Westwood candy store starts a chain of kindness with a gift to a cancer patient
How's this for paying it forward?
A small act of charity last month by a Westwood candy shop became a ray of sunshine for a cancer patient in Hillsdale having a difficult day. That inspired another good deed by a nearby florist — and good vibes for a local yoga class.
“I live in Philadelphia. That’s supposedly the City of Brotherly Love, but I have not seen such brotherly love as I saw out of Westwood,” said Jodie Gold, whose sister-in-law, Beryl Tobin of Hillsdale, is battling lymphoma. “I was taken aback by just how kind people could be.”
It was the week after Christmas, and Tobin was experiencing severe nausea after chemotherapy treatments. She had learned recently from her doctor that lemon-flavored candies could help with her sickness. But her husband, after searching seven local stores, came up empty.
After hearing about the problem, Gold went online and tried searching for candy shops near her sister-in-law.
She found Westwood Candy Company & Gift Shoppe. The bad news: It was five minutes until 5 p.m., closing time at the downtown store. Gold decided to call anyway, hoping the business would have lemon drops and could wait until her brother got there.
Westwood Candy owner Kim Aluotto answered the phone, and Gold explained the situation. Aluotto couldn't keep the store open — she needed to drive her mother to the airport. But she did Tobin and her family one better: Aluotto sent her husband, Anthony, to drive to Tobin’s home to hand-deliver a bagful of lemon sours.
The candy came with a note saying, “Beryl, we hope these help.”
“It was like an out-of-body experience,” Tobin recalled in an interview. “Who does that? Who says that 'we’re leaving to go to the airport, we’re busy, but we’re going to drop these at your house?' It was really out of the goodness of their hearts. They are obviously very special people.”
When Gold called the next day to pay for the candies, Aluotto told her not to worry about it. She just hoped the drop-off had helped Tobin find some relief.
Still wanting to thank Aluotto in some way, Gold called a Westwood flower shop on the same block, Tyrrells Flowers and Gifts. Gold ordered a small arrangement to be sent to the candy store. She was surprised to learn later that after hearing the story, flower store manager Lisa Edmonds had instead put together a larger, more elaborate display with white mums, lilies and roses.
"She was so helpful," Edmonds said of her fellow shopkeeper. "It's great customer service like that nowadays that's hard to come by. When someone goes the extra mile for you, it really can just make your day and remind you how much good there is in this world. It was a wonderful day, and it put a smile on my face to know that people are there to help one another."
Aluotto said she was “blown away” by how much the family appreciated her gesture, since to her, it was a simple way to help a person in need.
“When the flowers showed up, I got goosebumps because they were being so nice,” she said. “I’m more than happy to do that for anybody, but I’m happy it worked out for her. It shows that you don’t have to make grandiose gestures to touch someone, especially since you never know what the other person is going through at the time.”
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Tobin said the story had touched not only her and her family, but others with whom she shared it. She writes journal entries about her cancer treatment progress on a website called Caring Bridge, which is run by a nonprofit that allows people facing various medical conditions to share their journeys. Since reading the details online, many people have reached out to Tobin to say they’re going to visit Westwood Candy to thank the owners for the act of kindness.
Tobin, who's still undergoing chemotherapy, was especially proud when her instructor in a Zoom chair yoga class that she attends decided to read her story to the rest of the students.
“For me to hear my words was so powerful,” Tobin said. “She used the lesson throughout the hour of class, and I felt an emotion that I don’t know if I ever felt before. It was really very powerful.”
Stephanie Noda is a local reporter for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
Email: noda@northjersey.com
Twitter: @snoda11
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Bergen candy shop starts chain of giving with gift to cancer patient
