Brenda Dorosz checks donations in the Osoyoos Gift Cupboard. The cupboard marks its second anniversary Oct. 15. (Michele Weisz photo)
The Osoyoos Gift Cupboard is celebrating its second anniversary on Oct. 15.
To mark the occasion, organizers Brenda Dorosz and Jen Shiels plan a random-acts-of-kindness campaign to promote the program’s philosophy of spreading kindness.
Dorosz says that there is no limit to what that act can be. Photos of the random acts that are posted to the organization’s Facebook site will be entered into a draw. The winner will receive a $20 gift card from Tim Horton’s.
The Gift Cupboard is a small wooden cabinet next to The Art Gallery Osoyoos. People needing an item can help themselves. Those donating items leave them at several drop-offs at Osoyoos businesses.
Dorosz says it has been a rewarding two years.
“We weren’t sure how successful we were going to be, but we feel very fortunate.”
Notwithstanding a few minor, negative incidents, the program has flourished and has been embraced and respected by the community.
The Gift Cupboard came from an idea that began in the United States. Dorosz and Shiels heard of the grassroots program and decided that there was a need for it in Osoyoos.
“People think we don’t have homeless, but we have people living in cars,” says Dorosz.
She says that there are a lot more people in need than she initially realized.
Some of the items that Dorosz and Shiels try to keep in stock are diapers, shampoo and other everyday items. Dorosz also adds colouring books, crayons and other fun items when she can. Every day the items change.
The program is not just for those who are vulnerable. It is for everyone. “You could be a millionaire and need a Band-Aid because you cut your finger…It’s there for whoever wants to use it,” says Dorosz.
In summer, Dorosz and Shiels try to stock laundry detergent for the seasonal workers and those who may be travelling through town.
With winter approaching, Dorosz and Shiels are starting to collect much-needed cold weather items. In the past they have tried to stock the cupboard with socks, toques, mittens, scarves and hand-warmers. When they are available, sleeping bags are placed into the cupboard.
The Gift Cupboard, and all of its contents, is made possible entirely by donations. Some people donate items while others donate money. The donations come both from local businesses and individual community members.
“The residents are very generous,” says Dorosz. One year a woman from the community dropped off a $200 prepaid credit card, while an elderly man, who bumped into Dorosz at the grocery store, handed her $50.
“It often brings tears to our eyes,” Dorosz says.
“Everybody can’t afford to donate, but when you’re going grocery shopping, if you get two extra things of toothpaste and drop them off at a donation site, that’ll go to somebody in need.”
Above all else, the program’s goal is anonymity. A lot of the donations are made anonymously and Dorosz and Shiels are especially protective about the anonymity of those who take from the cupboard. Dorosz says that the Gift Cupboard is about non-judgment.
“Stop by, take something that you need,” says Dorosz. “Even if you don’t need it you’re welcome to take it,” she adds.
When she is not restocking the cupboard, Dorosz tries to bring “just a little sunshine in everybody’s day” when she can.
This summer she walked down Main Street carrying 20 Iced Capps that she handed out to random community members. Just because.
“It’s just spreading kindness,” Dorosz says. “A little gift from the Gift Cupboard.”
Information about the anniversary draw will be posted to the Osoyoos Gift Cupboard’s Facebook page.
MICHELE WEISZ
Osoyoos Times
Brenda Dorosz is a co-founder of the Osoyoos Gift Cupboard program. The program will be celebrating its second anniversary in October. Dorosz or her partner stop at the cupboard daily to make sure that it is well-stocked with items for the community. (Michele Weisz photo)
