Several groups of women in the local area have been leaving gifts, notes and drinks for others in order to lift their spirits.
Baskets filled with drinks, snacks and other gifts have been appearing on the porches of women throughout the local area.
The baskets are the result of three local groups working to spread cheer in a dark time.
It started with a group called Wine and Friends: Maysville Area, which was formed by three women who wanted to lift the spirits of the women in Maysville.
The premise behind the group is to post information about one’s self, including favorite drinks and snacks, along with an address. The admins will go through the posts and assign the person to a “dasher” who will purchase items and put together a basket that will be dropped off at the original poster’s house.
It is all anonymous.
Shayla Jones, one of the group’s creators, said she had the idea after being invited to a similar one.
“I got invited to join another group similar to ours, but there were thousands of people, so I thought ‘I wish someone make something like that for our area,’ and the next thing I knew I was creating a page. Kari commented on my post and agreed and the vision became a reality,” she said.
There are now nearly 600 women in the group — a response Jones said she was not expecting.
“The response we’ve received from this can’t really be put into words, the overwhelming support and love everyone is receiving makes it all worth it — just being able to brighten each other’s day during these rough and uncertain times,” she said.
According to Jones, some of her favorite parts of the group are when people make posts about their adventures delivering gifts.
“Some of my favorite moments are when we get stories about how people get caught by their wine sister, or when people offer to dash more than one person, it really warms my heart,” she said.
Kari Stahl, another administrator on the page, said she joined up when Jones first started talking about it, because it seemed like a good way to spread happiness.
“I saw Shayla make a Facebook post about how cool it would be do a wine group but just for our locals. I commented on her post and said it would be really cool and I would help in any way. Within two hours of that post we had a group going and had to quickly come up with how we were going to make it work,” she said. “My favorite moments are the funny ones. We get to see pictures of kids helping their moms or of the goofy costumes they are wearing to protect their identity. It’s so much fun.”
Ashley Black, the third administrator of the group, said she enjoys seeing all of the love spread by the group.
“My favorite part of the group is the love, unity, empowerment and encouragement that we are silently giving one another,” she said.
A second group, formed by Liz Earick, is called 3 Cheers My Friends NKY. The group is open to anyone and dashers can choose to be anonymous or leave a note when their name behind.
“I started the group to bring some cheer to friends and neighbors,” Earick said. “It’s depressing not to get to see our friends and its a fun way to get out of the house while maintaining social distance.”
According to Earick, there are several Augusta and Bracken County residents involved in the group, with many from Mason County now also joining. She hopes to see it continue to grow.
“Anyone can join in the fun,” she said. “You just need a friend to invite you since it is private since we are sharing our addresses. The more the merrier. We have cheered with all kinds of things; coffee, tea, wine and even Lysol spray.”
Earick also said her favorite moments from the group come when people share that they have been “cheered.”
“My favorite things have been when someone says they were having a bad day and we brightened it by cheering them,” she said. ”Also, when Theresa Barnes and Cindy Hopping were jumping with excitement when they got cheered.”
The third group is called Maysville – Wined.
It was formed by Shelby Haggard.
“I feel that “wining” is something specific to women,” she said. “I think during these tough times everyone deserves to be lifted up even if it’s by a $10 gift on your door step.”
She said the response to the group has been overwhelmingly positive.
“I love that everyone is participating. The support among the women of Maysville is overwhelming and beautiful,” she said.
According to Haggard, one of the best parts about the group is seeing people including children in the baskets.
“I love the fact that I’ve seen photo’s posted of “wine baskets” that do not contain wine, sometimes it’s a favorite soda or if the person mentions they have children it contains activities for the children. I feel that children have been forgotten during this time, and there’s just something about another woman reaching out and gifting your children that can truly truly uplift a mother,” she said.
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