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Making A Difference With Kindness |
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Business owner has a vision for Enfield’s Thompsonville sectionBy Kala Kachmar
Journal InquirerPublished: Monday, April 5, 2010 10:44 AM EDT ENFIELD CT. — Anthony Quinones wants to make a difference.
With passion and a vision for the Thompsonville, Quinones has been trying to make the section of town a better place, one good deed at a time.
“You don’t need a lot of money to make an impact in Thompsonville,” said Quinones, who’s known around town as “Tony Q.”
A small business owner in Thompsonville, Quinones runs a Web site design, hosting, and management services business, Kaizen Websites, as well as a few other smaller Internet-based companies.
Once or twice a month, Quinones gives someone he meets in Thompsonville $20 to $30 and brings the person to a local grocery store. With the money, the two fill a box with fresh fruit to bring to the Angelo Lamagna Activity Center.
Children at the center usually flock to the fruit, he said.
Quinones said he does this so other people can realize how good it feels to do something good for someone else, even if it’s something small.
“It doesn’t take a lot of money to do these kinds of things,” said Quinones, who lives in Thompsonville.
He said doing things such as surprising an elderly neighbor with a basket of food or bringing fresh fruit to the youth center might bring back the neighborly compassion that society has lost.
He said if people engaged in even small acts of kindness, others might join in.
“I sense that people want to change,” he said.
Quinones said he wants to focus on trying to improve the condition of Thompsonville. He said there isn’t even an outdoor basketball court that children in Thompsonville can use and get fresh air.
Quinones has started a Web site where people can share their ideas and opinions about the community using multi-media in a nonpolitical fashion. He has also posted videos and photos of town events at the site www.thompsonville.tv
He said another key to helping locally is to buy things from local businesses, which then put the money back into the community through jobs and making donations. Unlike chains stores, the money doesn’t end up at the top of the corporation, he said.
In February, Quinones rented a van and brought people from town to a free dental clinic in Middletown. He did the same thing the year before.
“Little things like that are things small business owners like myself can do,” he said.
Quinones also is helping Rev. Sam Swift of the Ministries of Love and Hope Church in Thompsonville set up an after-school computer lab that will offer basic programs for students.
The lab is going to be in a side building located next door to the church, Quinones said.
He said he’s helped secure a good deal on a universal license to use a Web service that provides help for students having trouble in school through the use of entertaining videos. He’s also serving as an adviser for the project, and will provide funds if needed.
Quinones said people don’t need to be a part of a larger organization to help out.
“A lot of people just need self-esteem,” he said.
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