Kindness Yard Sale 2020 - REALLY the Final Total (Leave a Trail of Kindness)

It is hard to explain it to people.

The Kindness Yard Sale.

But the thing is, it is SO MUCH MORE than that.

Yeah, it’s a yard sale, big deal…

And for the last month and a half, my life has basically been consumed by it.  Asking for donations of items.  Begging for hangers (and more hangers, and more hangers…).  Borrowing tables and clothes racks.  Washing load after load of clothing, stuffed animals, blankets…  Coming home to new bags and boxes on our porches - treasures donated by neighbors, some of whom I do not even know.  Our front porch got so filled with donations that for a couple of days there was only a skinny walk-way IN and OUT of the front door (and this is a wrap-around 3 sided porch we are talking about!!).  Driving around picking up donations.  Setting up bookshelves and tables.  Posting little on-line auctions on my Facebook page to raise some money before the actual sale and give out of town friends and family a chance to participate.

This is probably about 1/5 of the jewelry donated to 
this year's sale!  So pretty!!

In the end, all of the work was supposed to be for ONE WEEKEND.  But oops, that first weekend went so well that we stretched it into TWO weekends.  But those two weekends were magical!

I met SO MANY fun people.  People from many different countries, speaking different languages and having different traditions.  If you have never tried to explain the concept of “Nothing has a price tag, you pay whatever you would like to pay, and we will use your money for kindness…” to someone who does not share a common language with you, well, let’s just say the concept is a tricky one!  I did a lot of mime, gesturing, and sometimes sounded like – “Shirt?  You buy.  Money – you give.  Money big, small – you choose.  Your money I take – help other people!!”.  Often I was met with what can only be described as a, “Those nutty Americans…” look of disbelief. 

That first weekend we had NO slow times at the sale.  People were waiting (pacing!) when we opened the “doors”, and we had a steady stream of shoppers well into the night both days.  I thought I would have enough reusable shopping bags to last the whole sale, but I think they were all gone the first day!  The 2^nd weekend was calmer but still busy and productive. 

There are so many things I love about the Kindness Yard Sale.  Here are just a few:

1. Some parents use the sale it as a teaching tool for their children.  It DELIGHTS me to see kids being taught the concept of kindness.  The children would show up (with masks on!) and their own money in their pocket.  They would look around (usually for a very long time) and decide what they wanted to buy.  Then I would ask how much they wanted to pay, and many of them were so thoughtful.  They really considered the value of the items and paid generously (and I often rewarded that by giving them another item they had been eyeballing for free – a gift with purchase if you will).

2. The sale quite literally SAVED things from the landfill.  I know this for a fact, because one evening as we were on the porch organizing donations some people rode by on bikes and declared that they had just passed a dumpster that had loads of CDs and book ends in it.  They asked if we would like them to get in the dumpster, get them out, and donate them to the sale.  “Sure!” I said, not know exactly how MANY CDs they were talking about!!  They brought back tons of music!  It was both fun and funny!  And do you know what?  Those CDs sold!  People were excited to sort through them and find their favorite artists or music genres that they liked.   The sale also saved things off the side of the road, because the months leading up to it, I would holler, “Pull over!!!” whenever I saw something good being thrown out.  We carried a lot of “treasures” in our car these past few months.  😊

I found this lantern on the side of the road and rescued it.
Rehabbed it and its' twin and sold one at the yard sale!     

3. The sale gives people the opportunity to be HELPFUL and KIND.  Whether donating items, shopping and giving money, or helping set up or tear down.  Opportunities to be helpful are sometimes hard to find, believe it or not.  And I think we all crave them.  I am so very thankful to friends and neighbors who helped with it all. 

4. The sale re-homes SO MANY items.  You know the old phrase, “One man’s junk is another man’s treasure”.  It is so true!!  A Pilates ball.  A board game.  A swimming suit.  A hula-hoop.  A set of dishes.  All things no longer needed in one household, but now treasured by another.  I love when things find the perfect home.  I kept a couple of larger items inside our home during the sale and kept my eyes open for a good fit for them.  One was a horse from the American Girl Doll series.  The horse was really nice – it even came with accessories like a bridle!  I wanted it to go to the “right home”.  I asked several kids during the sale if they had American Girl dolls, and I wasn’t finding a good fit.  Then I asked one little girl who told me she had a doll like the American Girl dolls and she really liked playing with it.  Well, you should’ve seen her eyes light up when I brought that horse out for her to examine.  She loved it!!!  And soon after she left with it (and other purchases) her parents sent me photos of her playing with it.  Perfect fit!! 

