Just a few days after one of the richest Americans, Warren Buffet, announced that he was going to hand over a lot of his vast fortune to the other richest American’s foundation (Bill Gates), New York City Mayor Michael Bloomburg, no slouch in the “rich guy department” himself, announced that he too was committing major ducats to charity. A few others will follow suit, and that’s a wonderful thing.
Sometimes, all it takes is one person to give something and then others see what great things can happen as a result, and they want to participate, too.
I was very fortunate to see this maxim in action last month. Miki Kinkel, owner of a bridal shop, called and said, “Help! My stockroom is filled with dresses and I need to make room for the new season’s inventory. I’d like to give these dresses away. Do you know of some organizations that would use them?”
Do I? Boy howdy! I myself, the daughter of a supply sergeant who served in Korea, am as resourceful as stereotypical supply sergeant you’ve seen in movies, except kind of in the reverse. Instead of finding things for people that they want, I can give away anything you need to get rid of, making sure it’s put to good use by someone who needs it and wants it. Everyone is happy.
So, I went to Miki’s shop, and she and her staff helped me load $40,000 worth of prom and formal dresses into my van. I was worried. It was June, after prom season. Would I be able to get rid of ALL these dresses? Yikes! I put out an email to non-profit organizations and schools.
Women who wouldn’t be able to afford such dresses were able to have some for special occasions. Eighth and 12th grade girls proudly graduated, feeling beautiful in these gorgeous dresses. Moms in a literacy program with pre-schoolers came and chose dresses they would wear to a formal tea they would put on themselves.
But there are a couple of programs where girls won’t experience a formal tea, a typical graduation or a prom. Two rehabilitation programs came with their girls, whose clothes typically are jeans and t-shirts. They are in living situations that leave them with an overwhelming sense of impermanence as they carry all they own in garbage bags as they move from place to place.
The program staffs decided that in response to the free dresses, they would hold a special “girls only prom”, putting on a special night of dinner and dancing for the girls to experience in their finery.
The response of the girls was amazing, and for the rest of my life, I will not forget the giddy giggles of gratitude and the teary eyes of one who looked at me and said, “Thank you so much. You can’t know how much this means to me. I feel like a princess.”
I told my mother, who then offered to buy them shoes. Sherri Stuart, Gilroy community-builder extraordinaire, and a board member of one of the groups, spread the word around her network.
She got the guy who sold her her car to buy the girls dinner at a very, very nice restaurant in Campbell, the Bellagio. Another donor stepped forward with theater tickets for the girls to see the Celtic Women at Villa Montalvo.
Lively dancing, soulful music. And to cap it all off, another donor had corsages from the florist sent over. A hair dresser did the girls hair for them and last I heard, they had in the works limos to take them around.
“One girl is graduating from the program on the 12th and before we can pull this big event off. She lives up in Sacramento area but we have already made arrangements for her to return via the train, and for her to stay overnight with the staff that night …. This is truly a Cinderella night for them.”
I received such gushing thanks from the girls, from the human services folks who brought their clients. I felt like an imposter, because I’m not the one who gave so generously. It was the Kinkels, who didn’t get to see the impact their gifts had on these girls like I did. I shared the news with them whenever I could.
Their responses were gracious and simple: We’re glad to do it. Hopefully, others will follow their excellent example. In Gilroy, where people are most generous, it’s certain to happen.
Columnist Dina Campeau is a wife, mother of two teens and a resident of Morgan Hill. Her work for the last seven years has focused on affordable housing and homeless issues in Santa Clara County. Her column will be published each Saturday. Reach her at
dc******@ch*****.net
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