In life, there are times to try to get ahead and times when it's important to stop, look around, and remember what truly matters. One woman has inspired hundreds of people in her community after she did the latter.
Despite running her own coffee shop, this woman put aside her business for a day to help a competitor and friend who had been diagnosed with terminal cancer.
An Instant Friendship
Pixie Adams had been running the Moonlight Coffee House in Portland for a while when she met Dave and Tina McAdams. The couple lived next to the coffee shop, and the trio instantly became friends. So when the McAdams decided to open their own coffee shop, Adams was super supportive.
After that, the business owners often shared tips and advice on how to grow and run their respective shops. They remained friends, despite the fact that they were selling the same thing: coffee.
When Adams learned that Dave, who had beaten cancer twice before, had just received a terminal diagnosis and had about two months to live, she knew she needed to help. After all, she was a breast cancer survivor and knew how hard it all was.
"I thought about what my cancer journey had been like, how hard it was to juggle and balance treatment and time with family and business," she told Yahoo Lifestyle.
Closing Up Shop
Various people in the community wanted to help, especially when Tina quit her full-time job to take over the coffee shop from Dave. However, she also had to spend time with her husband at home, helping him as his health deteriorated.
So Adams decided to host a fundraiser at the McAdams' shop. She closed Moonlight Coffee House for the day and headed over to their spot, The Local Coffee Company, to serve lattes and coffee.
"Sometimes being a community leader means stepping up to show love and support for one of our own — even another local coffee place," Adams wrote in an Instagram post advertising the takeover.
"If you don't know, Dave McAdams has spent years working to support the local Oak Grove and Milwaukie communities through volunteer work, non-profit work, sports coaching, and, sadly, is now in hospice care as he bravely faces a terminal cancer diagnosis," she continued. "And that means their family needs OUR help!"
A Successful Day
On the day in question, Adams donated every single dollar made, including tips and donations, to the couple. She wound up raising more than $4,000 for them — a record day of sales.
"When she offered, we were so honored that she would put her own business on hold for a day to help ours," Tina told InsideEdition.com. "Pixie is well-known in our community for raising awareness and has a very large following. We knew her efforts would not go unrewarded.
The takeover inspired others to help as well. A roaster donated bags of beans called Dave's LovedDeeply Blend to sell, with 100% of the proceeds going to the family. Someone also set up a GoFundMe page that pulled in more than $18,000.
Meanwhile, the hashtag #BeLikePixie surfaced on social media, as people encouraged others to make a difference in their communities the way Adams was trying to do in hers.
"I feel like it's so easy to get caught up in the competition in business," Adams told InsideEdition.com. "I wanted to do something for them that I knew was going to make a difference in more than a superficial way. To me, it will always be community over competition, and friendship over business."
Remembering What Matters
It's so easy to get caught up in our own daily grinds that we forget about what others might be going through. But true community is about showing up and being there for one another, even when we're not asked.
As busy as life gets, it's important to remember to help others when we can. In a community context that doesn't necessarily have to mean a big fundraiser. It could be simple, like supporting a local business over a big chain. Or it could be organizing or participating in a park cleanup, a food drive, or clearing driveways and yards for seniors or new parents.
It's nice to be successful and thrive. But as Adams reminds us all, it feels a lot better to achieve our goals when we're also helping others.
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