November 24, 2010, the day before Thanksgiving . . .
“Hi this is Scott. Just wondering if you are home. I have something to drop off for you.”
“Yes, we’re home,” said the boys mother, “Just knock, the doorbell doesn’t work.”
I hop in the car on a snowy Thanksgiving eve in Minneapolis. Just one more thing to do before a few days off. A volunteer came into the office earlier wanting to make sure that the family of the boy she tutors would have a great Thanksgiving. So she dropped off a gift certificate for a local restaurant that would feed his whole family. She wanted to make the gift anonymously so that she wouldn’t receive any credit or accolades for the gift. She wanted it to be a gift that was just kindness to a family at Thanksgiving time. No strings attached, no ulterior motive. So I brought the gift card over to the house on the night before Thanksgiving.
It turned out to be a lovely time of visiting with this boy’s family. We learned a good deal about each other. The boy’s mom said she was taking him out of school and looking for a new school. “They just don’t understand him because he has ADHD.” It was hard for her to make that decision for her son, but she felt it was the right thing. It was great to affirm the boy’s leadership qualities in front of his mom and brothers. Not everyone sees that, but we do, and his Tutor can really see it.
“So here’s why I’m here,” the mom gulps anticipating more bad news for her family, “A volunteer stopped by today and asked me to give this to your family. It’s just a gift from someone who thinks highly of your son.
“OH MY GOSH! NOBODY HAS EVER DONE ANYTHING LIKE THIS FOR ME BEFORE! NOBODY HAS EVER JUST GIVEN ME SOMETHING! I thought you were coming because he was going to be in trouble.” She was very THANKful at Thanksgiving time.
The legacy of doing things for people quietly; no strings attached; kindness for kindness sake actually goes way back at DinoMights. If you’ve been reading these letters for a while, you have heard about Greg Carroll. He was our mite coach that really epitomized that kind of kindness. When he passed away a few years ago we named our Learn 2 Skate, Greg Carroll Learn to Skate to honor Greg’s legacy of service.
Due to the efforts of Greg’s friends and family Greg Carroll Learn 2 Skate has tripled in size in the last three years. One such effort is the White Bear Lake High School Class of ‘77, of which Greg was a part. They get together to golf every fall and to raise money for Greg Carroll Learn 2 Skate. The boy in this story entered DinoMights as a direct result of the expansion of Greg Carroll Learn 2 Skate, which the Class of ‘77 golf outing is helping to provide. So in a round about way, and I’m sure this wasn’t on their mind at all, while they were shooting for par, the class of ‘77 golf outing helped connect a caring tutor to a family that really benefitted from a special boost on thanksgiving. They did it Greg’s way too. No strings attached, just kindness for kindness sake.
Consider joining DinoMights year end Fundraising team if you're interested in helping kids just like Greg! http://www.razoo.com/p/holiday-26-dinomights
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