To admit that you are in trouble is a hard thing to do but the kindness of strangers can sometimes be overwhelming. One mother stepped far outside of her comfort zone and was met with more kindness than she ever could have imagined.

Tyshika Britten and her family have had an extremely tough year and in a last dash of desperation for some help over the holiday she posted a message to Craigslist. It read:

“I am a mother of six, 5 boys and 1 baby girl,” she wrote, explaining that her family was facing eviction from their home in Maryland. “I’m so hurt. I’m trying my best. I pray every day and now I’m begging for help. I know it’s not about the gifts, but they are kids! I’m such a failure right now… please help me.”

And help, people did! A Kindle Fire, a PlayStation 4, stuffed animals, dolls and more flooded in. Someone dropped off a puppy that has now been named Phoenix. Famous people responded too with Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam fame giving $10k saying “I was just so moved by the story and what this mother did for her children,.. I thought those kids must be so proud of their mother for reaching out. That takes a lot of courage.”.

On top of all this a GoFundMe Page was set up raising over $18k!

This is an amazing story, a Christmas this kids will never forget, hopefully not because of the actual gifts but the kindness. Now the family will hopefuly stave off eviction (they now have at least $28k in donations). Hopefully they will sail in the right direction and get strong enough to pass the love back into the community.