When she needed a blue dress, she turned to Lansdowne’s Buy Nothing Facebook page, writes April Hall for The Washington Post.

The page is devoted to the exchange of free goods and services.

“I’ve seen a stranger help move a dresser, another mow the lawn of a very pregnant woman and a third visit a neighbor’s yard to give advice on building a habitat for insects and animals. There’s even a woman who likes to iron and will smooth out any clothes you bring by her house,” Hall writes.

Her posted request yielded 20 comments—some with photos of a potential dress, some with descriptions.  She had already received a leather couch, a vintage overcoat and soba noodles through the site, and she’s given away items herself.

When Hall moved to Lansdowne in 2006, she found it difficult to meet people. With the Buy Nothing site, she made friends.

“Our Buy Nothing Lansdowne founders, Ramsey Beyer and Amanda Higgins, unquestionably made our community feel much smaller and kinder when they launched it three years ago. It turns out, sometimes people just need an opportunity to be kind,” Hall writes.

Read more about the Buy Nothing Group here.

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