NORFOLK, Va. - A plastic brown shopping bag is bringing comfort and help to families in the Ocean View section of the city.
Several neighbors say brown bags showed up at their doorstep over the weekend. The bags were full of school supplies like pencils, folders, notebooks and binder paper, but there was one thing missing: a note saying who it was from.
"I called a friend of mine - it wasn’t her so I didn’t know who it was from; there was no card," explained Brandi Whitman, who found the bag on her front door Saturday morning. "I wanted to give recognition to the person who did it, but I can't."
Whitman's daughter is a rising 6th grader. She's extremely nervous about starting the new school year, but now the family has one less thing to worry about.
"I know tomorrow that besides glue sticks and a book bag, she's covered with everything," said Whitman. "Now we don’t have to worry about that something extra."
Sending reassurance that the new school year will be a successful one, and that Whitman's community is behind her.
"It doesn’t matter that it wasn’t everything on the list. It doesn’t matter that it was this type and not that type; what matters is the thought behind it was genuine and caring for a kid returning to school. Thank you to whatever angel is looking out for me - I appreciate it," Whitman said.
Whitman says some of the supplies left at her doorstop are things her daughter already has, but that won't keep her from bringing the supplies with her on the first day of school.
"If she meets someone who needs an extra notebook, she can pay it forward," she said.
Other neighbors in Ocean View say they also received the bag of school supplies. They plan on using the stranger's kindness as a way to teach their children about giving back.
