The Pledge of Kindness

Day 30 holds a special place in my heart and for several reasons. This day has been more than a month in the making and is an act of kindness which I was able to share alongside some of my favorite people. I belong to a special little group of ladies who are all great friends. We meet regularly for fun, craft projects, wine, whining, eating really good food and just to be together and laugh, laugh, laugh!! I am blessed to have these friends…true friends who you can share anything with and never be judged. The kind of friends who would have your back in a second if you needed them! Friendships I cherish. You should also know that this group of women have hearts of gold and are insanely talented, creative and kind. We all love to plan events and projects….and two of them actually do this for a living and are amazing at it! It was suggested a few months back that we all do a service project together, after all they all have servants hearts and this seemed like a natural thing for us to do. The one place that seemed like a good fit for us was called the Hubbard House. We liked this idea because we would be able to provide, cook and serve a meal to the current residents of the Hubbard House and food is something we “ROCK” at (both eating it and cooking it!)

At this point you may be wondering “just what is Hubbard House” and “what exactly do they do?” Allow me to enlighten you about this wonderful place I speak of. The Hubbard House was founded in 1994 and is actually a beautiful Victorian House located on the Orlando Health Hospitals main campus. Built with love and generous donations from Orlando Health employees, area businesses and kind individuals in our community.The home was designed and built as a “home-away-from-home” for hospital patients families who live outside the Orlando area, and as we learned tonight it also serves as home to patients undergoing chemo, radiation or other treatments who live outside the area. The home provides a safe, affordable and convenient location for families to stay during very traumatic, stressful times in their lives. While their loved ones are cared for in Orlando Health hospitals, families can stay here to be close by their relative or loved one and receive the support they may need in what might otherwise be a very chaotic time of their lives. Hubbard House almost always stays at 100% occupancy and is vital for providing so many, the comfort, love and support they need during this time of their lives. It is a place to sit and relax over a hot meal, a place to lay their head and rest in comfort and a place to connect with others going thru similar situations. In a communal style dining room, Hubbard House feeds the residents hot, home cooked meals each and every day. Often times organizations and volunteer groups come to serve these meals. This is where our group comes in today.

For the past month we have been communicating with a very nice lady by the name of Faye, who coordinates all the volunteer activity at the Hubbard House. We planned our meal ( this is based on feeding a minimum of 50 people) and delegated who was providing which aspect. Today all the efforts of group coordination and generous hearts came together to perform Day 30 of the Pledge of Kindness. While not all of us ladies were able to be together to serve the meal today due to various circumstances….every single one of us played an important part of making this happen. Through the generosity and kindness of my special group of ladies we made this meal to give and serve to others who are carrying very heavy hearts.

This experience exceeded all our expectations. It was so very heartwarming and gratifying to serve these amazing people, who were all so appreciative and thankful for our meal and our service. We got the opportunity to speak with all of those people we were serving. Their situations were all varied but they shared a common bond in that they were all going thru a tough time and just needed a little compassion. One spitfire of a lady even outed my friend for being pregnant (she hadn’t shared this joyous news yet) so that was a funny, happy moment. Tonight we gave of ourselves to serve others. Let me tell you… the amazing feeling that springs into your heart when you volunteer, is unlike any other. We can all get caught up in our own thoughts and the craziness of our own lives but when you give to others all that melts away.

If you would like to learn more about the Hubbard House, how you can help or donations of items you can make please visit their website at http://www.orlandohealth.com/orlandohealth/HealthResources/HubbardHouse.aspx?pid=3338

Everyone has a special talent or a gift of some sort that would benefit someone else. Volunteer opportunities are everywhere and organizations and charities all over the globe are always looking for a helping hand. Do your heart and your community a favor and find an opportunity that matches your passion….and go serve!!