Anna’s Day of Kindness – Ann Arbor

April 5-7, 2018

MICHIGAN FOSTER CARE CLOSET

Anna’s Day of Kindness in Ann Arbor began on Thursday with a first-time opportunity for our volunteers.

Rachael Suggins has devoted herself and her home to helping children in foster care. Her basement has been converted into a small department store, complete with sections, dressing rooms, a shoe department, toys, school supplies, backpacks, toiletries … and even suits and prom dresses. Foster families come visit her and can take whatever they need to outfit their children, giving them and their kids one less thing to worry about.

Anna’s Kindness volunteers and Forsythe Middle School 7th graders Alex LeFort, Daniel Rogers, and Daniel’s mother Cristina helped Rachael by cleaning off the donated toys that had been set outside her garage door. Meanwhile, Slauson Middle School 8th grader Mia Sanborn, Forsythe teacher Leanne Hinz, Forsythe 8th grader Lindsay Horning and her mom Vanessa, and fellow 8th grader Hayley Marchand and her mom Fran were folding and stocking clothing donations on the shelves throughout the basement.

The evening became a lot more lively and impactful when foster families began showing up at 7 p.m. to shop for their children. Anna’s Kindness volunteers began looking for specific size winter or spring clothing that fit the children who were in the basement with their mothers. And it wasn’t just clothes. One mother came in specifically looking for a bouncy activity chair and a stroller that converts to a car seat. Check. The Foster Closet had both.

It was a crowded, slightly chaotic, but extremely rewarding end to the evening, because it helped connect the students directly with those they were helping: a primary mission of Anna’s Kindness.

FEEDING THE HOMELESS AT LIBERTY PLAZA

If it wasn’t for the wind.

Friday night in Liberty Plaza was going to be cold — temperatures were in the mid-30s at the start — but the wind cut through the plaza and made for an unseasonably bone-chilling April evening as Anna’s Day of Kindness volunteers fed the less fortunate.

Hayley Marchand along with Carina, Mia, and Gabe Sanborn helped hand out pizza, Colleen Van Lent and her children Christopher and Catherine poured up hot drinks (“Hot chocolate was the most popular,” said Christopher).

Ryan Thomas-Palmer had joined Anna’s Kindness in January to feed the homeless. But that was at a church. And indoors. As Ryan stood outside in the cold with her older sister Geneve and her dad, handing out cookies and cupcakes, she admitted she liked the indoors event a little better. (Geneve was the recipient of the 8th grade Anna’s Kindness Award at Forsythe last year).

Those cookies Ryan and Geneve were handing out were made by Anna’s aunt, Maureen Paruta, who came out to help along with her husband Paul and friend Pam Pollard.

MIKEY & ME

You can spot ‘dog’ people. Or in this case, ‘dog’ 8th graders. OK, and maybe a ‘dog’ mom or two.

Anna’s Day of Kindness featured the charity’s first visit to Mikey & Me, a dog rescue foster care facility in Chelsea started by Dan DePew. Dan and his team of wonderful volunteers helped provide a wonderful opportunity for Anna’s Kindness volunteers Sophia Morgan, Natalie Haft, Lindsey Horning, Olivia Wright, and Hayley Marchand. All of the girls were friends of Anna, and were teammates of hers on either the soccer or synchronized swimming team.

The 8th grade girls were given an overview of the history of Mikey & Me by Dan, who started Mikey & Me in the fall of 2017. The old dairy barn on Dan’s property has been converted into a foster home for 7 dogs at a time, who have been rescued  from shelters where they were facing euthanization. Dan’s efforts resulted in 56 dogs finding forever homes last year, a number that is likely to increase as more animal lovers learn of Mikey & Me’s mission.

It was a beautiful blue sky Saturday morning to walk the dogs, who were wonderfully well-behaved and loving considering their life circumstances. And the Anna’s Kindness volunteers were clearly ‘dog’ people. Each of them were eager to get a stand-up hug from Boomer, and they rubbed the belly of Amos. And then there was Reggie, who suckered the volunteers into more walks than any other dog simply by turning on his sad ‘I haven’t been walked in at least 10 minutes’ eyes (he seemed to make his eyes look sadder by turning them a light shade of red, we kid you not) and staring out from his kennel gate.

In addition to walking the dogs, grooming them, and simply spending quality time in their 10×10 ‘bedrooms’, the girls also helped stock donations on shelves, and filled up more than a half-dozen water jugs for the residents.

It was a wonderful way to start the weekend and the third and final day of Anna’s Day of Kindness. Thank you to Dan and his wonderful volunteers.

GLACIER HILLS SENIOR LIVING CENTER

Seventh grader Ravi Dhakal sat next to Anna in Mr. Grady’s math class during Anna’s first semester at Forsythe Middle School. He would watch as Anna would sometimes doodle in her book, beautiful sketches of flowers and clouds and animals. And so when Ravi and his math class found out Anna was ill in the hospital, they made a huge Get Well Soon sign that stretched the length of Mr. Grady’s classroom. And while each student signed their name and offered words of encouragement, Ravi tried his best to draw flowers and clouds and animals, just like Anna.

“Mine wasn’t nearly as good,” he remembered. “She was very artistic.”

Ravi joined Slauson Middle School 8th grader Megan Garrett Saturday afternoon at Glacier Hills Senior Living Community, helping seniors play bingo and taking popcorn and cupcakes to their rooms. They joined Alex LeFort, Anna’s brother, along with Maureen, Paul, Megan and Rachel Paruta, Anna’s aunt, uncle and cousins.

After helping the residents arrive at the bingo room, Alex and Megan helped them a few of the players with their bingo cards. They turned out to be lucky charms for the residents.

Alex helped Pat with her card, and she won twice. “He brought me luck,” smiled Pat. “He’s a very nice, well-behaved boy.”

Megan assisted Dee with her bingo card, and when Dee won, she did a little dance while sitting in her wheelchair. Dee took a necklace prize back to her room.

Meanwhile, Ravi joined the Parutas going room to room in the care facility and offering popcorn and/or cupcakes to those unable to make it to bingo. The small gesture brought a large smile to many of the residents … and staff.

In the afternoon, it was something of a family affair at Glacier Hills Care & Rehabilitation Center. Two Anna’s Kindness middle school student volunteers were joined by Anna’s brother, aunt, uncle and two cousins at the senior citizen care facility. The group not only helped transport wheelchair-bound seniors to bingo and helped them with their bingo cards, but some of the volunteers went room-to-room with popcorn and cupcakes to surprise the seniors.

If you’d like to learn more about Anna’s Kindness, go to annaskindness.org

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