Brighten Your Day

A Mother's Tearful Message About An Act Of Kindness At Party City Launches Viral Challenge

March 12, 2021

A small act of kindness by an employee at Party City made a little boy's entire night and brought his mother to tears.

Natasha Kable Fogle

Natasha Kable Fogle said in a video message on Facebook that she took her 2-year-old son, Grayson, to Party City in Martinsburg, West Virginia, to get Valentine's Day items for school.

While in line, the cashier engaged in a conversation with Grayson, and then gave him a free balloon.

Through her tearful Facebook post, Fogle wanted to connect with the cashier to thank her for what she had done.

But what she didn't realize was that the community would take it and turn it in a way to spread more kindness to others, dubbing it the "Yellow Balloon Challenge".

A local law firm kicked off the #yellowballoonchallenge by sharing Fogle's post and explaining the rules.

"Say hello to a stranger, shovel a neighbor’s driveway, pay for the car behind you at dunkin donut .... just make someone else smile," Catrow Law PLLC wrote.

The firm paid $100 toward a stranger's account at Meals on Wheels and then challenged a local boutique to "keep the yellow balloon challenge going."

Studio M Boutique accepted the challenge and donated 10% of its sales one night to a client who had been battling cancer.

"Studio M Boutique knocked it out of the park tonight when they accepted our challenge, made a generous donation to a cancer patient and the challenged everyone on their live sale tonite," Catrow Law wrote in an update.

Many others have accepted the challenge, including the owner of a local restaurant, TJ's Pit Stop, committing to donating to The Boys and Girls Club.

Fogle said this was never her intention, although she is blown away by the response. Her hope is that they can "keep the kindness going and spread that feeling around to the rest of the world."