I consider myself to be an optimistic person. My glass is generally at least half-full, if not, nudging three-quarters. Where does this optimism stem from? Very often, it’s generated by the lovely people I work with at Supershoes. For a start, they’re all volunteers. This means they give their precious time for no other reason than they genuinely want to help. They bring their big hearts and pour their love into what we do. And it shows. As you may know, our office is not big, so many of our volunteers, particularly our 200 Super Artists, work from home and are spread all over the country. The Super Team is a nationwide network of wonderful people, always ready to jump in and help us to keep our promises.
There’s no better example of honouring your promises than the amazing story I wanted to share with you today. Our Supershoes are so valuable, so we take particular care to send them tracked from Super Artist to us and on to super brave children via special delivery. After all the thought, love and exceptional skill that goes into producing them, it’s the very least we can do. But every so often, something goes wrong…..
It happened recently to a pair of Supershoes destined for a child at the end of their life. The beautiful shoes were created with extra special love by Super Artist Liz and posted back. Super Artist Liz fulfilled her promise. She made a gift to treasure. She returned them to us, just as she’s done with so many other pairs.
And then the unthinkable happened.
They didn’t arrive back with us.
For all its critics, Facebook can be a powerful tool, and within an hour of me raising the alarm, Super Artist Amanda had managed to source a pair of plain Converse trainers from her local Office, and spent that evening creating a second pair. Less than 18 hours later, the very important Supershoes were couriered from Amanda to the child who deserved them so much.
I’m so proud of both of these Super Artists. My heart goes out to Liz, who knew the circumstances around the Supershoes she was painting. She put a very special part of herself into them and she was devastated when they didn’t arrive. My gratitude goes to Amanda, who became the inadvertent hero of the day to make sure the magic still happened. The messaging between the two of them while this was all happening was so beautiful. They now share a very special experience, and have done so with professionalism, grace and a lot of love.
Every pair of Supershoes tells its own, poignant story of a very sick child, a courageous, supportive family and a brave battle that sometimes goes on for years and is won, and sometimes, despite everyone’s best efforts, is lost. Our Supershoes are laced with hope, and all we can hope for, with this particularly magical pair, is that they brought a smile and maybe a little glimmer of happiness when it was most needed.
Until next time, with peace, love and gratitude
Sarah xx