Do you believe little things make a difference?
If you don’t have a car and use public transport, it could be really annoying to literally wait on foot, especially when you’re already tired, a senior citizen, or a PWD.
This is what James Warren realized.
One day, Warren was strolling when he saw something that really bothered him.
A woman sitting in the dirt.
She was clearly waiting for the bus to arrive and she was too tired to keep standing.
“I thought, oh, that’s simply undignified,” Warren told CBC.
Warren knows how hard it is to wait for the bus.
A few years back, he gave up his car and started using public transport.
He felt bad because the elderly woman shouldn’t be sitting in the dirt.
If only there were benches available.
That’s what he said to himself and that’s when he realized he could actually make this dream come true.
It was a simple act of kindness to help someone.
Warren thought, to make a difference, he should be the one to do it.
Little did he know, his idea will go viral.
As he went home that day, he gathered all the scrap wood he could find on a nearby construction site.
He built his very first bench.
Since he grew up with tools, he had learned the basic skills needed to build the bench.
He carried the bench and left it at the bus stop at the beginning of this year.
It didn’t stop there.
Did you know that, with over 9,000 bus stops in Denver, Colorado alone, you won’t see hardly any seats available for the people waiting?
Can you imagine standing and waiting?
Waiting on a bus can easily take anywhere from 15 to 45 minutes, not taking potential delays into account.
Warren has built eight different benches since January and each bench looks different from the others because he uses recycled materials.
All are sturdily made with love.
He puts a signature on each bench but it’s not his initials.
Rather, it’s the words “Be kind”.
Two very simple words serve as a small reminder for everyone who comes across it.
Being kind will cost you nothing.
Because it’s free, you can give it to everyone.
“Sometimes it’s difficult to really make a change in the world around us, or it can feel really difficult to make a change in the world around us,” Warren shared.
Unfortunately, some of his benches have either been graffitied or stolen, but it doesn’t bother him.
According to him, he’s done his part and he is no longer responsible for how other people react to community properties.
Though, he hopes people would see the real meaning of his pledge.
Questions about legality?
The management of the RTD or the Denver Regional Transportation District (RTD) had seen the viral project.
Though it’s considered unauthorized, they’ll let Warren be.
After all, it helps the community and is indeed a good project.
Warren’s pledge had indeed inspired so many people and many have created their own groups and started donating benches as well.
Seeing this, Warren’s heart is overjoyed.
His simple idea inspired many.
And each bench is helping people.
You see, a little act of kindness could do so much as it spreads.
So don’t think that if you do something kind or good, it would go unnoticed.
It doesn’t matter if you start alone or with the little that you have, even if your act helps only one person, then that’s already a big difference.
Learn more about the ripple effect Warren’s kindness has inspired in the video below!
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