08/07/2026
I was asked a question the other day, and it has stuck with me ever since.
This person asked me while we were looking for the items on her child’s school supply list “Why do you do this?”
At first it threw me off and I asked “what do you mean?” And she replied with “this?” “Why do you do this for people if you don’t even know them?”
The truth is… because I know how it feels.
I know what it’s like to have a passion for a sport and want so badly to play, while also knowing your parents simply can’t afford the registration fee.
I know what it’s like to watch your parents work hard every single day just to make sure you have what you need at home and at school.
I know what it’s like to see them work overtime, come home exhausted, and still try to make birthdays and Christmas feel special.
And I know what it’s like when, despite everything they do, sometimes it still isn’t enough.
Not because they didn’t try.
Not because they didn’t care.
But because sometimes life is expensive, bills don’t stop coming, and hardworking families can still find themselves needing a little help.
I was one of those kids.
I was the kid whose parents worked incredibly hard, but there were still times when someone else stepped in and helped pay a fee, brought us school supplies, gave us gifts, or helped provide something we needed.
And as a child, I may not have understood the sacrifice behind those acts of kindness.
But I understand it now.
I understand what it meant for someone to look at our family and choose compassion instead of judgment.
To say, “I can help,” without making my parents feel less than.
To see a child’s need and simply meet it.
Those moments stayed with me.
I will forever be grateful to my parents for EVERYTHING they did for us growing up. They taught us how to work hard, how to keep going when things were difficult, how to appreciate what we had, and how to never be ashamed of an honest struggle.
But more importantly, they taught us love, compassion, humility, and the importance of helping others when we are able.
And I’m grateful for every person who stepped in for us along the way.
Because whether they realized it or not, they weren’t only paying a sports fee.
They weren’t only buying school supplies.
They weren’t only giving a Christmas present.
They were showing a child that people care.
They were giving tired parents a moment to breathe.
They were reminding a family that they weren’t alone.
And they were planting a seed in me.
A seed that grew into the person I am today.
So when I help someone now, I don’t look at them and wonder how they got into that situation.
I don’t ask what they could have done differently.
I remember the little girl I used to be.
I remember my parents.
I remember the people who showed up for us.
And I think, maybe today it’s my turn to be that person for somebody else.
Because sometimes people don’t need judgment.
They don’t need questions.
They don’t need to be embarrassed or made to feel small for needing help.
Sometimes they just need grace.
Sometimes they just need someone to say, “I’ve got you.”
I can never repay every person who helped my family growing up.
But I can pay their kindness forward.
And if helping one child means they get to play the sport they love…
If buying school supplies means one parent can use that money to keep the lights on…
If providing a gift means a child wakes up on Christmas morning feeling remembered…
If one small act gives a hardworking mother or father a little less to worry about that night…
Then it is worth it every single time.
I don’t help because I have everything.
I help because I remember what it felt like when we didn’t.
And I will never forget the people who made sure we still felt like we did. ❤️
Kindness has a way of traveling through generations.
Someone once showed up for my family and I.
Now I get the privilege of showing up for someone else.
That is part of what I want Duarte & Co. to represent.
Yes, we are a business.
But we are also part of a community.
And I never want to become so focused on building a successful business that I forget the people standing around it.
Success, to me, isn’t only about what you build for yourself.
It’s also about what you’re able to do for someone else along the way.
So when someone tells me, “You don’t have to do all of that,” they’re absolutely right.
I don’t have to.
I choose to.
Because I remember the people who chose to help us. ❤️
And maybe the best way I can thank them is by becoming that person for somebody else.