5. And finally, the sale brought the neighborhood together.  I don’t know if it was because we were all jones-ing for some face to face interaction with people or what, but people TURNED UP in the heat.  We masked up.  We stayed socially distant.  They shopped.  And we TALKED.  We laughed.  And it.  Felt.  Good. 

So now we are a week out.  I am nursing a sore back (from all the lifting, standing, and heat I think), but my heart is still joy-filled with the whole experience and when I think about it I get giddy.

Last year the inaugural Kindness Yard Sale raised $1905.76.  That was a LOT of money and it allowed me to spread kindness around the world for an entire year!!  We did so many things with it and I wrote about them in my blog so you could follow along.

Well, this year’s Kindness Yard Sale more than QUADRUPLED 2019’s total!!! 

The Kindness Yard Sale 2020 raised $8,265.10!!!!!  Yes, over $8,000!!!!  It raised $8,265.10 to be precise.  Now you can understand why I am giddy!!  The possibilities of kind things we can do with that amount of money seems almost limitless!  We can spread it so far, so wide.  And I can’t wait!!!

As promised, I will keep clear records of where the money goes and share the stories here.  We began spreading the kindness yesterday so I will leave you with the first three stories for 2020’s accounting.

1. We bought this fun basket of goodies and delivered it to an amazing family.  The mom lives with her two adorable kids and her very soon to be born 3^rd child.  They are so kind and generous to others, in fact the American Girl horse that I talked about above was donated by this family for the sale!!  The mother is a shining example of kindness for her children.  She told me that they have a neighbor who is, how should I put it, very cranky.  But instead of being cranky back, these kids wanted to bake COOKIES and make “happy cards” for the neighbor!  So that’s just what they did.   And one time the little girl gave a child she saw with too small shoes the SHOES OFF HER OWN FEET – her favorite sparkly sandals!!  (She DID tell the new owner to keep them clean because they needed to sparkle 😊.)  Anyway, this mom and her children spend a lot of her time being kind to others, and I thought a little kindness needed to come her way.  She was surprised and excited to get the basket.  (Accounting - $179.78)

Basket of goodies for the whole family

2. A little neighbor girl that I am very fond of came to the Kindness Yard Sale a few times.  She was spending her own money and using it very wisely.  I happened to know she is a fellow mermaid fan, so I set aside a few mermaid items for her to look through.  While at the sale, unbeknownst to me, she begged her parents to let her buy “Corny”, our inflatable unicorn with glued on googly eyes.  They kept explaining that the unicorn was NOT for sale…  Her mom told me that she must’ve asked to buy it 1,000 times.  😊  Finally, the mom said that they could take a picture by the unicorn, but not buy it.  That was good enough for then, but once I heard the story I knew she needed her own unicorn.  So, we ordered one, glued on some eyes, and snuck out last night to leave it outside her home.  (Side note – apparently her dad got spooked by it when he saw it in the dark!)  When she found it today she was thrilled!!!!  I am certain it will be the most well cared for unicorn in the neighborhood.  She has named her Uni, shaded her with an umbrella, bathed her, and given her a nap (all in one day!).   (Accounting - $24.45)

   

At the sale - she wanted to buy that unicorn SO badly!

Click here to see video of secret UNICORN KINDNESS in action

TADA!  Her own unicorn, with mataching mask!!

We made a donation from the yard sale proceeds to a lemonade stand run by Graeme, a little warrior who, though still having to go to doctor appointments himself, raises money with his brothers to help Connor’s Heroes, an organization that supports pediatric cancer patients and their families (that has been instrumental to Graeme’s family).  Those brothers did a great job fund raising this year!  (Accounting - $50)

Seriously, WHO could resist this cuteness??

We have the next kind act all lined up, just waiting for the right time to do it!  And there will be soooo many more this year, thanks to generous donors and shoppers.

It’s not too late.  If you still want to pitch in for Kindness, you can donate via PayPal or Venmo.  All donations appreciated, accounted for, and used wisely for spreading KINDNESS.

