Delivering Kindness This Holiday Season

This time of year, USPS, UPS, Amazon, and FedEx employees arguably work even harder than Santa’s elves. Take a moment to think about all the packages that have arrived at our doorsteps over the past month or so. It is exhausting just thinking about it, let alone imagining the work that went into making those deliveries happen. The next time you see a mail or delivery person, give them a friendly wave and a thank-you. Or if you want to really elevate your “acts of kindness,” be inspired by one local good Samaritan. 

Postal worker Akan was all smiles after he received a package of candy from one of the residents on his route. He likes delivering The Buzz Magazines every month.

Mallory Rissmiller stays busy keeping up with her three daughters, Lilly (a student at Pin Oak Middle), Clara and Scarlett (students at Mark Twain Elementary), and husband, Brian. On Dec. 21, Mallory was running some errands while the girls were in school. She was dropping off some Christmas cards when she spotted a brown UPS vehicle hooked up to a tow truck.  

“While I was at the West U post office, I watched six UPS workers unload a broken-down UPS filled with Santa Sleigh items, I am sure! I felt an overwhelming calling to treat them to lunch, and ran over to a local store to pick up lunches. They were so excited and grateful! The two ladies had tears in their eyes.”  

Mallory encourages others to take a moment to be grateful. “I just want to remind people to be kind to our delivery and retail industry workers – they are working so hard right now! So, as you get those boxes on your porch, be thankful and remember we are all stressed and busy so be kind to those in the retail and delivery industry! Leave a snack or water for them!”

As Mallory suggests, another possible gesture is leaving a note of appreciation and some treats on your front porch. Recently, I saw a FedEx and a postal worker and asked if anyone had ever left something for them; they both said no, but that it sure would be nice.  In addition to drinks, they suggested prepackaged snacks like chips, but said that anything would be great.

An appreciative homeowner leaves out some drinks and snacks to thank delivery people.

One porch snack angel shared, “I put a little treat table outside the front door with a sign for all the delivery folks. The sign says, ‘You deliver, so we deliver.’ I put pictures of all the different company trucks on it. I have various canned beverages and packaged snacks for them. I've had some of the folks write nice little ‘Thank you’ notes on the packages and letters. It's nice to know I'm making their day.”

Another family who puts a box of goodies on the front porch said the drivers are always so thankful and they love when the drivers leave a message on their Ring camera.

An easy way to thank Amazon drivers is to type “thank my driver” in the Amazon app search or ask Alexa. The driver for the last Amazon delivery to your house will get a thank-you message. Amazon sponsored an employee contest this month with special prizes for the delivery driver that gets the most thank-you messages.  The “thank my driver” feature is available through Dec. 31. 

Just a special holiday reminder that delivering any little kindness goes a long way…especially ones sent with care.