How $100 Cheered Up 50 Black Friday Workers

By Kaler Carpenter

"Working on Thanksgiving is no fun. We appreciate your hard work. Here is $2, we hope this act of kindness brightens your holiday. God bless, from your friends at The Redemption Movement."

This was written on the inside of 50 handmade Thank You cards given to Black Friday workers in Oneonta NY, along with a $2 bill and another card about God's love. With Black Friday sales pushed back to Thanksgiving, we saw an opportunity to do an act of kindness for workers that had to spend the holiday away from their families.

This AoK was near and dear to mine and Laura's hearts because we have both worked a combined 11 years in retail, including our share of Black Fridays. In preparation for this outreach, our new church spent the two previous months doing weekly acts of kindnesses that didn't take money from the outreach budget (like leaf raking and giving free rides to downtown bar patrons). We also raised additional funds from social media. Come Thanksgiving we had saved up $100 for this act of kindness!

We broke the $100 down to 50 two-dollar bills, and with the help of volunteers, we handmade fifty Thank You cards. When Thanksgiving rolled around, we put the cards together and went out to brave the crowds.

Our first stop was Stewarts' Shop at the end of River Street. We gave a card to the cashier, who admitted that he was bummed out today and this really made him feel better.

Our next stop was the epicenter of Black Friday shopping, Walmart.

Thanksgiving 2013 at Walmart, Oneonta, NY

It was 7pm on Thanksgiving and the parking lot was so full that the customers were parking on the grass. We right away begin giving Thank You cards to the workers pushing carts and directing traffic in the 20 degree weather. They were appreciative and I enjoyed reconnecting with some of my former coworkers.

Sharing God's love in the dairy aisle.

We then entered the store and began approaching Walmart workers; who were easy to spot due to the bright yellow vests they were wearing for the occasion. Most of the workers were very appreciative, yet there were a few that turned us down because it's Walmart's policy to not accept tips. To avoid future turn downs, we folded the money so that it wasn't sticking out of the card. This strategy worked and we ended up passing out cards to 35 Walmart workers in one hour.

The best experience I had at Walmart was with an old coworker and friend who had been following the activity of our church on Facebook. Upon seeing us, he got excited and began telling his coworker about our church and all the different outreaches we do for the community. It was really encouraging to talk with someone that's excited about the ministry I do week-in and and week-out. The encourager received encouragement!  

Laura showing the staff at McDonalds God's love.

Before leaving Walmart, we payed the McDonalds inside of Walmart a visit. Laura gave four cards away to workers that looked busy due to the Black Friday rush.

It was now 8pm and the Southside Mall across the parking lot was beginning their Black Friday sales. Laura and I took our 10 remaining cards and gave them out to workers in JC Penney, The Shoe Dept., Olympia Sports, and Subway.

For the most, all the workers we gave cards to were appreciative as evidenced by the smiles on their faces. But the best reaction we got was from the worker we gave our 50th card to (a sign to me that God was guiding our steps). When I gave this young lady the card, her countenance instantly changed from "retail-friendly" to "awww, holding back tears."

She then put out her arms, gave me a big hug, and told me about how hard today was because she was unable to spend it with her family. She then asked me lots of questions about the church and exclaimed how much better this made her feel!

The most difficult part of the night was having to stop because we ran out of cards and money. This act of kindness was a fun and powerful way to share God's love with 50 people, and we really look forward to doing it again next year with more funds and more volunteers so we can reach even more people.

The Redemption Movement does a different act of kindness every Sunday. If you want to help, be sure to check out Friday's post on our Facebook page in order to find out what AoK we're doing next. Or you can hear about our outreach plans firsthand by attending our weekly Friday Evening Gathering, as well as hear a testimony about how the previous week's AoK went. Serving others with kindness is a wonderful way to share God's love. You are welcome to join us. Feel free to contact us for more details.