Tag Archives: Isaac Winfield

Good People Doing Good Things — Holidays Bring Out The Best In People!

Posted on by under Bits 'n Pieces, Economic issues, Good people doing good things, Holidays, Social commentary

This time of year it seems the good people stories just fall into my lap.  Something about the holiday season seems to bring out the best in people – most people, anyway.  Here are just a few of the ones that touched me …

I’d like to start with a young lad I first highlighted in a ‘good people’ post in October 2022, Isaac Winfield of Redditch, Worcester in the UK.   At only 11 years of age, Isaac had started his own foodbank in his garden shed to help people in need during the pandemic.  Today, Isaac has taken his philanthropy a step further and is preparing to open a “gift bank” for moms and dads who can’t afford presents for their children, in addition to a fifth shed-born foodbank!

He went on to open additional food banks in his hometown of Redditch, in Worcestershire, England, after realizing how many people in his community needed a helping hand. His gift bank opened last week, after enlisting the help of the local Greenland Pub to store the hundreds of toys and gifts for needy families he’s received from donors.  Said his mother, Claire …

“Christmas can be a stressful time and Isaac wanted to help as many people as possible have a celebration without worrying about what is under the tree. The response has been phenomenal. We’ll be holding present bank days another three times at this same pub and put on more dates if there’s still the demand.”

Isn’t it uplifting … encouraging … heartwarming to see one so young who cares so much about other people?

Next, another young man, Reed Marcum of McAlester, Oklahoma was a shy child.  His parents divorced when he was only 7 years old and due to his shyness, he has long been a victim of bullying in school.  But a few years ago, Reed found the courage to step out of his comfort zone when he discovered that some children he went to school with and others in his town would not have any presents under the tree at Christmas.  McAlester has a poverty rate of 24% according to international statistics.

Although Reed was only ten years old at the time, in 2016, he proposed to his mother that they hold a toy drive to provide toys for those children who would not otherwise have them.  Reed’s mother, Angie Miller, posted a video on Facebook explaining her son’s intentions, and asked for donations of toys or money to buy toys for a giveaway that Reed had decided to do as a 4-H project.

“There was a great response—lots of people went out and bought new toys to donate, or they sent money for us to buy them.”

Reed is now a college freshman, but he is coming home this Christmas to participate in the toy drive that was his brainchild seven years ago.  They are estimating 10,000 toys will be distributed this year, and in addition to a special toy, each kid also receives a pair of socks, underwear, trousers, a shirt, gloves, and a hat.

Let’s head now to Sunnyside Elementary School in Cumberland County, North Carolina.  The assignment given to the third-grade class was to read the book “Think Big. Work Hard. Be Kind. No Excuses.” and then write an essay expressing their thoughts for a chance to win one of three new bicycles.

Londyn Anderson shared her aspirations of joining the WNBA in her winning essay. She was the first recipient of a shiny new bike. As two more exceptional essays were read, the last two bicycles found their deserving owners.

Amidst the initial disappointment of those who didn’t win, a surprise awaited the entire class. Unbeknownst to them, a group of 60 volunteers eagerly stood by in the hallway, ready to unveil a monumental surprise.

The assistant principal took to the microphone, exclaiming, “Everyone gets a bike!”

The generous gesture was made possible by Old Fayetteville Insurance, the company behind the donation and assembly of the bicycles. Paige Ross, representing Old Fayetteville Insurance, emphasized that these bikes were a small token of appreciation for the students’ hard work during the fall semester, focusing on their academic endeavors and character development as highlighted in the book. This was the second year the company donated bicycles – the previous year saw 80 students from Westarea Elementary School receiving the gift of new bicycles.  A company with a heart!!!  Will miracles never cease …

And last, but not least … I don’t know much about Taylor Swift, don’t listen to her music, and until recently barely knew who she was other than wondering why she didn’t wear more clothes.  But in the past year, I see her name weekly and am beginning to see that there’s more to her than I first thought.

A week and a half ago, devastating tornadoes wrought devastation on a number of towns in Tennessee including Hendersonville, where Taylor went to high school.  Her response?  She donated $1 million to Hendersonville and other towns that were affected by the tornadoes.

I’m also told that over the past year, Ms. Swift has made generous donations to food banks in every town she has visited while on tour, as well as distributing $55 million in bonuses to dancers, truck drivers, sound crew, and catering staff.  Yes, indeed … this young woman has a good heart and is a true philanthropist.  The world needs more like her!

