The Princess and the Unicorn

Generosity knows no age limit—no one is ever too old or too young to be a philanthropist! Thanks to some creativity and thoughtfulness on the part of our Coeur d’Alene thrift store manager, one of IYR’s youngest-ever donors recently learned about the joys of giving in a very personal way.

Keira Beaver and her parents, Michael and Shannon, pulled up to the Coeur d’Alene store to donate household items, including some of Keira’s older toys. But as they unloaded a Barbie airplane, Keira had second thoughts and protested, crying from her car seat. Store manager Sarah Ator tried to cheer the little girl up by offering her a free Ranch Readers book, but the family didn’t have time that day to come in and pick one out.

So Sarah promised Keira a free book the next time she came in, and then took some time to thank Kiera for her generosity. She explained what a wonderful thing Keira was doing by donating her toys to help the other little boys and girls out there whose families could not afford to buy them new toys. Keira perked up- she liked that idea. The tears abated and she asked if Sarah would find her a book about a princess, with unicorns in it, too. Sarah promised to find one and save it for her.

But finding a book with a princess and a unicorn in turned out to be a difficult quest! Sarah and her staff could not turn one up anywhere in the store. Undaunted, Sarah decided to write one. She made up a lovely story, downloaded coloring book pictures of princesses and unicorns to illustrate it, and created a special book just for Keira.

When the Beavers came back to the store a few weeks later, “The Unicorn and the Princess” was a huge hit!

Shannon also took time to add a note: “You really made our day and definitely made Keira’s day as well! Thank you for your amazing thoughtfulness.”

Kudos to Sarah, the Beaver family, and the Coeur d’Alene store team for so creatively helping a very special little girl discover the unexpected rewards of helping others.

Leave a Comment