Making friends feels magical at times, especially when said friendships are unlikely or unexpected. Like in the case of Sherri Gonzales, entrepreneur, mother of 3, and founder of Sherri’s Girls Empowerment International and All Grown Up. Bored Panda got in touch with Sherri Gonzales for an interview.
Recently, she was shopping for flowers at Home Depot in Commerce City, Colorado. During her journey through the numerous isles, she saw a mother and her daughter out of the corner of her eye. As they were passing by each other in the store, Sherri suddenly overheard the young girl’s voice shouting “Black Lives Matter!”
Making friends feels magical at times, especially when it's unlikely or unexpected
Image credits: sherrisgirlsempowermentintl_
"I was having a bad day and wanted to plant flowers. As I walked from the garden area, I saw Cam and her mom Caasi enter the store. I noticed them because she was standing in the cart. When I turned the corner I heard "BLACK LIVES MATTER" and it was really loud. I immediately turned around to look for her,"explained Gonzales.
4-year-old Camryn was together with her mother Caasi doing some shopping as well when Cam saw Sherri and suddenly decided to express her support. Sherri turned around with tears in her eyes, moved by the solidarity of the kid and thanked her.
This was the beginning of a beautiful and rather spontaneous friendship."I thanked Cam and then we took a picture. After the picture, she noticed my necklace was a Broncos necklace. Cam said she has dreams of being a Bronco's cheerleader one day. I told her, my son DJ Williams use to play for the Broncos," said Gonzales.
Sherri Gonzales recently shared a story of how this 4 y.o. proudly expressed support for her in Home Depot
Image credits: sherrisgirlsempowermentintl_
Sheri thanked her again, but before they parted, Camryn surprised her with yet another super cute thing that many kids are known for. With slight shyness, Cam asked Sherri if she could ask her a question, as explained Sherri:
"I exchanged numbers with Caasi so that she could send me the picture we took. I told Cam to have a great rest of her day and I look forward to seeing the picture of us. As I was getting ready to leave, Cam said 'Can I ask you one more question? Would you like to come over for a sleepover?' That's when I could feel the emotions starting to take over. I said 'Yes, I would love to!'"
That’s so gosh-darn cute, it’s off the cuteness chart!
Sherri was shopping when she passed by Camryn who suddenly yelled "Black Lives Matter!"
Image credits: sherrisgirlsempowermentintl_
Sherri shared the picture and the story on her Instagram, detailing how it all happened and promising that she will definitely have to arrange a playdate with Cam now. “Today was a good day. The youth is going to change the world,” concluded Sherri in her Instagram post.
Being just 4 years old, Camryn already understands why the Black Lives Matter movement is so important. In an interview with CBS Denver, she put it plain and simple: “Because some people are being mean to black people.”
Sherri elaborated that when she heard the young girl shout “Black Lives Matter”, she immediately understood it was said with strength, like she was making a point. She was thankful that Camryn said it while recognizing that Sherri’s life matters too.
"When I heard her voice, I knew she was young, but I didn't know how young. When I saw her, my heart felt warm with joy and happiness that parents of other races are getting it and teaching their children that people of color have had a hard time for a long time and its time to treat them with kindness and respect as you would want to be treated," elaborated Gonzales.
In tears, Gonzales turned around and thanked Cam for her powerful supportive exclamation
Image credits: Camryn Radcliff
Some time later, Camryn and Cassi met up with Sherri to hold a garage sale where all of the proceeds were donated to Sherri’s organization that teams up with local organizations and helps with reusable goods donations, youth programs, volunteering opportunities, among many other amazing things.
"Four days later, I get a call from Caasi. She told me she was having a garage sale and would like to donate all the proceeds to my organization. I told her that would be awesome. I went to the garage sale the first day and there were lots of things to buy and lots of people came out. On Saturday Caasi called to tell me they raised $2,070. and they want to donate all of it to me," explained Gonzales.
The story was soon picked up by a number of news media outlets and went viral. People online loved this, not only praising the child for having the right frame of mind towards humanity, but also the parents for teaching love, kindness, compassion, inclusion, and equality to the kid. It’s moments like this that make many of us feel that the future is in the right hands.
After a brief exchange, the two became best friends with Cam inviting Sherri for a sleepover
Image credits: sherrisgirlsempowermentintl_
Now, before you ask, yes, the sleepover happened, as explained Gonzales: "I spent several hours at her home hanging out. She had lots of questions for me. She wanted to see a picture of my mom, my cat. She even went to change her outfit and found something that looked like my dress. When she came out she said 'I have a dress like Ms. Sherri.'"
Can this kid get any more adorable than this?!
Some time later, Camryn and her mother Caasi joined Sherri's garage sale fundraiser
Image credits: sherrisgirlsempowermentintl_
"When we bring our children home from the hospital, we love them and nurture them to prepare them for school. We send them off to school and they meet lots of kids from different races. They become friends with these other children. Some even stay friends from kindergarten to 12th grade," commented Gonzales.
She continued: "Then we graduate and start our careers and families. Now, you are asking those same children to be mean and kill their friends. Our young people are full of love and peace as we taught them, they are not going to go for that. The youth will change the world with the help of allies."
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