On Thursday, 10 year old Gabby Kirkendol – daughter of our Operations Manager – made a visit to the Peyton Manning Children's Hospital at St. Vincent. Her mission? To donate her birthday gifts to the patients.
Pretty remarkable, huh? A 10 year old girl showing the rest of us how it's done. The whole event was Gabby's idea – she planned the party, she asked not for gifts, but donations, and then she took them to the hospital to distribute. She even got to meet some of the PMCH staff, as well as a young patient. She got to see, first hand, how a simple act of kindness – and unselfishness – could impact the life of a complete stranger. More than a complete stranger – a kid like her.
It was surely a life-changing moment for Gabby. And that one act of generosity could spawn an entire movement amongst her peers.
And hopefully it will serve as inspiration for the rest of us. When we read the articles about donations needed or hear the television stories about people in crisis … it's all too often just too easy to say "what can I do?"
Leave it to a 10 year old to turn that sentence around to "I can do what ..."
Congratulations, Gabby, and please keep that little brain of yours whirling away. If just one person decides to follow in your footsteps ... that's one more person headed in the right direction.
