With the doom & gloom of the economy (which has now affected me personally, my boyfriend was downsized out of his breadwinning job last week unexpectedly...not good times pour moi)...I present you with a heartwarming story.
I work for Target Corporation HQ, as a Safety Manager for about 60 stores in IN, IL & IA...in the last year, we've rebuilt school libraries in tough areas...buying them new furniture, thousands of books, etc. What a great feeling to work for a company that commits to helping their communities! I thought that felt good...until yesterday's topper...
Yesterday, I spent the day in one of our downtown Chicago stores, helping out. Brian Urlacher (who plays for the Chicago Bears) teamed with Target and bought $1000's in gift cards for 50 needy families. These people are living on vouchers after their Section Housing was recently torn down and displaced them.
When they arrived, the kids didn't know that Urlacher (& teammate Greg Olsen) was going to be there...he insisted that we not alert the media and didn't want to make a scene. He even asked me if he could pay any difference if they went over the amount of their gift cards (of course, I arranged for that!)...and signed autographs/took pics with every single person that asked. He made the kids feel like THEY were the celebrity. Truly a standup, genuine guy.
What a humbling and fulfilling day...people were crying because they could buy inflatable beds to sleep on...coats, shoes, gloves...food.
So, just when I'm feeling down about not being able to afford dinners out...or new clothes for awhile...an experience like that helped me to remember how lucky I really am.
Merry Christmas, fellow Sailors...may your New Year be blessed.
-Kristen
Oh...and here's the photo evidence:
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