As school begins, many teachers and librarians are trying to make sure they have all the supplies they will need for their students—especially when many schools are making masks optional as COVID-19 cases begin to spike again.
North Carolina middle school librarian Brittany Gendron is no exception. When her school district made masks optional, Gendron knew she needed to do something to keep her library safe and help slow the spread.
With items like sanitizing wipes, PPE, sanitizer, air purifiers, and so much more on her Amazon wish list, Gendron began asking her community to donate supplies and money to keep her students safe. But as open house night got closer, Gendron started to feel the pressure of not having sufficient supplies to keep her library and students safe.
That’s when Gendron sent a heartfelt tweet and Amazon wish list to a favorite actress and comedian, Leslie Jones, in hopes that someone would help her.
By the end of the day, Jones had taken care of Gendron’s list of supplies. Then tweeting Gendron back, “I cleared the list. Hope it helps!”
Gendron was in so much shock that she ended up crying tears of joy as she mentions in her next tweet.
I’m crying happy tears for the first time today. I’m such a forever fan of yours already… And this is just beyond generous. Thank you, times a million, to infinity ❤️❤️❤️❤️ pic.twitter.com/RQkHrds443
— Brittany Gendron (@MsG_PagebyPage) August 17, 2021
Leslie Jones’s act of kindness moved other social media users to do the same, and soon more people were donating to Gendron’s library.
Jones is no stranger to acts of kindness though. Along with charitable things she does on her own time, Jones is also the host and an executive producer of the game show Supermarket Sweep where they donate unused food to local charities and food banks.
If there is only one thing we learned from 2020, it is the importance of helping each other during hard times. Leslie Jones has always been a fan favorite; she just keeps getting better.
Make sure to check out how you can safely help your local communities as COVID-19 cases spike and school starts up again.