Good People Doing Good Things — Lots of ‘Em

Posted on by under Bits 'n Pieces, Good people doing good things, Social commentary

Some weeks good people just drop into my lap, other weeks I have to go in search of them, but either way, there are always plenty of ‘em out there if you know where to look.  This week, a few dropped neatly into my lap, so I’m delighted to share their stories with you!

Let’s begin with Isaac Winfield, an 11-year-old boy in Redditch, Worcester in the UK who has started his own foodbank!  During the first year or so of the pandemic, Isaac’s family would send food packages to school with him to be given to those in need.  Isaac’s family also donated to local foodbanks, but Isaac treasured the ability to take food packages to school to share and distribute.  Then, Isaac changed schools and his new school didn’t have a program in place for kids to donate food.  Isaac was bummed, but then he came up with an idea.  He told his mom in the car one day, “it’s alright, we’ll give them food at my house.”  Says Isaac’s mom, Claire …

“I was laughing, but he had just broken his arm, so I let him do it to cheer him up. I doubled what money we gave them normally for food parcels, and he went off to Aldi. With a little bit of help, he put all the food he bought in a little greenhouse with some lights and started offering it from there. Someone spotted it and put it on one of those Facebook community sites, and it went mad. People came and donated. The greenhouse lasted four weeks before I had to go and get a shed because we ran out of room.”

Now Isaac is planning to expand the service and has a local charity sponsoring him to open a foodbank in the town. He has attracted the help of big sponsors like Morrison’s and a local charity called Building Bridges to keep his foodbank operational.  In addition, YouTuber Mark McCann donated the aforementioned van, fully-taxed and insured, to help get the foodbank mobile.  Isaac wanted it decorated with a rainbow logo and on weekends his parents take him to various places to distribute the food to those in need.

His mom says …

“For his 11th birthday he just wanted foodbank donations and the shed was absolutely rammed. He just wanted to get as many donations in as possible to help as many people as he can.”

Isaac has now been nominated for a local business award and hopes to open his second foodbank in the town next month.  Wow, right?  Just wow … what a remarkable young man!!!

I’d like you to meet another good people, trucker Gary Wilburn from San Antonio, Texas.  Wilburn was in heavy traffic on October 4th, near Forrest City, Arkansas.  After about an hour in the heavy traffic, he came across a badly crashed State Trooper’s vehicle on the side of the road. Every other motorist was passing the vehicle without stopping to look inside.

“I was in traffic for an hour before I saw the trooper. Some of the stuff I noticed was insane—no one’s calling the police, cars are driving by, and no one stopped to help him.”

Wilburn, who drives for Anderson Trucking, called 911 and reported what he found.

“He was banged up really bad. Lower legs were broken, upper legs were broken and he was pinned in. His legs were crushed really bad.”

He then stayed with the trapped officer until emergency personnel arrived and he was airlifted to a local hospital.  I can find no word on the officer’s condition, but Wilburn was named a Highway Angel for what he did.  Since the program’s inception in August 1997, nearly 1,300 professional truck drivers have been recognized as Highway Angels for exemplary kindness, courtesy, and courage displayed while on the job.  Thumbs up to Mr. Wilburn and all the other Highway Angels out there looking out for us all!

Last month in Richmond, Indiana, a funeral was held for Police Officer Seara Burton, who had been shot and killed while responding to help other officers with a traffic stop. She was 28 years old and joined the Richmond police department four years ago.  Police Lieutenant Donnie Benedict said that on the day of the funeral, someone walked into the police station and handed over a white envelope. Inside it was eight one-dollar bills. The anonymous donation was from the homeless community in Richmond.

According to Officer Benedict …

“This gift was in a wrinkled dirty well-used envelope. They handed the envelope to the information officer and on the envelope was written these four words: people from the street. The person explained that several of the homeless people from the city of Richmond have taken up a donation from the people that live on our streets here in Richland and they wanted to donate this to Seara’s family. There have been many valuable gifts given in honor of Seara. However, none, and I mean none, are more valuable than the gift of 8 $1 bills in a dirty white envelope.”

That act of kindness has sparked a movement in Richmond. The community is now rallying behind the homeless population.  The story touched resident Amber Conley, who made a call out on Facebook asking for donations.  They have since collected enough donations to fill an entire room in the Richmond Fire Station — everything from blankets, coats, water, tents and more.

The group will hand out donations next week and Officer Burton’s family will be there to help.  The eight one-dollar bills from the envelope have been framed to remind everyone of the big impact Officer Burton had on the community she served for four years.

See, folks … there really are a lot of good people out there!