HUMANKIND
HarvestShare
Luby Ismail orders fresh organic produce from the Hungry Harvest, which gathers fruits and veggies that would otherwise be…
March 5, 2021-
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HUMANKINDTeaching HUMANKIND
When a local VA school realized that their 6th graders wouldn’t be able to cap their final year of…
March 5, 2021 -
HUMANKINDBeing a good neighbor
We were packing rows and rows of boxes with maseca, rice and beans, cabbage, onions, and apples, for families in need at the upCounty Consolidation Hub at the BlackRock Center for the Arts. Grace picked up this squash and marveled at its beauty, beaming a smile that no mask could hide. As a community advocate and BlackRock Board member, when the pandemic hit she asked if the Center could be used to store supplies for vulnerable families. From initially providing food, diapers, formula and other essentials to 20 families at the trailer park in Germantown, the effort grew as the need skyrocketed; it now serves 850 families in need. “We had a really poor community but it wasn’t very visible,” Grace says, “but when Covid hit we started seeing the need of people who were already having a hard time.”
March 5, 2021
Grace is an immigrant to the US from Bolivia; her mom was a political asylee. She was eight when she arrived here. “I keep thinking if I was that age right now and Covid hit, we would have had to ask for help,” she says as tears start. I wish I could have given her a hug; instead we wrap our arms in an air hug. “The children get me,” she says. “When we drop off the food and I see their little faces, they get so excited; they know they’re going to have food.”
“It’s a sense of being a good neighbor,” she says, “we lost that.” Everybody was living independently, doing their own thing, but Covid brought us to our knees, she says. “Out of everything that is the beautiful thing that came out of it – a silver lining of humanity.” -
HUMANKINDIt’s Who We Are, Right?
An Afghan refugee family of 11 arrived yesterday, and their apartment was ready for them, thanks to our incredible KindWorks team. Beds made for all the kids with extra toys and teddy bears, kitchen well stocked with dishes and pots and pans, the table laid with mats and cloth napkins, and a welcome sign in case there was any doubt how happy we are that they’re here. What I love about our apartment set ups is how they intertwine people’s stories. A friend who’s moving out of her apartment shared the gray bench, lots of green plants, and other items; she’s been inspired seeing our work on social media and felt good to be able to contribute. The paintings belonged to a friend’s uncle; the day he passed she brought them over and asked if we could use them for a refugee apt set up. The brown shaggy carpet was an unexpected surprise, from a neighbor who had asked if anyone wanted her wisteria plant. She showed me the carpet, bought in Argentina and originally from Pakistan, and asked if we could use it in the apt. Each item in this home has a story, a human connection. Each piece came to us through someone’s kindness. This is what humanKIND is about. We are all part of each other’s humanity; we move forward together through kindness. Oh, and one more thing. That piece of pottery on the coffee table. My Dad made that. He passed away about a year ago, and I leave a piece of his pottery or one of his paintings in as many apartments as I can. He would have loved that. No doubt each family feels his warmth. No doubt he’s receiving their blessings.
March 5, 2021 -
HUMANKINDRebel Girls
This weekend, we went to pay respects to RBG at the Supreme Court. As the huge crowds had dissipated, it was easier to notice the small, tender moments — a mom with her son laying roses and a card made of yellow construction paper; little girls with handmade drawings and notes, one wearing a t-shirt that said ‘be your own hero’, another in a lilac dress with a little white purse full of pebbles she wanted to place on her poster for RBG. There was a little girl wearing a black robe with a white lace collar and glasses, her pink sandals peeking out. The girl and her mom took pictures on the steps of the Supreme Court to mark the momentous moment. Her mom whispered something in her ear as the little girl listened intently, then walked away, mom’s hand gently resting on her daughter’s shoulder; my girl and her friends cried at the sight. There was a beautiful Washington Post article by Mark Shavin on Saturday about how his daughter Naomi, when she was 5-years old, wrote a letter to RBG and asked her, “Have you ever made a mistake?”. RBG wrote back to her, “Yes, I have made many mistakes, but I try to learn from them so that I will not make the same mistake twice.” Naomi was invited to visit RBG at the Supreme Court. Imagine the impact that RBG has had on Naomi — and continues to have on so many young girls – as they come in their little black robes, and in their pink tutus, and in their wonder woman t-shirts, and pay their respects with flowers and painted stones and notes that read: “I’ll be a rebel girl like you.”
