Nl Mud Junkies

I first heard of the Mud Junkies when I put out a post for "Operation Late Christmas". I was trying to put together a Christmas surprise for a family that didn't have a holiday because they couldn't afford one and when it got posted to another kindness group "Wink" ,Shawn Johnson jumped on board and brought it to his group of men who within a few hours had raised enough money to buy a big screen smart  tv and $650.00 for this family.
           I had the pleasure of meeting him when we went to deliver our secret surprise to the unsuspecting family. He didn't say much , and was too shy to speak as Dana went live to talk about the "mission"  He wasn't there for the acknowledgement but to help. The emotions ran high that day , tears were shed and we left there knowing we had made a difference in someones life.We had created a memory they will never forget.
           The next day I received a message from Shawn saying he couldn't get this family out of his mind and wondered what he could do ( I could almost hear the wheels turning) . He asked if they would take a free couch, then he offered a free bed, and then on top of that he wondered if they would let his group go in and paint their house. I was shocked at the kindness for this family, so you can only imagine the shock for this family. Some people go through life not ever seeing someone care enough to lend a helping hand but this wasn't one of those times.
         Paint day arrived and I had car trouble, they went out of their way to pick me up and made sure I got home. When I walked in the family's home at 8:15 am I was shocked to see the buzz of activity already happening from these men, couch and chair were taken out and to the dump, the painting was started..wow..they were on a mission. I figured this would have been an all day process but they were so efficient and worked so well together that after roughly 3 hours we were sat down in a newly painted living room with new furniture eating pizza, laughing and feeling good at what was accomplished..awaiting the return of the family that was sent off for the day.

 

The kindness for this family hasn't ceased to be nothing short of amazing. To see this group rally for a family is need is something I will never forget.. the hashtag #kindnessofstrangers must have been made for them.

I heard back from the mom yesterday and she mentioned a surprise on her doorstep

 "They rang the doorbell , pounded on the door then ran, the boys just about had a heart attack from the noise, then they look out the door and see someone jumping the snowbank at the bottom of the driveway, and jump into a truck and take off.....D said if he hadn't seen Mud Junkies stickers on the bags he wouldn't have known if it was safe to bring the stuff in" (included in the surprise was food, towels and other household items)..

Shawn Johnson is no stranger when it comes to being kind .  May 2016   along with Eric Weldon and his wife Stacey Lahey , he organized " The Ride for Quinn" ,which raised  $46,000.00 the first year to help Quinns Mom . In 2017 Shawn created the Nl Mud Junkies and they all wanted to join in and  continue to do this ride to raise money to help others going through a difficult time,this year will be their 4th year.

The Mud Junkies came to the rescue of the Breastless and Beautiful Campaign when  they helped transport this group into the woods for a photoshoot

I asked Shawn why  the Mud Junkies help others "I think they got the bug from the Ride for Quinn... these guys would drop everything in a heartbeat to help someone.. they're not only my friends they're my brothers"