PayPal – thompsongaines@msn.com

Venmo - @susan-thompson-gaines

THANK YOU.  Thank you neighbors.  Thank you donors.  Thank you shoppers.  Thank you rain for holding out and only dripping on us a bit during the sale.  Thank you woman who ran and got ice for the cooler.  Thank you person who translated into Spanish for me one time.  Thank you online friends and family.  Thank you to people who loaned things.  Thank you to the kind stranger who volunteered to sew masks from donated fabric (that everyone loved!).  Thank you to the woman who grew and donated little plants.  Thank you to my sweetheart for indulging this huge “disruption” in our home and being so supportive.

See you at the Kindness Yard Sale in 2021!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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.

Chalk It Up To Kindness

One of the primary purposes of Kindness Activist is to show how KINDNESS RIPPLES.  When people talk about kindness – share it with others – it ripples…  I believe that the people who hear about the kindness are subconsciously affected.  Kindness moves more to the forefront of their mind, and therefore, they are more likely to DO something kind.

But the recent ripple I witnessed was much faster and more intentional than I remember seeing!  It was a beautiful, sweet, ripple of KINDNESS!

Photo of original chalk art in the community (not the artwork that was washed away).  Photo credit unknown.

It all started with CHALK.  A family in my community (Arlington, Virginia) had chalked Black Lives Matter statements on their driveway.  Someone in the neighborhood was apparently offended by the chalk art, and they called in to report it and ask that it be removed. 

That someone would be offended by a child’s CHALK ART speaks volumes to how tense our society is right now.  Anyway, the county sent workers out and told them that they HAD to remove the drawings.  To add insult to injury, this all happened on June 19^th (Juneteenth), th holiday that celebrates the day the slaves in Texas finally received the news that they had been proclaimed free 2 and a half years earlier.  And even worse, the county employees who were dispatched to erase the work were African American…  (Link to the story about the incident here: Washington Post story on this incident)

Chalk art on a sidewalk in Arlington.  Photo credit unknown.

As word got out throughout the neighborhood, people were livid.   Arlington is a very diverse and progressive community and this type of hatred and intolerance are not in tune with “the Arlington Way”.  So, neighbors reacted in an amazing manner – they went to the girl’s neighborhood and chalked and chalked and chalked!  Her artwork doubled, tripled, grew into many many many times larger than the original pieces as more and more families added to the messages.  People throughout Arlington joined in and chalked their own sidewalks and driveways.  It was a glorious show of support.

A simple and sincere message.  Photo credit unknown.

I wanted to help out, so we went to Target to buy some chalk sets to share.  I hosted a Kindness Yard Sale last summer where all proceeds raised went to spread kindness, and I had a little bit left in the “Kindness Bank”.  I bought all the sidewalk chalk Target had left – 3 sets.  I am guessing they had a big run on it after the Juneteenth incident!!

This was the only sidewalk chalk I cuold find at Target 2 days after the drawings were destroyed

Then I posted in a Facebook group asking who would like some chalk to write their messages of support.  I delivered the 3 sets of chalk – one to a neighbor I know who asked for some, and 2 sets to people I do not know.  At one house the mom told me it was going to be her daughter’s 6^th  birthday soon.  She sent me this sweet message:  “Any chance you would be inclined to do sidewalk art with us on Wednesday?  Our girl is turning 6 on Saturday and we’re looking for creative ways to teach her some community members want the best for everyone."  I couldn’t join them in their drawing because I had to work, but was so honored to be invited.  At another house, the three little girls had come up with what they wanted to chalk, “We are all children of God” and draw a bunch of people holding hands.  More positive messages of equality!!

Let FREEDOM ring indeed!  Photo credit unknown.

But that is not the kindness I wanted to write about here.  What happened NEXT is what I love.  A person who I only know through a Facebook group sent me a message saying that she would like to help me spread the chalk messages.  She asked for my address and today, THIS CHALK ARRIVED via Amazon!  Isn’t that fantastic?  It was an immediate ripple!!!  Giving away chalk resulted in having MORE chalk to give away!  And that is perfect because tomorrow has been declared Chalk for Justice in Arlington and people are going to hit the pavement with chalk!!  I can’t wait to see the drawings and quotes.

