably 5 years old and one around 15, sat side by side for what was probably half an hour.  They quietly looked at piece after piece, each boy sharing so nicely and being so respectful.   

One older Hispanic woman and I found a common language even though neither of us were fluent in the other's native tongue.  I offered her a SANGRIA ICE CUBE on a hot afternoon, and her eyes lit up.  A quick nod of the head made it clear we understood one another.  :) 

It was fun to see our State Delegate (Alfonso Lopez) take a break from campaigning (the election is THIS TUESDAY) to stop by and say hi (and shop!).  Alfonso is a terrific guy – very down-to-earth and relate-able.  Don’t worry Alfonso, your sign is going back up on our fence (I had replaced it for a yard sign sale and about 15 hours after I took it down a couple days ago he showed up with a replacement sign and pronounced our corner to be the best one to post political signage). 

It made my heart happy that a neighbor decided she would tell me about a beautiful kind act she had done in secret and not told anyone else.  

I was so happy to meet a man who told me he drives by our house everyday - going to and coming from work.  He smiled and said, "You have coats in winter, yes?".  He then explained that twice he had stopped and picked up coats from our front gate in my "Project Warmth" coat giveaways!  It was an honor to meet him and know where some of the coats went and that he sincerely appreciated them. That is good motivation to continue that project when winter returns.  

And finally, a wonderful moment was when a FLOAT heading to the big Pride Parade in DC stopped right in front of our house!  It was decorated in trans flag colors and it looked magnificent!!  We couldn’t go to Pride this year because of the sale, so it felt like Pride came to us!!!  I cheered and the people in the truck pulling the float rolled down the windows and celebrated with us!  Happy Pride!

Ok, enough chatting.  Let’s get to the part we have all been waiting for:  the donations!  How much did we take it, which equals how much KINDNESS WE CAN PUT OUT? 

One moment while we unload our official yard sale fanny packs and do the math…

The Kindness Yard Sale raised $1005.46!!!!!  Over $1000 in one day!  Isn’t that remarkable!  I am so excited to see how many kind acts we can do with that money!  I never expected this to raise nearly that much.  And if I add in the money from online auctions of 2 items I did leading up to the sale and the friends who donated to give us a cushion (in case the yard sale was a flop…) – we raised a total of $1205.46 FOR KINDNESS!!!!!! 

Thank you all SO MUCH.  The smiles, the donations, the whole experience has been really heart warming.  I promise to spend every penny on KINDNESS and to report back what it was used for.

Special thanks to all of the generous people who donated items to sell.  Many of those things found new homes today!  And those that didn’t get sold today will get donated (be on the look out for tons of posts from me Buy Nothing Friends…).

Also, thanks to:

·         Kendra for the loan of the big cooler for lemonade – it was really needed

·         Marta for the hard work on translating the signage into SPANISH.  Translation is not an easy task, nor is explaining the concept of this type of sale to someone that you do not share a common language with!  Marta, we had a few copies printed of your translations and used them A LOT!

·         Amy and Michael for helping us (the earring is still elusive Amy but WILL be found)

·         Ixi for bringing us some tasty donuts from Mac’s truck!  (We hadn’t eaten anything all day yet so they were great fuel to keep up going)

·         Jay for donating so many Lego – apparently Lego unites generations (and I kind of understand more now why parents complain about Lego, I am finding bits of them in the yard and on the porch…)

·         The Buy Nothing administrator for VERY politely reminding me that I shouldn’t be talking about selling stuff on BUY nothing 😊

·         A little neighbor girl, 2 year old Ellie, who decided to give her $2 of change back as a donation.  I think she is a Kindness Activist in training.

·         Janet for the Gatorade –shoppers were delighted with it after we got it ice cold

·         And the amazing Penrose community

·         And anyone else I forgot to thank (sorry!  It is 2:00 am and I am sleeeeepy)

P.S. – Shout out to the trickster that donated an “unrated” movie (”Eurotrip”) that looks a bit “soft pornish” on the cover, AHHHHH!  Neighbors I had never met probably think I am a complete weirdo now – in putting books and DVDs out quickly, I failed to notice that this movie miiiight not be 100% appropriate.  So, I did as any good retailer would do, I DISPLAYED IT WITH ALL OF THE OVER DVDS, meaning “Eurotrip Unrated” was next to some Disney Princess movie for hours and hours until I noticed it!

P.P.S. – Does anyone want to buy a copy of “Eurotrip Unrated” on DVD?

P.P.P.S – there WILL be a video of David get pied from the Pie in the Face game thanks to friends who donated before the sale!  We need a bit of rest, and to buy some whipped cream, and then BLAMO!!