The kindness of friends

(Nearly 100 people show up at Picasso's Pizza in Warwick, RI to lend support to a friend who was seriously injured in a workplace fire.)

There's so much bad in the world, it's nice to be part of something that's just plain good.

Over the weekend, we packed up the family Camry again for a road trip. This time it was to my hometown in Little Rhody, where my brother and his wife worked hard at organizing a fundraiser for one of his best friends who last month suffered serious injuries in a workplace fire. The road ahead is long for he, his wife and adorable one-year-old son Aidan, as doctors have told him that after numerous surgeries he will be out of work for up to a year.

The term sounds extremely cliche, but it really was heartwarming to see how many people showed up for a $10-dollar-per-ticket all-you-can-eat pizza buffet to help this young family. It must have been nearly a hundred, and they came from all corners of his life - family, friends, high school football and baseball players that he and my brother have coached, even strangers.

My sister-in-law pitched the idea to local businesses and, in the end, nine of them donated items to be raffled off. (Being a coffee addict, I put most of our 60 raffle tickets in for the D&D gift basket, and won!) The event was held at Picasso's Pizza, and the owner donated all food and drinks. And kudos to him because, I have to tell you, it was downright scary to watch those hungry teens circling the buffet table time after time like vultures, knocking down old ladies and waiting with plates in hand for the pizzas to be brought out.

(My brother and his wife with Aidan at the fundraiser.)

When all was said and done, my brother and his wife raised over $1,500 for his friend's family. They didn't want thanks or fanfare, and so they will surprise him with the check when he returns home from the hospital this week.

But what's more is that they restored my hope that when people are in trouble, others will help answer the call.