We continue to hear about the pandemic’s effects across the country.
Cities such as New York, Florida, and Chicago are receiving the majority of the news coverage due to their sheer size and population.
However, we must not forget that residents of small towns in less populous states. Such as those in this Iowa town, are also subject to self-quarantine.
During the spring of 2020, Earlham residents were confined to their homes, feeling alone, and trying to keep positive through the crisis. That’s when something pretty amazing happened…
An anonymous donor distributed $150 in gift cards to every household in the town, which is only 30 miles west of Des Moines.
The gift cards were intended to be used for food and were well received by everyone in the community of just under 1,500 people.
It all started on March 26, 2020, when the town’s mayor, Jeff Lillie, received a phone call from a friend.
The good news was that a donor was looking to contribute money to help the town’s economy.
“I said to him, at 500, you’re darn near giving a gift card to every single household in Earlham,” Lillie told CNN.
“When I told him there were 549 households in town, he said ‘Done.’ And that was it. I was ecstatic because it made sure everyone would get a card.”
One week later, residents of the small town discovered a pleasant surprise in the mail.
They discovered an envelope containing a letter from the city as well as three $50 gift cards.
They were for West Side Bar and Grille, Hometown Market, a grocery store, and Trostel’s Broken Branch, a restaurant and coffee shop.
The anonymous donor purchased 549 gift cards from three small businesses in their town, assisting each of them in raising over $27,000.
The donation had completely overwhelmed the town’s mayor. He knew that people in the town, particularly family-owned businesses and services, had been experiencing severe economic difficulties as a result of the pandemic.
According to him, the cards gave the people of the town a reason to smile and “a way to tell them help is on the way.”
“It came at the end of a couple of really hard weeks,” Lillie shared with CNN while his eyes welled up with tears.
When asked what he would do if he ever found out who the anonymous donor was, the mayor said:
“I would tell them, thank you 549 times. It would be like meeting a hero.”
“I remember going home and walking through the front door, and I couldn’t speak for a minute. I was just crying like a baby, and my little boy saw me and wrapped around my leg and said, ‘Daddy what’s wrong?’ And eventually, I was able to choke it out: ‘Buddy, right now, for once, nothing’s wrong.'”
Trostel’s Broken Branch was the newest of the three small businesses involved.
It was about to open its doors to the public when the state’s governor, Kim Reynolds, ordered all non-essential businesses to close on March 17 until further notice.
“We were in the middle of interviews for our employees, hiring some waitstaff and trying to get everything ready,” restaurant owner Jennifer Trostel told CNN.
https://www.facebook.com/jentrostel/photos/149642049976604
“Just about then, everything closed down. It hit right when we were going to open our restaurant.” “It gave us hope,” she said.
“To be able to pay our bills and know that it’s OK, we don’t have to close our doors forever. We’ll be here when this is over. I don’t think we could be able to say that without the donation.”
Watch WHO13’s news story below to learn more about this anonymous person’s kindness!
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