On April 6, 2015 we delivered some beautiful, hand-made Easter cards to the residents at Billingswood Manor. This was our second visit – having delivered Valentine’s cards in February – and we were even more warmly received by the residents. They were very happy to see the fantastic World-Changing Kids come in yet again to celebrate a special holiday. Many residents asked us to come back more often. We met a wonderful 100 year old woman who requested regular visits by the kids so she can watch them grow up. What an amazing spirit!
One of the children who had joined us for the first time asked why we were delivering Easter cards. I explained that that some of these residents do not have family in town, and maybe don’t get very many visitors, making retirement home living a sometimes lonely and isolating experience. And then my four year old daughter jumped in with the simple answer, “Because it makes them happy!”
It’s amazing to see how when kids experience what it’s like to help others, they just get it! It’s inevitable given the smiles, thanks and positive comments they receive from the residents. Most importantly, they get to feel good about making others happy. They can see and feel that they are doing something great by taking time out of their day to visit the residents. It was very clear at the end of our visit that the kids felt very proud of their efforts, and it was a really beautiful, inspiring experience for everyone involved.
I did promise to make our visits more regular, and to bring along more of the great World-Changing Kids in our neighbourhood, so we hope you can join us next time! There are lots of special days coming up when we can help make the residents feel remembered and loved.
In addition to card delivery visits, I am thinking about combining some of the visits with art workshops in partnership with Arts Express. Keep an eye out on our World-Changing Kids Facebook page, as I will send out information on this soon.
And remember there are is no such thing as a random act of kindness! Kindness is deliberate and has far reaching impact.
