'Yellow Balloon Challenge' in West Virginia goes viral with acts of kindness
'Just showing a little act of kindness goes such a long way'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}What started as one simple act of kindness in a small West Virginia town proliferated into a community-wide challenge.
It's called the #YellowBalloonChallenge and it was inspired by Natasha Kable Fogle's 2-year-son, Grayson.
In a tearful Facebook message posted on Friday, Fogle told her followers that a worker at a Party City location in Martinsburg made her son's night by simply acknowledging his presence and then gifting him with a yellow balloon.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}UPS DRIVER DELIVERING SMILES, NOT JUST PACKAGES, TO A DEVASTATED COMMUNITY
Fogle told Fox News that, as a parent, it shocks her how many people don't acknowledge kids in general, and that her son had been having a hard day prior to their trip to the store.
"Just showing a little act of kindness goes such a long way," Fogle said. "It doesn’t have to be anything monetary at all, it could be shoveling someone's walk, saying hi."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Through her Facebook message, Fogle wanted to connect with the cashier to thank her for what she had done.
However, what she didn't realize was that the "community would take it and turn it in a way to spread more kindness to others," she wrote on Facebook.
A local law firm, Catrow Law PLLC, coined it the #YellowBalloonChallenge after seeing Fogle's heartfelt message.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The rules are simple: "say hello to a stranger, shovel a neighbor's driveway, pay for the car behind you ... just make someone else smile," the law firm wrote on Facebook.
To kick off the challenge, Catrow Law paid $100 toward a stranger’s account at Meals on Wheels of Jefferson County and then challenged a local boutique to "to keep the yellow balloon challenge going," according to the firm's Facebook post.
(Two-year-old Grayson (Photo credit: Natasha Kable Fogle))
Studio M Boutique accepted the challenged and donated 10% of its sales one night to a client who had been battling cancer. The acts of kindness continued with the owner of a local restaurant, TJ's Pit Stop, committing to donating to The Boys and Girls Club.
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Many others have already accepted the challenge, Fogle said.
This was never Fogle's intention, although she is blown away by the response they have received. Her hope is that they can "keep the kindness going and spread that feeling around to the rest of the world."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}On Valentine's Day, Fogle and her family picked up yellow balloons, wrote messages on them and prominently displayed them around the community.