It All
Grows Back
To You

Alyssa Hickman

My name is Alyssa Hickman and I live in Palmetto, Florida. My wife always puts everybody first. Her main job is to help homeless veterans. She’s an outreach specialist. She goes out into the field and finds homeless veterans, gets their information, and helps them get off the streets. A lot of them can’t go into shelters because they have animals, and most shelters don’t allow animals. So she founded a program that fosters animals while they’re in the shelter until they can get their own housing. She comes from a long line of family veterans, so it hits home for her to get them off the streets and where they need to be.

Featured Story: Reece Berry

I’m Reece Berry. Last year, my family and I were trying to plan a trip to Disney. We used to go all the time, but passes got too expensive. We had old passes that had expired, so we were trying to figure out if we could renew our expired pass instead of buying brand new tickets. We called, and after a lot of work, the lady on the phone helped us through it. She didn’t know it, but at the time, my sister was dealing with cancer, so it was really important for us to go. She could have ended the conversation and said our passes were expired, so she didn’t have to help us out, but it went a long way. With dealing with hospital bills and everything else, we didn’t want to pay for a brand new ticket. And she didn’t even know what was going on but still helped us out. She changed our life without even knowing it.

Featured Story: Garvey Fils-Aime

My name is Garvey Fils-Aime. In college, I was initially an electrical engineering major. My RA helped me make the decision to switch majors after he saw me crying and having a mental breakdown because I flunked out of engineering. He helped me get better and realize it wasn’t the end of the world. That was one of the nicest things a person has ever done for me, and he made me become the person I am today. He helped me realize I could have a career in business, so because of him, I now have a career as an auditor and am enjoying life.

Featured Story: Tammy, Rob and Axel

We moved here from Las Vegas about a year and a half ago to open a business, and we didn’t really know anyone. Opening the business had been pretty challenging with having a young baby, and I was pregnant at the time. We had some really wonderful neighbors when we first moved in, and they helped monumentally. They helped us babysit and picked him up from daycare. I don’t know how we could have managed without them. They’ve become family to us. They still watch Axel on Wednesdays, and they call it “Wacky Wednesdays with Axel.” They really love spending time with him, and it means a lot to us.

Featured Story: Lisa Schmid

My name is Lisa Schmid and I’ve had many people who have done acts of kindness to me that have really touched my heart. And I believe I’ve done many acts of kindness that come from my heart. Somebody that I didn’t know very well, her husband was dying and was in hospice. They had no family or friends, and once I heard that, I couldn’t unhear it. So I moved in with them for about four days and looked after her. While she was concentrating on her husband, I was able to cook for her, walk her dog, make food and just give her comfort to make what she was doing more bearable. I was there for her when he passed and in the following weeks. We’re still in touch, we have a bond, but I know that she’s never forgotten that. So I have a little piece of that in my heart.

Featured Story: Soukkho Khambay

My name is Soukkho Khambay and for my birthday every year, I want to do one good thing for someone else. This year, I went to lunch with my husband, and there was an older lady sitting by herself. I asked the waiter if we could pay for this lovely lady’s lunch. After she had her lunch, she came over and thanked us. She said she really appreciated it because her husband had just died a couple weeks ago, and this was her first time out trying to live and just be by herself. To me it was just lunch, but that act of kindness meant so much to her. Something so small can mean so much to someone else.

Featured Story: Maya Brown

As told by 7th + Grove

Maya Brown has been such a light to 7th + Grove. She’s been there since day one, and she saved us during the pandemic. When businesses weren’t fully open, Maya consistently informed us about the ever-changing legislation. Almost every day, we would hear something new about what we could or couldn’t do. It was challenging to sift through the legal jargon and understand how it affected what we should do as a business. We were in a tight situation, and Maya campaigned for us. She acted as a consultant and liaison to city council commissioners, talked to lawyers on our behalf, and saved our business from potentially being closed.

When we think of somebody who has been kind to us, who has been generous and gentle, and is loving and leads with their heart, we think of Maya Brown.