There’s nothing like a feel good Christmas story.
People can be so generous sometimes, especially during the holidays. We want to tell you about all of them, but people can be just as modest as they are generous. More so. Nobody seems to want to take credit for showing love and compassion towards their fellow humans.
This week we have a story about a few “small” acts of kindness having a large impact on a young child’s life.
A couple of local guys, Nathan Douglas and Pete Byer, who already go around shovelling seniors’ sidewalks for free as it is, got together with a local business owner, Kayla Siebold, to fundraise enough to make a little boy’s Christmas wish come true.
Douglas took a minute to hear the child speak and asked him a few questions and the next thing you know there’s enough money for a PlayStation 4, a bike and a new apron, with pockets, for his memaw.
How touching is that? There’s nothing quite like the honesty and openness of a child. And there’s nothing quite like the spirit of a community that jumps on every opportunity to give. Westlock is that kind of community.
People heard about the boy’s situation and decided to donate what they could and as quickly as the story was posted to Facebook, the goal was reached, just under $500. We don’t want to ruin the surprise, but guess who’s getting a new apron?
It could be the plot of a Christmas-themed after-school special if it wasn’t absolutely true — a tale that should make the most crotchety of us turn over a new leaf and catch the fervour of the season.
Can you imagine what this kid’s face is going to look like on Christmas morning? How happy he’s going to be. He’s expecting very little, but actually has a whole community behind him. At eight years old, it’s something he’ll likely remember for the rest of his life.
This is the kind of stuff that transcends the things that divide us and shows that we are, at our core, full of goodness and concern for other people. The opposite may seem true during the rest of the year, but a few small actions combined at Christmas, or any time of year really, can create a groundswell of positivity.
Take it from Nathan Douglas.
“There’s no such thing as a small act of kindness.”
