Some days we look around and we wonder what has happened to our world … where are the good people??? But, if we just shut out the noise for a while and go looking for them, those good people are not all that hard to find. The thing is, you won’t see them on the nightly news tooting their own horn, for they are too busy going about their lives, helping others … and most of all … caring. I never have trouble finding the good people for these Wednesday posts … it’s almost as if they drop into my lap once I clear my mind of the daily detritus. I apologize that this morning’s ‘good people’ post is somewhat shorter than usual, but I am a bit under the weather tonight and need to get to bed. Still, I think you’ll find these two good people to be heartwarming …
Liem Kaplan is on a mission to help the homeless people in and around his community in the area of Seattle, Washington. Thus far, Liem has collected some 12,000 masks and donated the masks along with hand sanitizer, clothing, hygiene products, and food to the homeless. What’s so remarkable about this is that Liem is only 13 years old!
Born in Vietnam with physical challenges, Liem, one of seven siblings, was adopted when he was 11 months old. According to his mother, Nancy, he began worrying about the homeless back in April and came to her one day saying he wanted to collect masks for people. With mom’s help, he began acquiring product-and-cash donations from individuals, businesses, the city and community groups to distribute to shelter programs and organizations that serve vulnerable populations.
To date, Liem has distributed more than 12,000 masks, 2,000 lunches, 6,000 peanut butter-and-jelly sandwiches, 4,000 pairs of socks and 2,500 bottles of hand sanitizer to help keep people safe.
Liem is modest about what he does …
“If you see a problem, find a solution and do it. What I do isn’t that hard. You ask someone what they need and if you don’t have it, ask someone else to help you. Everyone can do that. You just have to care enough to stop and ask.”
You just have to care enough. Exactly! That is the thing that all the good people I have ever written about have in common … they care. This isn’t Liem’s first foray into philanthropy, nor will it be his last. At the age of six, he started coat drives and other campaigns for kids.
When asked how long he could keep up his good works, Liem replied …
“Probably the rest of my life… because that’s what I like to do.”
And two thumbs up to Aubrey, the Ohio FedEx driver. For some time, as Aubrey made her rounds, she noticed that at one house, the two sons were always outside shooting hoops on a broken basketball hoop. Elijah and Zachary Wheeler enjoy basketball so much it didn’t bother them that their hoop was broken — they played despite it, due to their love of the game.
The brothers had no idea that Aubrey saw them playing all the time and decided to surprise the family with a brand-new hoop, leaving the gift, along with a basketball, on their front porch. The boys’ mother, Coledo Wheeler, said when she got back from work one day, she noticed a new basketball sitting on her porch with a note attached.
“I realized it was instructions to a basketball hoop. That’s when I looked up and I saw the new one in the yard. This was just such a blessing for her to do this, and I never ever expected it. It really was a total shock.”
A small act of kindness, but really … that’s what the world is made up of … small things. And I can almost hear those boys telling their own sons about the generosity and kindness of the FedEx driver one day in the future.
Thank you for sharing these heart warming stories Jill:) Liem is a very strong kid!
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Thank you for dropping by and reading them! Yes, I love doing my good people posts about the young people who are already socially conscious, for they are our hope for a brighter future.
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There can never be too much goodness!
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That’s for sure!
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Great examples of good works, Jill. Thanks for sharing.
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It’s always my pleasure, John! Have a happy Thanksgiving! 🦃
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Happy Thanksgiving to you as well. At least maybe now you can rest easy on the political front.
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Thanks John. No, we aren’t out of the woods by a long shot, but … hopefully headed there.
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😊
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These are wonderful examples of the goodness of the human spirit. I am love Liam’s wise words. “You just have to care enough to stop and ask” . Such truth. 🤍 This makes a nice start to this Wednesday. Thank you Jill.
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Thank you, LaDonna! I’m glad you enjoyed the two ‘good people’. Yes, I stopped and took a deep breath after reading Liem’s wise words … so simple! So simple, and yet so many don’t understand. I am glad if this got your Wednesday off to a good start! I’m not sure if you’re in the U.S., but if so, have a Happy Thanksgiving. If not, just have a Happy Thursday!
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Thank you Jill. It really did . Happy Thanksgiving to you 🤍
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Great stories Jill. May the good rise within each of us.
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Thanks, Cheryl! That’s the thing about good people … they inspire others to do more. Happy Thanksgiving, my friend.
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I wish the same for you my friend. Right now, where we are, every day is Thanksgiving.
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Jill, many thanks for sharing Liem and Aubrey’s stories. And, the Aesop quote which lives on today. Keith
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My pleasure, Keith. It helps balance out some of the detritus from my other posts.
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Reblogged this on Musings on Life & Experience and commented:
More good people doing good things.
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Thank you, Suzanne!!! And Happy Thanksgiving! 🦃
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Happy Thanksgiving to you also, Jill. 🙂 — Suzanne
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Just a small amount of kindness per day can be life-changing for the person on the receiving end. You could change a whole town’s worth in a lifetime.
Cwtch
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You are right … and if everybody did just one small act of kindness per week, imagine what a better world we would have.
Cwtch
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