(Edit - after I wrote and published this story, ANOTHER Amazon delivery came!  The kind stranger sent 3 sets of sidewalk chalk!!)

MORE CHALK TO SHARE!  Sent from a kind stranger.  

See how quickly the ripples can happen??  It doesn’t take tons of money (I only spent $30.74 on 3 sets).  It doesn’t take a lot of time (I just bought the chalk, posted about it, and delivered it to 3 houses).  It doesn’t take a lot of effort.  What it takes is heart.  Small acts of KINDNESS can cause big ripples.  Ripples that can reach out into the community and spread…  Spreading kindness everywhere they touch.

What can YOU do to start a ripple today?

Black Lives Matter.  Photo credit unknown

Cards of Kindness

Look, I am not naïve enough to think that a little kindness can put a dent in solving what is happening in our country right now.  It feels as if the world is on fire and no amount of kindness can put it out at this point.  Only equality and justice can begin to right these wrongs. 

But today is the first time in over a week that I have been able to focus.  It is the first time I have been able to think of action instead of anger.  Of fighting instead of crying.  So, I thought maybe a tiny dose of kindness was in order and that it might shine a little candlelight in this dark world.

This is a kind act done by a Facebook friend of mine, Katie.  I have met her a couple of times in person, she and I are both interpreters (American Sign Language/English), but mostly we know each other from social media.  A while back she messaged me and ask for my mailing address.  She said she wanted to send me a “Covid Card”.  Curious (and a lover of mail), I replied with my address.

Katie and her dog Collins ("Rent" fans will recognize that name!)

Fast forward a couple of weeks and I found THIS in my mail!!!!

Isn’t it fabulous????  It brightened my day so much!  I asked Katie if I could write about her project here, in the hopes that it might inspire someone else to do something as cool as she did.  Here’s what she told me.

“I love mailing and receiving cards and letters. It can connect you with people you’d never imagine connecting with. I have been struggling with my anxiety and mental illness since the stay at home orders began a couple months ago. I thought it would be helpful for me, and hopefully others, if I were to reach out on an individual level to the people in my life.”

Ok, yeah Katie.  I adore mail.  Like, I literally used to walk down 3 or 4 flights of stairs twice a day just to check and see if I had any mail (and I rarely did).  But that doesn’t mean I thought, “Hey, Susan, why don’t you mail out over 500 Covid cards to people….”.  Yes – you read that right.  She sent out over 500 cards!!  She said she sent 503, but with the stragglers the total will be closer to 505 or 510.  She sent them all over America (Alaska, New York, California, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, and all around the east coast). A few lucky people in in England, Ireland, and Australia got them, too!

A playful side of Katie at Niagara Falls

Katie likes to send cards to her friends and family for their birthdays, so this project sort of grew out of that.  She was writing out the birthday cards for March and April, then, “…I remembered how fun it is (to send cards) and how much I enjoy it. I also happened to find a BUNCH of stamps and friendship cards just that month, so I had a lot to get started on without much investment up front. It began as mainly the people I write to on their birthdays. I enjoyed it so much and people were responding SO kindly to the idea, I reached out to as many people as I could on Facebook. I’ve reconnected with a ton of people from my high school!”.

Of course I asked Katie the obvious question, WHY DID SHE DO THIS GRAND GESTURE??  “Partially for my own mental health, but more so for those around me. I thought about doing it for strangers, but the closest I got to that was making one for each person in my apartment building; I don’t know all of those people very well. But I’ve realized what I was really looking for was connections through kindness.”  That’s profound…  And, in the end, I think it is what all of us are looking for – connections through kindness. 

One thing I so admire about Katie is her honesty about mental health.  She doesn’t cloak her mental illness, she talks about it.  Her diagnoses are Bipolar 2 and ADHD.  I think openness like hers is so needed.  If more people were willing to be frank, there would be no stigma attached to mental illness.  When I asked her how she has been doing during Covid 19 she said, “To be honest, not that great. I’ve had a number of mental and physical side effects due to the increased anxiety and stress from being quarantined. My psychiatrist has had to change my meds, which did help, but I’m extremely extroverted, so I need those connections to be more present in my life.”  Isn’t it great that she found a way to make those connections without endangering her health??  US Postal Service to the rescue!!!

