Random acts of kindness

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 11/04/2020 (2049 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

I recently returned from Mexico and had to quarantine for 14 days. I came back several weeks early and was faced with how I would get my groceries. I am a senior who lives alone. I called a grocery store that delivers and while doing this realized that the delivery was going to take seven or eight days — longer than I could wait. The gentleman, who shall remain nameless as well as the store, took my order over the telephone by hand and delivered enough groceries that afternoon to see me through until I could figure out a different option. I will never forget the kindness of a perfect stranger who no doubt had hundreds, if not more, customers to deal with and took the time to personally help me. When he came to the door I offered him a bottle of tequila to thank him for his kind act, he refused and said he wasn’t doing this for a reward. His act of kindness turned my whole perspective around. I have food in the house and am no longer overwhelmed and concerned about my situation. It made all the difference in the world.

— Catherine Keating

My daughter Katherine has been busy working at the liquor store and helping us parents stay home. She had to get our house stocked before we returned from overseas and has kept buying our groceries while we are quarantined. My husband has health issues and should stay home as much as possible. A friend also has to stay quarantined too, so she is providing that person with supplies as well. We are grateful and very proud of her selflessness.

— Thelma Armstrong

My friend Carmen Nedohin is a force of nature. A retired event planner, she couldn’t just sit at home and do nothing while she saw so many people working or in distress. At first, she began by doing the first thing that comes to mind for a good Ukrainian — bake! She made cinnamon buns which she dropped off to friends in self-isolation and hundreds of cookies she took to front-line workers. When Big Daddy Tazz was looking for a hat for his evening online storytime, she made him a sleep cap. This sparked an interest in making surgical scrub caps for the nurses she knew. Now her enthusiasm has turned to face masks. She provides the masks free to health-care providers and frontline workers and for the rest of us who wish to wear them in public, she simply asks for a donation to cover the cost of the ones being gifted. Her encouraging words and uplifting messages are often the bright spot in people’s days. She truly goes above and beyond and for that reason she is my hero!

— Marnie Strath