Note: this post was written yesterday but remained unpublished due to a much-needed meeting with the margarita mommies! Whoops!

Today I heard a kindness story that moved me to action. Our babysitter is training to be a teacher. As part of her training she works with ten-year-olds in a school in Spanish Harlem. At the end of last semester she bought the kids tiny gifts – pencils, erasers, things they could use in class. She had done this so many times before with other schools and always got a good reaction. However, to her surprise, this time a lot of the kids started crying.

They were just so grateful for the tiniest gift.

Unbeknownst to our babysitter, a lot of the children were living in a shelter nearby. It was so normal for the school that it wasn’t even part of the briefing process for new recruits. She realised later that most of the kids had the same backpack – given to them by the shelter.

She didn’t think anything of taking a few small presents into school on the last day. But these tiny gifts, a small but kind gesture, became something much, much bigger to the children.

This evening I’ll be searching for the shelter and adding those kids to my Christmas list. If you’re thinking of doing something similar here’s a quick list of the things they need:

Personal care items such as:

soap

deodorant

toothpaste

Stationery and school supplies including:

backpacks

pens

pencils

crayons

erasers

pencil cases

Plus small toys such as colouring books, playing cards, games and books.

Donate/give whatever you can. The smallest gift really does make a big difference.