2nd family says it received anonymous donation

Friday, February 10, 2012

Sharing appears to have been the theme in Bedford this Christmas. After reading in an earlier edition of the Bedford Journal about the anonymous $100 donation received by the Roberts family, another family has come forward with a similar tale of unexpected generosity.

A few days before Christmas, Joceline Boucher was picking up groceries at the Bedford Stop & Shop. By the time she finished her errands, it was about 9:30 p.m.

Because of the late hour, Boucher was focused on loading her groceries into the car quickly and didn’t notice the envelope on her windshield until she got in the car.

At first, she thought the envelope bore tidings of a different nature. “Don’t tell me somebody hit me and left a note,” she said, recalling her initial reaction.

To her surprise, the envelope contained not an apology and insurance information but $110 in cash and the following note:

“Please accept this little anonymous gift. We have plenty and wanted to share this holiday season. May you and your family have a merry Christmas.”

“I think it honestly changed my outlook on the whole holiday,” Boucher said. “It really makes you stop and think about what the holidays are for,” adding how it took the focus off everything she had to do and recentered it on the giving nature of the season.

Boucher is a paraprofessional at the Jewett Street Elementary School in Manchester and her husband, Ben, owns his own business. “We’re certainly not needy,” she said.

They decided to pay it forward. “I have co-workers who have to worry about their rent. Even $20 is a help at that time of year,” she said, explaining how she divided the donation among them.

The CVS where the Roberts family received their donation is in the same vicinity as the Stop & Shop and, according to Boucher, the handwriting on her note is very similar to that on the Roberts’ note, a picture of which was published in the Bedford Journal.

Boucher believes the donations may have been left by the same individual, which makes the experience that much more astonishing. “I can’t even believe this, that someone would just do this,” she said. “These people must have one big heart.”

Teresa Santoski can be reached at 594-6466 or tsantoski@nashuatelegraph.com.