March 5, 2021 -
HUMANKINDHere2Help
Lilly Behbehani was a second semester high school senior when it was announced schools would shut down to help slow the spread of COVID-19. She worried about fellow students who depended on free and reduced price school meals, and rallied her friends to do a food drive. By mid-April there was growing demand for food and student volunteers, under the banner “Here2Help”, went into overdrive–coordinating volunteers, food donations, drivers and dispatchers, produce from farmer’s markets, breads from local bakeries, collection sites, etc. Now there are six food drop-off sites and 300 student and parent volunteers. Here2Help has made over 4000 deliveries to families who request assistance in Montgomery County, no questions asked. KindWorks provides soup every Sunday for Here2Help families; Lilly says people are loving it! Now a freshman at UNC, she’s coordinating operations with the help of her mom and committed volunteers. It’s the kind messages that keep her going, she says. During the holiday season, they added stuffed animal gifts into the bags; one mom wrote, “I couldn’t get my daughter a gift this year, but you did. Thank you.” Another wrote, “I lost my job, but as soon as I’m back on my feet, I’ll be volunteering with Here2Help.”
February 26, 2021
www.here2helpmc.com. -
HUMANKINDCommunity Farm Share
One of the most fulfilling aspects of KindWorks is helping inspire people to find their volunteer passion — perhaps even their life’s calling. Jenny, a dear friend and former neighbor who now lives and works on her farm, grows organic vegetables, and is committed to food justice, took a lead in our HarvestShare project last spring; she became even more committed to the issues around food insecurity in our community and became determined to do something about it. A few months ago, she launched her own initiative, soon a nonprofit, called “Community Farm Share”, which links local farmers, families in need of fresh produce, and those who want to help. Jenny’s working with seven farms in the western and eastern side of the County who get paid, through our support, to raise extra produce that is shared with food insecure families. She’s already raised enough to provide 30 families with weekly shares of fresh vegetables for the whole growing season, and identified dozens more families in need through the help of food assistance providers–and she’s just getting started! As her friend told her: “You’re doing the work you cannot not do.” Please learn more about and support Community Farm Share. And let us help you find ‘the work you cannot not do’. https://www.communityfarmshare.org
February 26, 2021 -
HUMANKIND“Not-so-random-acts-of-kindness”
Today is “Random Acts of Kindness Day” (RAK). We love all kinds of kindnesses being shared, but KindWorks is more about the “not-so-random-acts-of kindness”–the kind that takes a little more time, a little more effort, and a little more conscious and deliberate action. In a book I’m reading, Houston Kraft distinguishes between ‘confetti kindness’ (as in the playful saying ‘throw kindness around like confetti’) and ‘deep kindness’ (a commitment to consistent, thoughtful actions, despite circumstance or convenience.) We’re about deep kindness. Kat Kim, who loves to bake and sell her stuffed cookies, decided that her Valentine’s cookie sales would be used to buy food and essentials for families we help support through the UpCountry consolidation hub. Here’s her cart full of groceries bought from her cookie sales — not forgetting the cake mix and frosting, because confetti kindness, literally, is important too. One of Deb’s neighbors put a call out for donations and groceries for her cleaning lady, who had just lost her husband and both in-laws, had to move into more affordable accommodation, and had no idea how she would make her deposit. Neighbors collected nearly $2000, along with pounds of rice, beans, fruits, vegetables. Let’s absolutely sprinkle kindness like confetti every chance we get; but then let’s continue to roll up our sleeves and get busy in the deep, nurturing, sustaining, fulfilling work of kindness that changes lives, communities, and the world.
