There is something about the sort of dusky magic coating one’s treasure trove full of trinkets — those sentimental items handed down from relatives or collected, such as Random Acts supporter Ashley Perry’s. The time-capsule essence tied to her collection remained important for a long while.
Benevolent Trinkets 
A kind musing roamed around in Ashley’s mind three years ago. The setting was downtown St. Charles, Missouri. She interacted with several people who were experiencing homelessness, which opened her eyes to the deep need for community resources. From there, she collected a few knick-knacks to curate “kindness bags,” dispersing them around the city. Those few soon turned to many, furthering her benevolent Pandora’s box. She gifted over 500 items to a local homeless shelter during her first Kindness Act grant that Random Acts sponsored last year.
Goodwill Pandora’s Box
This time around, Ashley donated 800 wish-list items to Youth In Need, benefiting their Runaway/Homeless Youth Program. She found some items on Amazon, others with the help of promotional social media posts. Using three boxes taller than herself, she hand-delivered them. “Meeting Youth In Need’s Development Assistant, Ronnie, was real special,” she said fondly. “We had been emailing for about two months leading up to this project. It was great to finally meet the individual I had been working with and to see her reaction and gratitude for the many donation items I was able to bring in.”
Additionally, Ashley finds such relationships beneficial in creating a boomeranged goodwill. “This life is too hard to do it alone; we must all link together to create a more kind society,” she said.
