Welcome back to Weekly Uplifting Stories!
“You cannot do kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson
As they say, where focus goes, energy flows.
When we pay more attention to the goodness in the world, and notice small acts of kindness around us, we experience positive situations more frequently.
Our weekly Uplifting Stories are curated to bring your attention to the positivity that is present all around us.
This week, we bring you stories about:
At a small laundromat in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, a little kindness goes a long way. Every second and fourth Tuesday of the month, the Laundromat Company opens its doors to folks who need a little support, with what they call, Laundry With Love.
“It is pretty special, this place,” said Naahma Golden amidst the din of washing machine drums tumbling around her on a recent Tuesday. “What they do here has saved my life.”
People are allowed to bring in up to 3 loads of laundry once a month to be washed and dried at no cost to them, with stacks of quarters donated via special collections at the local and area churches. Laundry With Love director Harriet Monson says that roughly $600-700 is spent each time.
At first, it seemed it was mostly single moms bringing in their laundry. But it soon began to attract others, including folks who were jobless, seniors, or just struggling with loneliness. Harriet Monson wanted to offer people a snack, but when it became clear they needed more than a bag of chips, they arranged to serve food as well.
Considered a godsend to the community, Laundry With Love has helped so many people. Not just with cleaning their clothes, but with finding a group of support, kindness and acceptance that embraces everyone.
The two years of the pandemic have been rough on all of us. Even though everything has opened up and life is returning to normal, many people are still struggling with the aftermath of a long period of isolation.
Dena Hepditch, a member of The Salvation Army, Red Deer, Alberta, knew something had to be done to bring people back together and revive community bonds.
Her ideas led to the creation of "Community Café" and “Craft & Chat”, programs that encourage the local community to have a good time together.
Members of these programs have also worked on different projects to help out the locals.
“We had fun making blankets and we donated six to the women’s shelter and the family shelter here in town, and others to some of the clients when we give them a new bed,” Dena Hepditch shared.
The Salvation Army is an international charitable organization that provides support to people through its social and community service programs.
People of Columbia came together to celebrate a new kindness-themed mural, painted by artist Tina Blanck.
The mural includes eight hands of different skin tones that spell out the word kindness in American Sign Language.
“My hope was that every person would connect, in some way, with the mural,” Blanck said.
She wants her artwork to symbolize the idea that people from varying backgrounds deserve to feel included and represented.
“I’m hoping that it’s an opportunity for people to learn the language to an extent, start looking for opportunities to meet other deaf people (and) to be more inclusive in the community,” expressed DeafLEAD social worker Ashley Pappineau.
This beautiful mural was commissioned by Children's Grove. They're an all-volunteer non-profit organization that is committed to promoting acts of kindness and supporting the well-being of children.
Children’s Grove creates "permanent symbols of kindness" such as kindness trees, butterfly-shaped benches, and art murals throughout Boone County, Columbia. These symbols are meant to remind us of the importance of acting with kindness, respect, and inclusivity.
A seemingly ordinary day at work took an unexpected turn when Oliver found a whopping amount of cash falling out of a shirt.
Oliver Jolis, manager of Pick of the Litter Burlingame, California has a reputation for being kind and always looking out for those around him.
It comes as no surprise that he chose to do the right thing when he unexpectedly found $5,000 in cash while organizing bags of donated clothes.
With the help of his coworkers, he managed to contact the woman who donated the bag.
She came back to the store and Oliver gave her $5,000. The woman, who asked to remain anonymous, said "Whatever you do in this world comes back to you ten times, be it negativity or positivity, it comes back".
Oliver, along with all the staff at the thrift store set a great example of how kindness can be paid forward. All profits of the store go to the Peninsula Humane Society, an organization that supports injured and orphaned animals.
And that wraps it up for this week!
Do you have any Uplifting Stories of your own? You can contact us in the comments below, or reach out on our Instagram page. We might just share your story in a future article.
Thanks everyone for reading, and have an uplifting week ahead. Take care and see you next week!
Photo by Kid Circus on Unsplash
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