Publisher QA3 - UPP Test Chicagoans come to the rescue of woman whose Christmas tree was not delivered: ‘I was just overwhelmed with people’s kindness’

Chicagoans come to the rescue of woman whose Christmas tree was not delivered: ‘I was just overwhelmed with people’s kindness’

December 23, 2020

By Jeremy Ross

Uncredited - hogp, Scotts Valley Police Department

In this photo provided by the Scotts Valley Police Department is a figure of Bigfoot that officers found on a roadway in the mountains north of Santa Cruz in Scotts Valley, Calif., Thursday, Nov. 12, 2020. The Scotts Valley Police Department says it was a little banged up but will be returned to its rightful place at the Bigfoot Discovery Museum. The Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office had urged people to keep their eyes peeled for the 4-foot-tall wooden statue after it was stolen from outside the tiny museum in nearby Felton on Monday.

Chicago (WBBM) — A Chicago woman is part of the most fragile population: mostly stuck inside with a compromised immune system.

Her Christmas tree was stuck in the mail. CBS 2 reported on her story and people responded with offers to help. CBS 2’s Jeremy Ross reports on one couple’s selfless delivery. She said at least eight strangers reached out. Those eight found one woman’s internet or physical mailbox, but a handful of her packages were not as lucky.

CBS 2 profiled Tahirah Akins mail miscues last week. The USPS said at the time it couldn’t find her address. That resulted in a frustrating cycle of non-deliveries. While health complications from lupus and recovering from COVID-19 keep her homebound, one of the prized packages languished in limbo: a Christmas tree.

“Despite not receiving the tree that I ordered, I was just overwhelmed with people’s kindness,” Akins said.

“It just seemed sad and wrong,” said Todd Lindberg. “I’m always watching the news and I said we should do something about that.”

“Definitely in the Christmas spirit, seeing how much people wanted me to have that simple tree,” Akins said.

Todd Lindberg and wife Latoya donated a tree. T he strangers found Akins on Facebook and found they had something in common.

“We found she was an alum of Kenwood Academy High School,” Latoya said.

Akins says since CBS 2 ran her story, two missing packages arrived at her home. But a handful remain missing, including her originally ordered Christmas tree.

USPS said packages have been delayed or issues have occurred due to skyrocketing demand because of the pandemic. The postal service said this has been resolved and the delivery station knows the customer is at the address, so there should not be any further issues.

At least not for this one individual.

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.