Kindness Crates continue to spread hope, positivity

Even small acts of kindness make big differences.

This is the tagline of Kindness Crates, a care package program 2021 Coeur d'Alene High School graduate Adrienne Roads created for her senior capstone project.

"They're called 'Kindness Crates' because every one that they get, there's a challenge inside to do something kind for somebody else," Roads, 20, said Tuesday.

Two years after initiating this goodwill-spreading program, Roads reported she has sent more than 100 of the positivity-packed packages to kids in nearly 30 states. The boxes contain items such as fuzzy socks, fidget toys, bracelets, stuffed animals, coloring supplies and stickers, and never come with allergy-triggering food, candy, fragrances or perishable products. Every Kindness Crate also gets a smiley face squishy ball, always yellow to represent Roads' favorite color.

The Press covered Roads' project in a May 2021 article.

"After we did our interview last time, Kindness Crates started to really blow up and people wanted to support it," Roads said. "But I was so sick I had to put it on hold, and I actually almost died a couple months later. I got the treatment I needed so I didn’t die, obviously, because otherwise, I wouldn’t be here. So Kindness Crates was on indefinite hold up until a year ago March."

Roads has dealt with a long list of health disorders and conditions, including Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, which causes her to have overly flexible joints and fragile skin.

"It’s been interesting," she said. "We’re still in the process of finding out what’s completely wrong with my legs. I’m now 100% full-time wheelchair, I still have a feeding tube. I have a semi-permanent IV. It’s a lot."

And yet, she is dedicated to Kindness Crates and sending boxes of colorful, uplifting, personalized items to kids and young people just like her. Applicants tell her a bit about themselves and what they're going through, and Roads hand-picks and hand-stuffs items into the Kindness Crates with handwritten messages and inspirational Bible verses to help the recipients feel a little better about their circumstances.

"I’ve gotten a lot of messages saying things like, ‘I’ve been having a hard time and a bad day and this just came right at the perfect time,' things like that," Roads said. "Sometimes moms have messaged me, and they’ve been like, ‘Thank you so much, my daughter feels really lonely.'"

She is especially determined to send Kindness Crates to young people who are terminal or on hospice care.

"Nothing is going to stop me from getting that done, to the point that my mom literally brought supplies to the hospital so I could make it," Roads said, describing how even when she was in the hospital herself, she had to finish a crate for a young patient.

"I am not going to get the email that she died," Roads said. "It was really hard, too, because she was dying of basically what I have."

She said it's surreal thinking about all the young people who have received her crates.

"I had a big huge bag of the squishy balls and I recently ran out," she said. "Suddenly, I was like, 'Each squishy ball face is an actual face, there's a person behind every ball that went out.' I was like, 'That's a lot of people.' So it was really surreal, but also honoring, because it doesn't feel like I'm doing that much."

It costs a little over $10 to send one care package anywhere in the U.S. Much of what Roads incorporates into the crates is donated by generous supporters. She is also sponsored by the nonprofit Melodic Caring Project, which supports patients and others battling illness and isolation around the world.

"It is really easy to get self-centered when you're sick, and honestly, it gets exhausting," Roads said. "You have to think about your health all the time."

Her mom, Mindy Roads, said she's proud of her daughter.

"She's been able to be selfless through her own stuff and have compassion for other people," Mindy said.

Through Kindness Crates, Roads is able to focus on sharing happiness and positivity with others, which, in turn, helps her heart, too. Her kindness challenge to others: "Can you remember a time when someone did something kind for you for no reason other than to be kind? You are probably smiling right now as you remember them and what they did. Ready for a challenge? Go be that person for someone else! Your kindness won't only make them smile today, but every time they remember you and what you did for them! Even small acts of kindness make big differences. Go be kind today!"

Email kindnesscrates@gmail.com or visit @kindness.crates on Instagram.