2 Leechburg sisters spread kindness, love to strangers for Valentine's Day

Two Leechburg sisters are making Cupid proud.

Sisters Madison and Olivia Chiusano, aka The Kindness Girls, delivered Valentine’s Day-themed treats to the public Friday. Madison is 5, and Olivia is 3.

Dressed in coordinated red outfits and bouncing up and down — a lot — the duo doled out what they call “love” in the form of candy, Valentine’s fortune cookies and notes to unsuspecting shoppers at Sprankle’s Market and passersby along Market Street.

“Madison was upset when she learned that not everyone receives a Valentine,” said their mom, Denise Griffith. “She told me that everyone deserves love and she wanted to hand out a Valentine to everyone she could.”

“Everyone deserves some love,” Madison said.

The girls handed out more than 70 treats during their third year of the kindness outreach. The family pays for the treats.

Their enthusiasm and friendliness didn’t go unnoticed by some of those they encountered.

“I think they’re fantastic, and it brightens up everyone’s day,” said Megan Buzzelli, a clerk at the Leechburg Library. “We need more love in this world.”

Both girls are home-schooled. Their family moved to Leechburg three years ago.

Sprankle’s Market employee Sherry Price received a treat from The Kindness Girls, a name their mother said was inspired initially by National Kindness Week.

“I love their enthusiasm. It’s very exiting,” Price said. “It’s a great thing to teach little ones about giving.”

Griffith said her daughters had one especially touching encounter Friday with a stranger.

“The girls gave Valentines to a lady, and she started crying,” Griffith said. “She told us it had been 15 years since she received her last Valentine, since her husband had died.”

Griffith said her girls were out greeting people for about two hours Friday.

“Madison was sad when it was over, and Olivia was just excited in general,” Griffith said. “She enjoyed meeting people.”

The Kindness Girls plan to return this spring with additional activities promoting kindness.

“Madison has been collecting rocks and plans to paint them and hide them in the borough for people to find,” Griffith said. “And they want to hand out candy-filled Easter eggs.”

Griffith said originally her daughters were going to participate in bi-monthly kindness-themed activities in town.

“Until today, the girls were forced to put a hold on their kindness due to covid,” Griffith said. “It’s very important to instill kindness in my girls. Now everyone is masked and this pandemic has changed everything completely.”

“The girls want to show kindness and pass it on.”