Kindness Collaborative spreading help in the Merrimack Valley

ANDOVER, Mass. — It’s simple, but incredibly impactful. People helping people one kind act at a time. They come from all walks of life and all ages.

“We have helpers as young as six and as old as 89-years-old,” said Melissa Marrama.

Marrama and three friends launched the Kindness Collaborative from their Andover homes in March, shortly after COVID-19 hit. They started out by leaving food, masks and sanitizer in baskets on their front steps, and the project took-off from there.

“Whether it’s Mr. Rogers saying when there is a crisis look for the helpers, that’s what this Kindness Collaborative is. It is helpers and everyone has something to contribute,” she said.

The Kindness Collaborative works across the Merrimack Valley to help others one good deed at a time. There are more than a thousand volunteers collecting donations and distributing them to people in need. They’ve had volunteers build dozens of doll houses for children who are less fortunate, distributed masks and scrubs for nurses and other healthcare workers and have given away backpacks and school supplies to students in need.

The Kindness Collaborative is also heavily involved with the homeless community. They collect and donate clothing and toiletries and have scores of volunteers making sandwiches.

“We send out 100 meals a week that get distributed directly to the streets in Lawrence. We’ve done almost five-thousand meals since this started,” said Jen Puslifer.

The Kindness Collaborative is doing a cereal drive this week. The goal was to collect 2,021 boxes of cereal. So far, they’ve collected more than 4,000 boxes.

If you’re interested in donating to the Kindness Collaborative, click here.

Cox Media Group