Kindness is like a yawn – impossible to stop and highly contagious. The same is true for the incredibly powerful and often handmade Blessing Boxes.
The Birth of The Blessing Box
On May 17, 2016, a box was born. Vicki Groomer of Ardmore, Oklahoma received a picture from a friend. In the photograph, she saw a public box filled with food. That’s when she had a vision, felt moved to act, and made history. Less than a month later, Groomer met with the women of her church to agree on a concept and a name. The women decided to build a food donation box and dedicate it to God. Soon after, her daughter created a slogan that would describe the box’s purpose succinctly to all who stumbled upon it: “Take what you need. Bring what you can. Above all, be blessed.” (1)
Blessing Box Basics
A Blessing Box is a handmade box that’s placed in a public place, usually on a street corner. People in the community donate non-perishable food items, toiletries, and other necessities to the boxes. Then, when a person or family is in need, they can take what they need from the box. Eventually, those same borrowers might pay it forward and restock the Blessing Box once they have enough to share, thereby continuing the cycle of kindness. The beauty of the Blessing Box is that volunteers stock it regularly, while those who are in need can remain anonymous and take from it at any time – day or night. Of course, this anonymity helps prevent the feelings of shame that often accompany accepting charity or asking for donations. (1)
The Inspiration Behind The Boxes
In 2009, the Blessing Box’s predecessor came into being. Wisconsin man Tod Bol believed that everyone should have access to free books. One day, he built a tiny wooden structure in the form of a schoolhouse, filled it up with books, and left it on his front lawn. Bol built the small box for people to “take a book and leave a book,” much like a miniature no-hassle library. A year later, his creation became Little Free Library, a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. By 2019, there were more than 90,000 Little Free Libraries on roadsides all around the world. (1)
Man On A Mission
Roman Espinoza is the latest person to help spread human kindness in the form of a Blessing Box. A veteran who now lives in New York, Espinoza went so far as to place a Blessing Box on his own lawn. As soon as he placed the box in front of his house, other community members wanted to do the same. In a short amount of time, Espinoza’s neighbors followed his lead, and his town built more than 20 Blessing Boxes! (1)
An International Phenomenon
One woman’s quest to show compassion for her fellow humans has turned into an international phenomenon. The Blessing Box is a simple concept based on human kindness, and it’s spreading. More than 12,000 people follow the Blessing Box Facebook page, many sharing stories of their own town’s journey to implementing Blessing Boxes. Blessing Boxes are even spreading around the world, from Canada to the Philippines to numerous African countries – proof that kindness is indeed contagious. (1)
