Sometimes, one good deed can lead to another. Jennifer Jennings, Executive Director of Consulate Health Care’s Ashton Court care center, saw an opportunity to change the lives of four children and one school teacher through the gift of school supplies. She showed great compassion for others when acting upon a need in her community, but never expected that her kind gesture would inspire others to do the same.
Last year’s back-to-school supplies drive at Ashton Court brought in more than 70 backpacks for the children of the employees, and it looked like this year’s donations would bring in even more. While many Ashton Court employees signed up to receive the free materials for their children, Jennifer quickly realized that there would still be many supplies left over. Looking for ways to make sure the supplies were put to good use, she took it upon herself to find another way to share the supplies.
Jennifer decided to reach out to the Clay County Department of Family Services to see whether there were families in need of school supplies. They put her in touch with a single mother of four, and thanks to the donations, each child will be able to start the school year with new clothing, new s
hoes and backpacks overflowing with school supplies. She had helped change the course of a family’s year, but Jennifer still had supplies that could be shared. She turned to Facebook and began seeking out people in need through local buy/sell groups – it wasn’t long before the responses began flooding in.
The post went ‘viral’ on the group’s page. Naturally, it took no time at all for Jennifer to find a deserving teacher in Liberty, MO. Even after she distributed the remaining supplies to teachers throughout Missouri, the post continued to spur conversation. Total strangers began to recognize a need too great for any one person to fill and began purchasing and donating additional school supplies to teachers who needed them for their students. “Some people posted how they needed supplies and other people spoke up to sponsor them,” said Jennifer,“because of one simple gesture, a ripple effect of others wanting to help people in need really grew.”
Grew, indeed! Jennifer’s passionate gesture set countless students up for success this year and brought with it a reminder that the compassion and generosity of total strangers can have an amazing impact on those in need. Thanks for paying it forward, Jennifer – you’re a true Ambassador of Care!
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