I try not to share my friend’s personal lives here on my blog. Try and fail often. But this story is too good not to share. Yesterday a great friend posted this on Facebook (edited slightly for privacy):

Hey …who is feeling generous? I run a program at a local homeless shelter. Every Christmas and Thanksgiving this place, like many others, is inundated with donations….but who thinks about Easter? The shelter says the Easter Bunny does not visit them So – Here goes…I’m putting together 9 Easter Baskets for the children that live there (8 kids under 5 and one newborn). I will be delivering these baskets Saturday night…what I need is the following:

16 chocolate bunnies – all the same (8 moms, 8 kids), 8 bubble-type toys – all the same…drip/spill free would be great, 8 plush bunnies – at least all the same size , 9 packages Easter Grass , 4 rolls of cellophane, 1-2 pair baby “rattle” socks, 2-3 infant toys (nothing big), 9 board books, 2-3 bags individually wrapped assorted candy that will fit in plastic eggs, 6 set fairy wings (dollar store has them), 2 toddler size nerf footballs (dollar store has them), Baby Shampoo/Baby Wash and Baby Wipes

Please either comment here or pm me if you’d like to help. I’d like to get this all together by Thursday/Friday. Thanks in advance!

Now why am I sharing this? One because this Facebook group is beyond incredible. The list above was filled within 15 minutes of my friend’s outreach. In addition to the above, cash donations were made and offers to cook/provide Easter dinner were offered. But more importantly it served to remind myself and others that compassion, empathy and generosity does exist in the world.

Each fall/winter shelters are inundated with donations of food, clothing, toys and gift cards/cash. Yet homelessness doesn’t just happen in the holiday season. It happens on Mother/Father’s’s day, Valentine’s day, the Fourth of July and today.

Sadly, it will happen tomorrow as well.

Yet we can help. More importantly we want to help. My friend Michelle participated in random acts of kindness in celebration of World Down Syndrome day. My neighbor above had a small social group of townies participate in making sure the Easter bunny arrives at the local shelter. Kindness does exist in small forms and extravagant gestures.

Today I want to ask that you help make sure the Easter bunny does not miss a child in a homeless shelter. Drop off a basket, drop off a bunny (stuffed, not alive) to a local shelter or speak to your school nurse and ask if there is a family in need you can help. Get your PTA involved; get your kids involved, your neighbors or your friends. Contact a shelter and ask what is needed. Post it on Facebook and be amazed at the results. It doesn’t have to be much, it could just be a baked treat or a ham or a stuffed bunny or a package of bubbles but your generosity will spread good.

And spreading good? That’s what matters.

To find a shelter near you, please check out this website.

It was not until this week that I realized just how incredible my mother is and how lucky I am to have her in my life.  You see, this happened:

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Saturday was the first rehearsal for Listen to Your Mother. Let’s just say I was beyond nervous. I was up at the butt crack of dawn to make the snowy drive into the city. Snow, the second day of Spring and it was freaking snowing. Although at this point I would be more surprised if it hadn’t been snowing! Continue reading →