Kate’s acts of kindness help moms in need achieve their dreams
After the heartbreak of losing her husband and falling on hard times, Kate Peabody and her son, Khaifa, have flourished thanks to many helping hands. Today, she’s paying the amazing kindness shown to her forward— offering a helpful hand up to other moms in need!
Do you know where I can get a car seat?” a caller asked Pensacola, Florida, social worker Kate Peabody. The woman on the phone was not one of Kate’s clients, but the grandmother, who was raising two grandchildren, just didn’t know where else to turn.
Unfortunately, the agency didn’t have the budget to provide goods, but Kate felt compelled to help the woman and told her she’d meet her at Walmart.
“You’re an angel!” the grateful mom thanked Kate, who purchased a car seat for her.
“I’ve been where you are now,” Kate said. “And I never could have made it without helping hands from so many others. You’re my first opportunity I’ve had to pay that love forward.”
The blessing of kindness
Kate had been in the U.S. studying journalism when civil war broke out in her homeland of Liberia, and her family lost everything. “My father can’t pay anymore tuition,” she’d told her professor who, impressed with her abilities, had become Kate’s mentor.
“You’re not quitting,” the professor had insisted, getting Kate’s fees waived and finding her a slot in the school’s work-study program.
Deeply grateful, Kate had studied hard and, after graduation, got a job at a Pensacola newspaper, where she’d met and eventually married fellow refugee Alvin. But not long after their son, Khaifa, was born, Alvin fell ill. “Your kidneys are failing,” the doctor had pronounced to the stricken couple. Soon, Kate’s husband could no longer work, and for a year the family had lived on Kate’s single paycheck before she was laid off.
Unable to find another job, Kate had come across a local university starting a social work master’s program.
Kate had decided to apply and not only got in, but was given free tuition and a stipend. And the help didn’t stop there.
“Save your gas money and ride with me,” her classmate Tricia had invited.
“I’ll drop Khaifa off at school!” a neighbor had offered, as another friend shuttled Alvin to and from medical appointments.
Groceries and gift cards had appeared regularly on the family’s doorstep, and when the local food bank offered free garden plots, the couple’s friends, Anna and Bill, had helped Kate plant so she had fresh vegetables.
They’d also celebrated when Kate received her MSW and months later, sat long nights with Kate during Alvin’s final hours.
After his passing, Kate had pieced her life back together, but never forgot those who’d helped her.
Someday, I’m going to pay the love forward, she’d vowed, and when she got the call from the grandmother in need, she knew the time had come to fulfill that promise.
“You have everybody inside this village, this community, with one hand touching another, pulling up one another,” she told her sisters, Elizabeth and Louise. “I want to do more to help people in need.” And with their help, Kate launched the nonprofit Thevillagehands (Thevillagehands.org).
Paying it forward
Setting up a The Village Hands Facebook page to connect moms in need with baby clothes, furniture and other donated goods, Kate’s vision started to become a reality. New mom Rachell Wiley was laid off from her waitressing job in the pandemic, but her infant son, Silas, was still growing. “He needs winter clothes,” she told Kate, who arrived with two huge bags of clothes, one for now and a second with bigger sizes for him to grow into. She also brought books and toys…and, most important, hope. “When it’s time to go back to work, what’s your dream job?” Kate asked. “To become a phlebotomist,” Rachell replied. “But I’d have to work and go back to school. I’m not sure I could do that and raise Silas.” But after Kate shared her story, Rachell thought, Maybe with help, I can. Currently, Kate offers a helping hand to 27 moms and 66 children. Khaifa, now 23, helps her collect and deliver donations, organizing the furniture, toys and boxes of baby clothes waiting for new homes.
“I want these moms to grow wings of their own and soar,” Kate smiles. “Because I am proof that with a little help and love, we can all achieve our dreams.”
“I want to help these moms to grow wings of their own and soar!”