Little girl with a big heart

By Carrie Lundy, DaVita teammate

The company philosophy at DaVita®, the dialysis division of DaVita Healthcare Partners Inc., places great importance on giving back – “spreading ripples” of good through community service and other positive actions. Sometimes that philosophy influences our families, too: When Laura Sanchez-Taylor’s daughter turned 5 years old recently, she received 51 birthday presents – and gave them all away!

“Just before Christmas, my daughter Abby saw a segment on the Disney Channel about a girl who requested shoes for her birthday and donated them to an orphanage in Guatemala,” says Laura, who is an administrative assistant at DaVita Laurel Meadows Home Training in Salinas, Calif. Abby was moved by the story, and asked her mother if she could do the same thing for her birthday in January.

Again as her birthday grew closer, little Abby brought up the idea of wanting to collect and donate shoes to needy children “without moms and dads to get shoes for them.”

“Knowing she was only 4 years old, I repeatedly asked her if she was sure, and if she understood that if she did this, she would not be getting any presents for herself,” says Laura. Abby assured her that she understood and that she didn’t want any presents, only shoes.

Laura researched some local charities and found a foster/adoption agency called the Kinship Center, whose staff loved the idea.

At work, Laura asked her facility administrator (FA) if she could present Abby’s idea to the team. The FA went one step further and announced the project at a regional meeting, whose members donated 31 pairs of shoes (and socks) to the cause and presented Abby with a trophy for her generosity.

So by the time Abby turned 5 in January, her collection had grown to 51 pairs of shoes! She and her mom took them to the Kinship Center, where Laura says the group was “absolutely thrilled” and could hardly believe that such a young child could initiate such an outpouring of giving on her own.

The tiny philanthropist may just be getting started; Abby says she wants to continue donating shoes on her birthdays. For Laura, the ripples of good she’s spreading are continuing through her little daughter, who has already discovered the joy of giving. “I could not be more proud of her,” Laura beams.