Age 2 Girl Hands Out Food to Firefighters Battling Raging Wildfires, Including Her Own Family
As an adult, do you ever find yourself sinking toward despair? It’s an easy emotional state to fall into, particularly given the inevitably dire stories the news cycle sends our way.
Political scandals. Cringeworthy crimes. Sad celebrity deaths. And let’s not forget natural disasters. The recent wildfires in California have reminded us that the world truly is a dangerous, broken place.
But I think that despair is a mistake, even given all of this terrible news. Though smoke shrouds the skies of The Golden State, the sun still finds a way to break through.
For instance, think about how one mother’s small, selfless act has become something of an inspiration. Chelsey Lutz has three family members fighting the Carr Fire.
To date, this blaze has swept across roughly 100,000 acres. Over 50,000 people have evacuated, and more than 1,000 homes have burned to the ground.
It’s a dire situation. So when Lutz’s firefighting brother Kody said that he was dying for a burrito, she sprang into action.
She purchased a stack of the tortilla-wrapped treats and had her two-year-old daughter Gracie hand them out. As sweaty, fatigued, ash-flecked firefighters came in from the field, Gracie toddled over with a burrito encased in aluminum foil.
“We just wanted to show our support for them,” Lutz said to CBS News. “We’re just there to help.”
And the family’s help won’t stop there. Lutz added that they plan to return and serve spaghetti.
The Lutzs are far from the only people trying to help in the fire’s aftermath. José Andrés’ World Central Kitchen and the Food Network star Guy Fieri banded together to feed refugees.
They’ve served up gourmet-level grub to thousands. Even better, they’ve done so entirely for free.
Schools in Redding, California, have joined them. They’re working with the city to provide complimentary food to the displaced.
Restaurants across the town of Redding are also chipping in. Even a pet food store is offering free kibble.
Meanwhile, a trio of Eureka, California, children are trying to turn their modest lemonade stand into a relief effort. Mackenzie, Faith, and Ailani Kaufmann plan to use the funds they raise to provide stuffed animals for the refugee children.
“They said that the one thing they would want if their house burnt down was something to snuggle,” their mother, Nikki, Kaufmann explained to Lost Coast Outpost. “So they thought of doing a lemonade stand to raise money to purchase stuffed animals for the kids inside of the evacuation centers, which we will deliver next week.”
Yes, the world is full of suffering, no doubt about it. But it’s heartening to see people step up to do good for their fellow man.
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