In mid-December of 2007, I decided to check the “wanted” section at Craigslist before going to Goodwill with boxes of toys my daughter would never use again in case, by some miracle, someone was looking for what I had to offer.
There was a listing from a single mom who had recently lost her job and couldn’t buy any presents for two her girls. It turns out a coworker posted this, unbeknownst to the single mom.
A surprise meeting was arranged. I cannot express how A B S O L U T E L Y amazing it was to see the look on the mom’s face when she got out of the car driven by her coworker, clueless as to what was going on, and came over to my vehicle to see what awaited her.
She instantly burst into tears when she saw the dollhouse and other gifts for little girls. She turned to me and said, “You’ve saved Christmas for my kids.” Then she hugged me with a mixture of gratitude and joy, and I returned her hug, with equal gratitude and joy.
To connect directly with this woman, a stranger…a single mom like myself… and lighten her load in some way was a gift to me.
After all, I — and so many others — am only one check away from being in the same situation…
That experience birthed my desire to be part of creating what is now Wishadoo.
How many of us know our neighbors’ names nowadays? If we are fortunate enough to be able, we are more likely to log on and donate what we can to a faceless organization rather than find someone down the street who may be in need. We often think we can’t help, especially if we’re strapped for time and money ourselves, yet we’d be surprised how we can, often through simple acts of kindness.
I do believe that, for the vast majority of us, both giving and receiving are a personal challenge. We are afraid or embarrassed to ask for help, or we simply don’t know where to turn, so we assume we’re all alone.
As for giving, we’re turned off by the incessant telemarketing calls from the seemingly thousands of organizations soliciting donations; if we have donated in the past, it seems it opened up a Pandora’s Box for every organization to beg for your donation (how many state trooper organizations are there, anyway?). As for volunteering within our community, how many people are comfortable committing to an ongoing schedule, given our own work and family obligations which often change daily?
But, I believe there is also an underlying truth that remains unsaid as we turn away and struggle on our own through each day: We intentionally create walls. We don’t trust, we fear humiliation, we fear being taken advantage of, we fear judgment, we fear rejection. It feels as though it is easier to just “get by” on our own.
There are so many walls between us.
My lifelong focus has been to empower people, to enable them to feel part of something bigger as they go through their daily lives, even if that daily life may be a struggle. Another part of my dream is to, somehow, help others’ dreams come true…provide the connections needed, since so often in life it’s all about “who you know.”
Having one place to connect directly ~ a space designed for people to enter with an open heart and dignity ~ breaks down those walls. It also provides hope. Welcome to Wishadoo, welcome to Hope.
“Hope…is the companion of power, and the mother of success; for who so hopes has within him the gift of miracles.” ~ Samuel Smiles
image of hope, arms raised to sun
