Tim Brooks and his girlfriend were at a local restaurant and the way to spend the $100 challenge fell right into his lap. One of the waitresses at the restaurant is a single mom, who works as much as possible, but still needs to be home to watch her 8 year old daughter when a babysitter is not available. Consequently, she struggles to make enough money to pay all of her bills, let alone have any extra spending cash for her and her daughter.
While Tim and his girlfriend were eating and chatting with this waitress, she had a small breakdown. She shared how she had to explain to her daughter why she had to cancel their cable service, and why her daughter could not get new toys like all of her friends. This conversation would not have been easy for any parent to share and it obviously took a toll on her.
Tim knew he wanted to do something for the waitress and/or her daughter; he started thinking of different options. As the bill was being passed on, Tim started telling the waitress about the $100 Challenge, and the desire to do something special for her daughter.
It was decided that a toy shopping spree would be perfect! Over the weekend, the mom told her daughter that they had to go to Toys “R” Us to get a small toy for a birthday party. Tim and his girlfriend met them at the front door of the toy store.
Tim told her daughter that her mother has shared that she has been an extremely good girl recently and deserved to get new toys. The little girl’s reaction was priceless as they watched her pick out the toys she wanted. Everyone had a little fun as well.
The most moving part was when everyone was saying our goodbyes. There were big hugs from the mother and daughter, and as the daughter was getting in the car she says, “Mommy, now we can give my old toys to other kids that need them.”
“Overall, it was a pretty moving way to spend the challenge. I was able to brighten up a little girl’s life as well as, to help a mother give something she normally couldn’t do for her daughter and to hear the daughter say she wanted to give as well.” [By Tim Brooks]
