THE STORY BEHIND THE KINDNESS CRATES PROGRAM
- Kindness Crates
- Jan 23, 2023
- 6 min read
The Kindness Crates Program was not started from a well intended idea, or to "help the less fortunate", or out of pity. The Kindness Crates Program was born through suffering, loneliness, faith, and the kindness of strangers. This isn't just a story of how a nonprofit was started. It is a story of how God took the pain and suffering of a lonely teenage girl and made it into something beautiful.
BACK TO THE BEGINNING:
t the beginning of my senior year of high school, I got very very sick with a severe and rare disease. It was hard to watch my peers gain their independence while I was loosing mine. I could no longer walk and I had to get a feeding tube. My classmates were going on dates while I was going to medical appointments. It was by far one of the loneliest times in my life. I didn't know anyone else like me. I knew I wasn't the only one; but it sure felt that way sometimes. It was from this pain and loneliness that I had an idea that changed my entire life and view of the world.
THE KINDNESS OF STRANGERS:
What sparked the idea to start a care package program? The kindness of strangers. During one of my first hospitalizations I was the recipient of a nonprofit that had donated gifts for pediatric patients in the hospital. My nurses were so sweet and had a lot of fun bringing me "surprises" throughout my stay. They brought me craft supplies, a squish mellow, coloring books, socks, nail polish, and more! To me these items weren't just "things". They were physical reminders that people cared; and that I wasn't alone. I had not been forgotten by society. People had kindly donated these items, and as a result, made my traumatic circumstance just a little less scary. The kindness of the people who donated those items made a bigger impact than I believe they were even aware of. Their kindness changed my life. And suddenly I knew what I wanted to do. I wanted to show other people the same kindness that I had been shown. I didn't quite know how to go about it. But I was determined.
AN IDEA THAT BECAME A NECESSITY
Once I was discaharged from the hospital, I threw myself head on into school. I was too sick to go every day, but I still pushed through symptoms to go to school in person.
I was so close to graduating that I couldn't stand the thought of giving up now. I had come so far and fought so hard. Quitting wasn't an option in my mind.
In order to graduate high school, all seniors who lived in my state are required to complete a "senior project". This consists of a generous amount of volunteer or job shadowing hours, writing a long argumentative essay, and giving a speech. The thought of completing all of that while being in and out of the hospital was overwhelming for me.
I knew that I was far too sick to volunteer anywhere. After a lot of brainstorming, I knew what I wanted to do. I headed to the store with $30 in my pocket and put together several care packages for a few kids at my local middle school who were also living with illness. I wanted to help them know that they aren't alone. I didn't want them to feel the same loneliness I did. And so I did!
HOW KINDNESS CRATES GOT IT'S NAME:
Being a creative person, I wanted to give my care packages a name to help it feel more "official" as my senior project.
I thought about it for days and days but couldn't come up with anything. One day, as I was pulling books out of my locker, one of the school staff members passed me by. When she saw me in my wheelchair, she turned to one of her co-workers and said something like: "awww poor thing". I know she meant well, but pity makes me feel really uncomfortable.The more I thought of it, the more I wanted to make sure that my care package recipients knew that these care packages weren't coming from a place of pity; but rather, kindness. What better way to do that then make the theme of my program kindness?! Doing kind things for others is part of how I cope with my illness. I wanted to encourage others to do the same; so I included a challenge inside of each care package for the recipient to do an act of kindness for someone else too. And so it was settled. Kindness Crates it would be.
TOO BIG TOO FAST
Long story short, kindness crates kind of blew up. My local newspaper got wind of it, facebook posts were spreading, and I was getting lots of emails from people who wanted to help me and my kindness crates program. I was baffled. While I was grateful for the support, there were a few issues. First off, I was still fighting like crazy to graduate high school. Second, I had not made Kindness Crates into a legal 501c3 (nonprofit). I also wasn't set up to receive donations of items or money yet. Lastly, I was still VERY sick and very overwhelmed. I had no concept of just how many people knew about Kindness Crates until my Uncle's neighbor (who lives in another state) was telling my Uncle about me from a Facebook post that he had read, having no idea that he was talking to my Uncle. That's when I realized that this had gotten too big too fast. After graduation, I made the difficult decision to bring it all to a halt and put Kindness Crates on hold indefinitely while I fought for my life.
My health declined quickly after that. I was very very sick. I almost died that summer. During that time Kindness Crates became a collection of fond memories and a dream all contained in one small basket of supplies sitting in the corner of my room.
I longed to start again. But starting a legal nonprofit is not an easy task, especially for a bedridden girl. And so it continued to sit there. Collecting dust.
HOW KINDNESS CRATES CAME BACK TO LIFE:
Nearly a year later, I was still very sick, but I was no longer at death's door.
But I was frustrated. The life that I had dreamed of was trampled by illness. And what was I left with? I sat on my floor while angry tears spilled over. I glanced over at the Kindness Crates basket in the corner. "It's dead" I thought. What was once something that made many people smile, was now a tragic pile of dust in my room. I felt so helpless. So I prayed. I told God that my mess of a life was His problem now. I handed (more like shoved) Kindness Crates over to the Lord. Then, I wiped my tears, got up, and moved on with my day wondering what would end up happening.
DAYS later, my Mom ran into one of my school's teachers at a store. This teacher had had a huge part in supporting Kindness Crates. She asked my Mom if I could come speak at the school. I could hardly believe it! So I did! And Kindness Crates began to come to life again. DAYS after that, I became a part of a nonprofit who offered to take on Kindness Crates as a sub-program, and become my Fiscal Sponsor. That meant that they would take care of all the legal side and I could just focus on making care packages!
I was speechless. To top it off, I met my best friend that week!
In just one week, God revived Kindness Crates, put another awesome nonprofit in my life, and then gave me a best friend. I feel bad that I wasn't very kind to God in my prayer. I should have been a little nicer. But I also believe that some of the most powerful prayers come from a place of desperation, vulnerability, and brutal honestly with the Lord.
WHERE KINDNESS CRATES IS AT NOW:
Since Kindness Crates came back to life, I have sent out nearly 70 care packages throughout the United States. Even though I am still really sick, mostly bedridden, and spend a lot of time in the hospital, I have gotten enough support so far to keep Kindness Crates going. I pour my heart into this program and every single care package that I send out. Running a program like this is far from easy. In fact, its a LOT of work.
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