February 26, 2021 -
HUMANKINDNotice, everyone
Christmas day, 2020. We’ve all seen them on our drives or runs – the tents that dot our capital city, under bridges and on the sides of the road. We may have thought to ourselves, how is this possible in one of the richest countries in the world; we may have diverted our eyes trying not to notice what’s plainly in front of us. Today, on this Christmas Day, we’d like to challenge ourselves to see, really see, and to perhaps step out of our comfort zone and take a bag of much needed items – and hand them to Willie, or drop them off in front of his red tent. Willie is the homeless ‘mayor’ of the tent city under the overhang in front of 25 K Street NE. He helps care for the others who are homeless in tents in that area. They don’t need food or toys, Willie told us, but they do need warm clothes. Let’s make bags filled with sweaters, hats and scarves and gloves, coats, sweat pants and shirts, shoes and socks, body wipes and dry shampoo, and anything else you can think of that may be useful. Let’s truly celebrate the spirit of Christmas and the spirit of the KINDdemic by bringing a little bit of comfort to those who need it most; and letting them know that they’re not forgotten. What greater gift can we share. Merry Christmas and happy holidays to all. #KINDdemic
January 16, 2021 -
HUMANKINDTurn ‘nice’ into ‘kind’ (collect wooly socks!)
It’s ‘nice’ to care about issues in our community; a feeling to want to help is ‘nice’. But ‘nice’ needs a nudge to make it ‘kind’. On a blustery October day, Monica was driving along the Potomac River and noticed a homeless man on the side of the road and thought to herself, ‘I sure hope he has woolen socks on.’ What a nice thought. Then she started a ‘warm wooly’s sock drive’ in her community, putting the ask on NextDoor. Now, that’s kind! Socks and packages with socks started filling the box on her porch; soon she had over 60 pairs. This morning she and her nieces and nephew went to hand deliver woolen socks to homeless men and women they had seen, or that neighbors had alerted her to, on various street corners in DC and MD; they’ll go again on Christmas Day. “Each time we handed out a bag, we were filled with warmth,” she said, “we cried a lot too.” Next year she’s planning to do warm wooly socks … and gloves. It’s nice to care; it’s kind to do something about it.
January 16, 2021
Let’s all be kind. #KINDdemic -
HUMANKINDChange one life for the better
Sometimes we get caught up in the enormity of the world’s problems — there is SO much hunger, poverty, injustice, displacement, inequality — is my small action even going to make a difference? YES. We need to shift our mindset and focus on the one person whose life we can impact, especially if we can think about that person’s story. As part of KindWorks’ new digital empowerment program, we’re taking old computers, collecting dust in many of our basements, refurbishing them and donating them to people who need one. Meet Alpha and Colette. They arrived here two years ago from the Democratic Republic of Congo. We donated two refurbished computers to them. Colette uses hers for homework for her English class; Alpha added applications so he can learn data analysis and data science; he’s doing a micro masters on Date Economics and Development Policy through MIT. They have seven children, ages one to 17; they call their house an ‘institute of learning’. “I want to use my skills to help people in the community,” Alpha says, “people have been so supportive, I don’t know how we would have survived.” We didn’t change the world. But in speaking with Alpha and Colette, I think we can humbly say we impacted one family’s life for the better. #KINDdemic
January 16, 2021 -
HUMANKINDLeave a treat for delivery folks
Sharing a kind gesture can be as easy as goldfish and gatorade 🙂. We love this idea that our Board chair Denise is doing – putting a box full of snacks and drinks outside her door with a note to delivery folks to help themselves to a treat as they rush around during their busiest time of the year. One day she found a UPS slip, not for a package she was waiting for but used as a ‘thank you’ card! Her family in NJ, TX, and FL are doing this too. Kind ideas are everywhere, and in this case you don’t even have to leave your home!Thank you to all the people who are delivering our mail and packages, food and flowers. Let’s all find a way to show our thanks.
