A Florida mom is going viral on social media after a simple act of kindness turned into something so much bigger.
After moving into her new condo, Danielle Wierzbowski noticed neighborhood kids playing outside and wanted to help her son feel welcomed. She introduced him to the group and offered snacks and water, something that quickly became a daily routine.
Wanting to make the hot summer days more fun, she added a few blow-up pools, and that moment, shared in a video, sparked an outpouring of support that eventually led to an Amazon Wishlist from viewers inspired by her generosity. What started as a way to help her child fit in has now created a tight-knit community and a summer the kids won’t soon forget.
Single Mom Brings Neighborhood Together For An Iconic Summer
Danielle, mom of two, moved into her new condo in January. She immediately noticed that the neighborhood was filled with kids playing outside.
“Being a child from the 90s myself, that’s something I miss for our kids these days that doesn’t happen often anymore,” Danielle told The Blast exclusively. “I wanted my son, being new to the neighborhood, to be welcomed and fit in so I went downstairs with him to help them all get introduced and brought some snacks down to see if anyone wanted one.”
She explained that it’s hot outside “95 percent of the year” where she lives in Florida, and told the kids “if they are ever outside and want water and snacks that they can always come to my door.” From that day on, the kids visited Danielle almost daily.
Danielle also shared that she never thought her videos would grab so much attention.
“What started as a hot summer day and blew up a couple pools has turned into one of the biggest blessings in some of our lives,” she told The Blast. “Not to mention, instead of one fun pool day, we are now getting to experience the summer of a lifetime all because of the kindness of strangers on the internet across the world.”
Danielle Provided Blow Up Pools For The Neighborhood Kids
Danielle shared a video on Instagram captioned, “The kids in my neighborhood came and asked if I could blow up the pools for them because it was hot out. We hit a few road bumps, but they were determined and with all of our powers combined, we made it happen!!”
After telling the kids they had to find a way to blow the pool up, they all sprinted into action. The video quickly got more than 280,000 likes, nearly 7,000 comments and reposts, and 5,281 shares.
Many people shared their thoughts in the comment section.
“Thank you for being a trusted adult. You will see them 10-15 years from now doing great things because someone like you was kind to them!” one person wrote. Another said, “I’m so happy! The kids are outside again it like the 90s all over again.” Many others asked how they can help.
“I love this! Them babies wanna be OUTSIDE instead on the game inside! I love this. Please let me know if you need another pool or pump! How can we send you some snacks for them babies?” one person shared. Another added, “Girl please post an Amazon wish list! I will support the cause, these kids need a sprinkler and slide and slide too. You are the neighborhood second mama- be proud of that. They love you.”
The Ultimate Summer Fun Amazon Wishlist Happened
Danielle quickly took note of all the comments asking her to start an Amazon Wishlist so she decided to create one and add the link to her Instagram bio.
“Within the matter of a day, I had 50, 60, 80 packages showing up to my house every day. Since we were getting so many things so fast, I quickly switched the Wishlist to back-to-school items and a GoFundMe so that we can provide the kids with fun, lasting experiences over the summer and not just materialistic items,” she said. “We set the GoFundMe at $5,000 and within a matter of three days, it was over $6,000.”
She explained that living in a condo, it wasn’t the most ideal situation to have hundreds of packages delivered regularly, so she took the Wishlist down. She also took the GoFundMe down at one point “because we reached our goal and we don’t want to be greedy because we have more than what we need.”
“Since we have so many donations, we are now donating to school’s PTAs, churches, other families in the community and we are currently looking into donating to women and children’s shelters and children’s homes in our community,” she added. “Since we weren’t expecting this to blow up at all, much less so quickly, we weren’t prepared. So we want to be more intentional with what is being donated so we are taking the time to make everything more structured and intentional moving forward.”
Danielle Won’t Let Anyone Rain On Their Parade This Summer
While it seems that everyone in the neighborhood is excited for the kids and newfound community, there was one person who tried to squash the fun. One resident told the kids that they needed to move the pool away from her building.
“I had already gone back inside at this point so they came and got me. I don’t want to go into too much detail because she doesn’t deserve the air time but she wasn’t very pleasant at all,” Danielle said. “She actually went over to the pools and started deflating them and letting the water out of them while the kids were sitting in them. I called the cops and they couldn’t do anything since we are a complex community, we would have to go through our front office to solve anything.”
In order to avoid any further drama and put a damper on all the fun, they decided to move the pools to the other side of the complex, far away from her building.
Danielle shared the story on IG and many shared their thoughts.
“If she wants a private backyard she controls BUY A HOUSE! Otherwise, TOUCH GRASS AND LET KIDS BE KIDS,” one person wrote. Another said, “Children playing and laughing is music to my ears!! Way better than watching them getting sucked into devices!! You are the neighborhood’s hero!!”
Tons Of Gratitude For The Fun Summer
Danielle shared some videos on IG that show just how appreciative the kids are for all the summer fun they are receiving. She told The Blast that the kids are “some of the kindest, most grateful, funny kids I’ve ever had the pleasure of hanging out with” and credits that for how they are being raised.
“I know the other parents haven’t been posted in the videos but they are now fully aware and fully involved in every aspect and every move being made that has to do with everything going on,” she shared. “We are all deciding how to split everything, where everything is being donated, and where the money from the GoFundMe is being spent.”
In all, there are five families involved in decisions, including four single moms and one single dad, and 9 kids from age 2 to 13.
“These are some of the most amazing women I’ve ever met. Most of us knew each other’s kids before we even met each other. I feel blessed to call them my friends now,” Danielle said. “My original vision for my page was a place for single parents who had been through divorce or left a long term relationship to come and be reminded that life is still amazing and we still got it. I had no intentions of it becoming this. But through this, it has brought five single parents together and made us become friends in a way that otherwise may have never happened.”
Danielle’s message to everyone about trying to start a movement in their own community is “it is free to be kind.”
“Even if you can’t give out snacks, getting to know your neighbors costs nothing. You can wave, say good morning, have a friendly conversation,” she said. “Things can blossom from the smallest of gestures. All it takes is stepping out of your comfort zone and just a little bit of kindness and you never know the connections you will make.”
What’s next for this amazing community?
“We have a lot of fun things that are in the works, such as a huge back to school bash where kids will be supplied with all school supplies, shoes, backpacks and much more, trips, and all kinds of stuff. And we plan on keeping everyone updated and bringing all of our new followers and supporters along for the summer fun,” Danielle shared. “We also want everyone to know how much we appreciate the love and support. It’s been amazing to see.”
You can follow along on Danielle’s journey on Instagram. If you want to donate to the cause, check out the “Summer of a Lifetime” GoFundMe page.