INDIANAPOLIS — Delivering kindness and inspiring Hoosiers to pay it forward.
Three local women are doing just that as they take the time to spend out in their community every month, with the goal to just make someone smile and inspire them to spread kindness, too.
It all started as an idea for Deb Kraft two years ago.
"It just got in my mind. It stuck in my mind," Kraft said. "It was keeping me awake at night literally."
With her friend Tisha Myer, and sister Denise Dank on board, The Shelby Foundation for Kindness Delivered began.
"We launched right when COVID hit the streets," Kraft said. "Actually, in a sense it was a perfect time to deliver kindness."
Twice a month, the mobile ministry delivers random acts of kindness to the community.
"It's almost addictive to see how people are inspired and changed," Myer said.
Their random acts can be as simple as giving out gift cards or as big as holding a free event through partnerships with churches and nonprofits.
Recently, they took their mascot Tenderheart to surprise a young lady at her home.
"It's very heartwarming with everything going on," Sheila Wadsworth Edens said. "It was a rough year in 2020. She was a 2020 graduate."
Her daughter Danielle is 23. She has Down syndrome and is on the autism spectrum.
Kraft knows Danielle from church and knew she not only loves mascots, but she loves to give out hugs. Surprising her is something she's wanted to do for the last year.
"To give this attention to Danielle and just to show the love and appreciation, just being so kind, we really appreciate it," Wadsworth Edens said.
"It's fun, it shows the love of Christ, it changes peoples day, it puts a smile on their face," Kraft said. There is simply not enough of that today in our culture."
Through their work, the Kindness Delivered team hopes to inspire others to pay it forward.
The organization was recently awarded a year's worth of vehicle maintenance from Jiffy Lube through the company's Do Morecampaign. The campaign honors Hoosiers that use their vehicle to make a positive impact in Central Indiana.