The newest Kindness Activist - Katie

But gestures this grand don’t come free….  So, how much DID she spend??  “Oh gosh, I’ve honestly been trying NOT to calculate it, because I’m afraid it’s a good bit, and I haven’t been able to work (the unemployment office thinks it’s paying me, but they haven’t started my payments from when I set it up in April!). But it’s $0.59 per stamp, and in averaging out the MANY sets of greeting cards I had, I maybe spent $1-$2 on each card for each person. So, that’s like almost $800. But as I mentioned, I found a bunch of cards and stamps for probably close to 100 people, so I (hopefully) spent less than that.”

“For my next project,” Katie told me, “I’m going to frame all the cards I’ve received in return and put them on my bedroom wall to remember that there are lots of people out there that I’ve had an impact on.”  Well Katie, my return card (which will include your official Kindness Activist pin and a donation for stamps) will be mailed soon!!!  Thank you for being a source of KINDNESS in the world.

And to everyone else reading, let’s take a tip from Katie.  Maybe we won’t mail 500 cards, but even 3 or 4 would brighten people’s days.  And we all need a bit of kindness these days.

Kindness During Covid (Kindness Yard Sale update!)

It is easy to get down these days.  Watching the news for any length of time means confronting the sad statistics of how many deaths have happened due to Covid-19, how much longer we are all going to be social distancing and/or stuck in our homes, and that a vaccine is a ways off.

So, instead of focusing on the sadness this evening, I am going to focus on KINDNESS.  Namely, how more funds from the 1st Kindness Yard Sale were used!  We raised a total of $1905.76 from the yard sale last summer (items were donated, shoppers paid whatever they wanted to with the understanding that every penny raised would be used for kindness) and from donations that came in after the sale.  I have given updates throughout the year on where all of the money has gone because I am want to make sure it is completely transparent, well accounted for, and that YOU read about the kind actions and get inspired to do some of your own!! 

So - here is the latest report:

·         $125 was used to buy $5 Starbucks gift cards for 25 people working on the front lines:  TRADER JOE’S EMPLOYEES!  Grocery store employees have had to work so hard during this pandemic to keep the shelves stocked, and the ones at our local Trader Joe’s do it with a smile (that you can’t see due to their masks…).  One afternoon in April I called to ask how many employees were working.  On the way to do our shopping, we bought the gift cards.  And before shopping I dropped them off in a bag with a thank you card at the customer service desk.  It was very fun!!  Lots of employees came and found us while we shopped to thank us for the gifts.  One employee even said the kind gesture had made her cry.  These are the awesome little kindnesses that can happen because of the yard sale!!

Ready to DELIVER GIFT CARDS and do a huge shopping trip!

·         $34.20 was used to help a homeless man get a fresh start living on his own.  My friend Kristi works at a homeless shelter and I was honored to volunteer there one night for their annual Christmas gift giveaway.  As we talked, she explained that as the people get housed, they should get a basket of goodies to help them begin their new lives.  But the shelter had run out of the supplies, so people getting housed were no longer getting them.  Well, I couldn’t imagine getting a brand new start in life and having NOTHING but the clothes are your back.  How successful can living on your own be if you have nothing – no plates, cups, salt, pepper, silverware, laundry detergent…  So, I went to a cheap store and filled up a cart with things I imagined would be helpful.  It was a very fun shopping trip!!!  I delivered the basket to Kristi, who later reported she had given it to a client and they were very happy to have the gifts.  Fingers crossed that they are doing well in their new home.

·         $36.15 was used to mail 2 packages.  I saw a woman in a military uniform in the Post Office parking as I was walking in.  She had 2 boxes that she was arranging.  After I paid for my items, I stepped aside (social distancing) and waited for her to tape up her boxes and have her turn.  As she was almost finished, I asked if I could use Kindness funds to pay for her shipping.  I couldn’t see her expression since we were both wearing masks, but her eyes glowed and she was very happy.  At first she thought it was too much, but as I paid she thanked me very much and said that her sister and the other recipient of the gifts she was mailing would be VERY HAPPY.  I took the opportunity to THANK HER FOR HER SERVICE.

