The holiday of Thanksgiving has inspired a Calgary woman to start a very personal project of giving. Brianna Kelly created the initiative four years ago.
“Giving is selfish because I do it for me.
“It’s great other people get something but it fills my heart,” Kelly said.
In 2017, Kelly put a message on social media, asking for donations and recruited friends to help her fill boxes of food for Thanksgiving dinner tables. The boxes are for those facing financial challenges.
“As of this morning, I have 243 emails from families in need and it’s probably doubled since then,” Kelly said.
This year, she has time and resources for 120 boxes she has affectionately named “Olive boxes,” after her generous grandmother who passed away in 2017.
“Grandma Olive was one of the most kind, caring women I ever met. She was the last person to sit down at dinner and first to get up. She wanted to be sure everybody had what they needed,” Kelly said.
“After she passed, I found out she was silently donating to the women’s shelter in Prince George, B.C. for over 30 years.”
“She insisted, even when she was losing her memory to Alzheimer’s, that someone would drive her there so she could give them a cheque personally to be used for a Christmas party for the women.
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“They renamed it ‘Olive’s Branch.'”
Kelly said she does this annual tradition with Grandma Olive always on her mind.
“I think she would have been really proud. She was an incredible woman.”
Kelly’s friend Nancy Hoeght volunteered to help on the project.
“I love the idea of spreading the legacy of Olive’s love and just the idea of doing something with no expectations,” Hoeght said.
Nik Thierry also volunteered his time to help deliver the boxes over the last four years.
“It got more emotional than people anticipated.
“At the doorsteps you don’t know who you’re going to meet on the other side or why they asked for it but there were genuinely people in tears,” Thierry said.
“Olive boxes” will be delivered over the long weekend.
Javiera Ortega received a box last year and has been selected again this year.
“Last year was a hard year with COVID. My husband lost his job and I was a stay-at-home mom,” Ortega said. “I wasn’t expecting to have a full dinner with turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, pie and everything. I have a little daughter, she was not even three at the time, and she was super happy.”
The concept of the project resonated with Ortega.
“I am close to my grandma and I lived with her for years in Chile before I moved here… I wish I could do something like that for my grandma. She is an amazing woman. I look up to her, so I felt a connection with Brianna,” Ortega said.
Something Kelly hoped for.
“Our stories are connecting and that’s what I want to continue.”