Omigoodness, Marshfield & Beyond,

Many have said that they have lost faith in humanity, but your kindness and endless support are nothing less than the absolute best of humanity. We are entirely inundated by your love, and are still catching up on your messages! If you aren’t convinced that good exists, please read through the comments of my previous post about our stolen benches – numerous from complete strangers – and know that there are just as many sentiments and offers privately messaged, emailed, texted, and personally delivered today to us at the gym.

They may have “just been benches,” but now: they really are much, much more. SOOO many of you have generously offered to help replace them that if we accepted all the offers, we very well could sit the entire town of Marshfield outside our club! While that would be a dream come true, the reality is social distancing protocols would not allow that…quite yet

In the spirit of the benches and building community, Conor and I want to pay it forward. You have showered us with your love and we need to share it. A friend and member of the club has suggested taking a few of you up on your generosity, but with a twist: we have decided that yes, we would gratefully accept a new bench so that when you come and visit, you have somewhere to rest your legs and know you are wrapped up in a giant hug from our community. And, it will be a permanent reminder of how lucky we are to be surrounded by you. However, we have also decided to raffle the second (or third or fourth…) bench off. With 100% of the proceeds going to the Boys and Girls Club of Marshfield, an organization that has truly helped children and families navigate these challenging times. Stay tuned for info from Emily M. who has kindly decided to spearhead this effort, and please let me know if you are interested in donating said bench(es.) My family will happily paint them as a tribute to and thank you for all you have done for us.

If a raffle isn’t your thing, we get it. Instead, just promise us that you will check on a neighbor, call an old friend, buy a stranger coffee, thank an essential worker, or smile so big that your eyes show it from behind your mask. You all have so much kindness and love to share...we can't be greedy with it.

We are humbled and grateful. We've never felt so excited about the future of our community than we do right now. We've never been more proud of where we have chosen to raise our family. We cannot wait to continue working with you, Marshfield.

With all of our love and gratitude,

Colleen & the rest of the really, really lucky Cooper Family

To read more about the outpouring of support, please visit our Facebook page and see the original post firsthand!