A Story of Kindness and Charity

I’d like to share a story with you about two good families in DuPage County. The names are made up, but the story is a very true tale of kindness and charity..

Three weeks ago, Tom and his wife, Jenny, purchased a queen-sized mattress set for their bedroom. Their old mattress set was clean, and still in decent condition; it seemed a waste to throw it out. Tom decided that he would list it on Craigslist, and give it away for free. The next morning, at about 4:30AM, he listed the item before getting ready to go to work for the day. Within minutes, Tom received an email requesting the mattress. Tom was surprised at how quickly an interested response came in, and he could sense some desperation in the message. The email came from 28 year-old Matt Hagen.

Matt is the married father of three small children. He was laid-off in late July and has been struggling to find a job since. In addition to losing his job, Matt and his family lost nearly everything (furniture, clothing, bedding, and more) they owned in this summer’s major flooding. The $800 he received from FEMA did little to get Matt and his family back on their feet. Matt was able to track down beds for his children, but he and his wife had been sleeping on an air-mattress for more than a month. Tom’s old mattress was much needed and appreciated.

Tom informed his wife, Jenny, of Matt’s situation and she had an idea. Jenny’s aunt had recently passed away, leaving an entire house-full of possessions behind. Jenny had scheduled to meet a local charity representative at her aunt’s house to take any items they wanted. She cancelled that meeting, and Tom phoned Matt.

Tom, his wife, and Matt and his wife, drove from different ends of DuPage County to meet at Jenny’s aunt’s house. The furnishings in the home were a bit dated, but in excellent condition overall. Matt and his wife were nearly reduced to tears when Tom informed them they could take anything they wanted from the house. Tom and Jenny (and some of their friends) spent the rest of the weekend helping Matt and his wife move. In addition to all they had already done, Jenny contacted friends and family looking for kids clothing. She was able to track down plenty of hand-me-down kids clothes for each of Matt’s kids.

Matt is working temporary jobs right now, but is still seeking permanent employment. He and his wife are grateful for all of the help that Tom and Jenny gave them.

It’s good to know that there are people like Tom and Jenny in our community.