January 16, 2021
#kinddemic -
HUMANKINDShare soup, spread smiles
The KINDdemic and KindWorks was live this morning on ABC 7 News – WJLA. Here’s the segment if you’d like to see it: https://wjla.com/…/local-nonprofit-spread-kindness…But for all the words we shared to explain what the KINDdemic is and what KindWorks does, it’s what happened after the reporter left and the camera was turned off that best conveys what this kindness movement is all about. We had just cooked 16 quarts of Tuscan Ribbolita (minestrone with kale). Deb was taking it to her car, to drop off at the Consolidation Hub, where it will be packed in boxes with food and Covid kits and delivered to people in need. Just then, the garbage truck came slipping and sliding down Manning Place. The roads are icy and the guys were getting frustrated — so Deb pulled out the soup and gave it to each one. THIS is what the KINDdemic is all about. #KINDdemic
January 16, 2021 -
HUMANKINDPaying it forward
Nooreen’s grandfather came to the US from India 55 years ago and worked hard to fulfill the American dream. Recently, when her grandmother decided to downsize, they had to figure out what to do with the furniture her grandparents had bought through their hard work and that held so many memories. Noreen thought it would be wonderful to donate it to another family starting their American journey. She happened to see a KindWorks post about our refugee apartment setups. “My grandfather was a man of values,” Noreen told me, “he was all about doing good, in practice, and we saw it through the way he lived his life.” It doesn’t matter how much you have, he’d say, you have to think of others. Last week, KindWorks took their family’s bedroom set, dressers, night table, mirror to donate to two refugee families, from Afghanistan and from Ethiopia. “You’ve done us a favor,” Noreen said, “we’re feeling very humbled.” Alexa shared photos of the furniture set up in the new homes. Noreen’s grandmother had tears in her eyes. “My grandfather’s soul is happy,” Noreen said. #KINDdemic
January 16, 2021 -
HUMANKINDSupporting education
Meet Mariam. She’s a Syrian refugee who fled her home when the war started; her 10 siblings were separated in the process – five stayed in Syria, and she, her parents and four siblings have been living in a caravan in Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan for the past eight years. The ‘refugee crisis’ is made up of individual people, like Mariam, each with a story. While the difficult facts of her life tell part of her story, what I’d really like you to know about her is what I’ve gotten to know the past few months as I’ve been mentoring her, over zoom, through EdSeed and Project Turquoise. She is smart, resilient, hard working, and fiercely determined. She’s at the top of her class and there’s no doubt that she will succeed in graduating from college – the first of her siblings to do so – and achieve her dream of becoming a pharmacist – so she can help her mom, a diabetic, and others. When I asked her what keeps her going – despite hardships we can’t imagine, not least of which was reading her chemistry textbook off her phone, she said: “We are all human and we are all created equal. Although some may be better off in life, they have computers, cars, and homes, in the final analysis, we’re all human beings, we all have a brain, and we should not put that to waste.
January 16, 2021 -
HUMANKINDKindness, by Naomi Shihab Nye
Before you know what kindness really is you must lose things, feel the future dissolve in a moment like salt in a weakened broth. What you held in your hand, what you counted and carefully saved, all this must go so you know how desolate the landscape can be between the regions of kindness. How you ride and ride thinking the bus will never stop, the passengers eating maize and chicken will stare out the window forever. Before you learn the tender gravity of kindness, you must travel where the Indian in a white poncho lies dead by the side of the road. You must see how this could be you, how he too was someone who journeyed through the night with plans and the simple breath that kept him alive. Before you know kindness as the deepest thing inside, you must know sorrow as the other deepest thing. You must wake up with sorrow. You must speak to it till your voice catches the thread of all sorrows and you see the size of the cloth. Then it is only kindness that makes sense anymore, only kindness that ties your shoes and sends you out into the day to mail letters and purchase bread,only kindness that raises its head from the crowd of the world to say, It is I you have been looking for, and then goes with you everywhere like a shadow or a friend.
January 16, 2021 -
HUMANKINDMake kindness go viral
We are thrilled to report that the KINDdemic is going viral! It’s spreading at an uncontrollable rate throughout our communities, making people smile and spreading good cheer. The ripple effect has been fantastic, the stories we’re hearing are heartwarming – kindness is contagious, let’s keep spreading it! We’ve donated over 100 quarts of soup in just the past two weeks, to neighbors and those in need. People all over are making soup, young and old alike. A handyman was so surprised to receive a container of soup, he said it was the best soup he ever had; a homeless man who visited the Consolidation Hub on a freezing cold day was warmed up with some KindSoup. We’re making soup again this Saturday – every Sat, 5-6pm, see our website for details. Remember our appeal to collect supplies to make Covid kits. What started as a neighborhood effort lead to so many others doing their own collections and donating hundreds of thermometer and other essential supplies at a critical time. Whitman high school’s SGA is getting involved to collect items too.We’ve refurbished and donated dozens of computers; kids are making heartwarming cards and donating tons of toys; a KindWorker started a sock drive for homeless men and women; the list goes on and on. Thank you for making this KINDdemic go viral – let’s keep it going! #KINDdemic
January 16, 2021
