For the second year in a row, mother Darlene Gauthier has kept herself busy filling purses with items she thinks will make homeless women smile.
She calls her mission “Purses Filled with Love.”
“All toiletries, maybe some earrings, a nice necklace, hat, scarf and mitts. Fill it to the top with love. That’s all I want for these ladies,” she said.
It’s her way of making good on a promise she made to God.
“Ten years ago, my daughter was brutally stabbed by an individual — and they told me she wasn’t going to make it and I should hurry to the hospital,” Gathier explained, tears welling up in her eyes.
At the age of 23, Gauthier’s daughter Lacey Macmillan was slashed down her neck. Feeling helpless, Gauthier dropped to the ground.
“I got on my knees and I prayed to God that if he gave me back my daughter, I would serve him.”
Macmillan had lost a significant amount of blood. She died twice in the ambulance on the way to the hospital, but kept being revived.
“God heard my prayers. Because when I got there, she was stable,” Gauthier said.
But that was far from the end of it. Doctors had to put Macmillan into a medically induced coma for a week to aid her recovery.
“I remember waking up in intensive care, with tubes and everything,” Macmillan said.
It took a few years, but Gauthier figured out how she was going to show her gratitude for the way her daughter’s life was saved.
“I noticed five purses, hanging on my door, just sitting there and collecting dust. I thought, ‘Geez, I could fill those purses with what I have and give them to the less fortunate.'”
She started by handing out 30 purses last Christmas. This holiday season, she hopes to be able to give even more. She set a goal of 100 purses.
Recently, she saw a woman carrying one of the purses she gifted a year ago.
“She was carrying it with pride. I looked over at her and I just smiled.”
On Saturday, a large donation came in from the Pay it Forward Foundation.
“Today I brought a bunch of warm socks, lotions, deodorant,” said founder John Tonner. “I thought I’d help her and help her cause because she’d helped with ours. She’s donated her time.”
Gauthier was appreciative of Tonner’s donation, as well as all the others she’s received to date.
“It’s just overwhelming at some points. It’s just like, ‘Wow!'”
She plans to deliver her purses to the homeless downtown on Sundays starting in December.
“This means the world to me. To give back to the less fortunate is my dream,” she said.
She already has plans to expand next Christmas, as well.
“Hopefully next year I can involve the men. Get them a kit with little shavers, the hand-warmers, a toque.”
As for MacMillan, she too is giving back. She’s now a mother of two, and is working to become a nurse — “Because they saved my life.”
She’s proud of her mom, and thankful for how everything turned out.
“I know I got a second chance, because I’m here today and I get to be a mother, be a daughter, be a sister. I’m so so blessed and thankful for my life every day,” Macmillan said.
Donations and questions can be directed to pursesfilledwithlove@gmail.com or sent through Facebook.
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