It was Easter Sunday 2013, and rain was pouring from the gloomy sky. As Franklin Elementary School teacher Leon Lewandowski was making his usual trip to CVS that day, he came across a strange situation — one that did not seem to represent the cheery Easter spirit.
Outside of the drugstore sat three young adults huddled together underneath the store’s awning. Each of these individuals had a unique look: Tattoos and piercings covered their bodies, and a coat-hanger-like piercing hung from one man’s nose. Although they appeared somewhat intimidating, he wondered what their stories were and why they were stranded in the rain on Easter Sunday. As he shopped, he could not shake this bleak image from his head — it was Easter, after all. Rather than going about his shopping trip and neglecting the individuals outside, he decided to embrace the holiday spirit by purchasing each of them a chocolate-covered Easter egg. When he presented them with his purchase, their faces lit up with gratitude.
“The Easter Bunny had difficulty finding you this morning and asked me to deliver these candies if I saw you,” Lewandowski recalls saying as he handed each of them a chocolate egg. One of them responded to Lewandowski's act of kindness with “God bless you,” but their true sense of appreciation came from their beaming smiles. Lewandowski prided himself in the fact that he had made a difference, no matter how insignificant, in these people’s lives, and from that point on, he was hooked. Doing a good deed for the individuals outside of CVS on Easter Sunday was just the beginning.
