What began as a cleanup crew is becoming a kindness crew.
Every week, Susan Imhoff volunteers with Richards Rubbish Roundup, a grassroots effort in Colorado Springs dedicated to picking up trash along local creeks and trails. It’s a simple but powerful act, protecting the environment and helping public spaces thrive.
But the more time Susan spent on those trails, the more she began to notice something else: the people living alongside them. Unhoused neighbors without easy access to food, transportation, or basic supplies. People who are often overlooked, but very much part of the same community.
That shift in perspective sparked a new idea and a new mission.
With support from a $1,000 Kindness Grant, Susan is launching a care package initiative to bring practical, seasonal support directly to those she meets on the trail. Each reusable knapsack will be thoughtfully assembled and filled with seasonal essentials like mosquito repellant, reusable water bottles, cooling towels, snacks, hygiene items, and more. The goal is simple: to meet people where they are, with compassion and care.
Susan isn’t doing it alone. Her fellow volunteers, along with her family, are stepping in to help create and distribute the sacks throughout the upcoming season. Together, they’re creating a ripple of empathy and action, one small meaningful package at a time.
What makes this project so special is not just the supplies, but the story behind it. As Susan shared in her application, she once held quiet judgments about the unhoused community. But that changed through conversation, proximity, and openness. “Before I started volunteering for R3,” she wrote, “I had a prejudice against homeless folks. After personally meeting some homeless people and actually getting to know them and their circumstances, I have changed my perceptions! In a small way, giving them care packages would alleviate some of the stress they live with every day.”
At the TDB Family Foundation, we support efforts that Build Thriving Communities, Amplify Voices of Youth, and foster Pathways to Mental Health Resiliency. This project reflects all three. It brings together a multigenerational team to serve their community with heart, creates new channels of connection and support, and models how kindness can transform not just others, but ourselves.
We’re honored to support Susan’s work and inspired by the ripple she’s creating.
➡️ Want to learn more about Richards Rubbish Roundup? Visit richardsrubbishroundup.org
➡️ Have a small but mighty kindness idea of your own? Apply for a $1,000 Kindness Grant at tdbff.org/kindness-grants
Photo Courtesy of Richards Rubbish Roundup