·         $20 was used to support the My Job Bags campaign, which I read about on Facebook.  Here is the site’s description of the amazing project: “While the Coronavirus pandemic has closed schools in Arlington, children across the county continue to learn from home. Unfortunately, not all families are able to provide their children with the resources that they would have in a classroom setting. That's why we've established the My Job Bags campaign. A child's 'job' is to imagine, create, learn and play. We're working to assemble bags for children in need and to provide them with supplies to learn and be creative while at home. We're accepting monetary donations as well as donations of the supplies below that will be included in the bags. All money collected will be used to purchase supplies and the bags will be assembled and distributed by volunteers. Each bag will contain: crayons, pencils, pencil sharpener, spiral notebook, construction paper, blunt tip scissors, glue stick, dry erase board, marker and eraser, children's book, Legos, and bubbles.  Through bulk purchasing we've been able to lower the cost of supplies for each bag to approximately $6.50 per bag.”   So, the Kindness Yard Sale donation of $20 should help 3 kids get their Job Bags!!  If you would like to donate to this campaign, visit Go Fund Me - My Job Bags

The right supplies are essential!

·         $17.02 was used a couple of months ago to buy dinner for a family.  We landed at Regan National Airport very late one night.  Everything in the airport had closed and we were the last ones picking up our bags.  But a woman and her 2 children were sitting in the lobby, the kids watching a movie on a device that was plugged in and charging.  As we waited for our bags I went over to talk to them.  It turned out, they were CAMPING there for the night!  Their flight had been very delayed so they missed a connection and there were no other flight options, which left them stuck in DC for an ENTIRE DAY.  They had taken the metro (subway) into the city during the day, but now that it was night everything was closed.  They didn’t have enough money for a hotel room.  I offered to bring them home and let them stay at our house, but their morning flight was super early and only a few hours after we met them.  So instead of housing them, we got them dinner.  The McDonald’s near the airport was open and they were excited to have a hot meal.  We took the order, went and got it, and delivered it back to the airport.  I think that was Kindness money well spent.

The golden arches

·         $20 was used to buy dinner for a homeless man in a parking lot.  My partner and I were traveling and had just eaten at a tasty little place in the south that had amazing biscuits.  As we were getting in the car I noticed a man with a backpack.  Attached to the backpack was a MAT made by weaving together plastic bags.  I had read about the mats but never seen one, so we asked him about it.  He said he had made it himself and that it was very helpful in keeping dry and more comfortable when lying on the pavement.  He was really sweet.  We told him the restaurant was delicious and gave him $20 to go in and eat.  He was very thankful.  If you would like to learn more about the mats made from plastic bags, here is an article with instructions:  Turn Your Plastic Bags Into Sleeping Mats

·         $25 was used to buy a grocery gift card for a family whose mom, one of the primary earners, was out of work because she got Covid-19.  She was on the recovering end of the illness but was still not able to work and they were running out of food.  Luckily, the community rallied around them and made sure they got through.  They were so appreciative of the gift card.

I have a couple of other kindness projects in the works – funds have been used to get supplies but because of the pandemic I cannot carry the plans out yet.  (For example, one is for a Department of Motor Vehicles office, and I don’t think this would be a good time to spread kindness there, even if they are open!). 

We have $103.89 from the Kindness Yard Sale left to be used.  I would like YOU to choose where the next $50 goes!!  Please comment below with an idea that is $50.  Voting will be by how many “likes” “loves” or other reactions each idea gets.  I will count the votes and use the $50 at 10:00 pm EST on May 9^th.  So please, comment with your ideas!!

$50, waiting to be used for KINDNESS!
(And yes, that IS Harriet Tubman's face on that $20.  I fixed it.)

I am starting to dream of the 2^nd Kindness Yard Sale.  I hope that things calm down in our community before too long and that there are items left to be donated (everyone seems to be cleaning out closets and basements and attics while they are stuck at home!).  If you live in Arlington, VA and have things to donate for the sale I would LOVE them.  I would love it even more if you could store them until we know when we can have the sale 😊 .

Thanks so much for being a part of this grand experiment.  It brings me joy, and I hope it does you, too.   Now get out there and be KIND.  But social distance!  And wear your mask!!!  #KindnessActivist  #ALittleKindnessCanGoALongWay  #KindnessDuringTimesOfPandemic