I love, love love this story. I really can’t expand on it. You just have to read it for yourself.

Mystery pair at diner spark cascade of giving

(click on title to read full article)

I love this time of year.

P.S.

Want to give more? Try this on for size:

Four years ago, I was having an email conversation with Jan Crowley about making a collab together sometime.  Eventually we started chatting and talking about how much we loved the digi community and the way that it seems everyone is so giving.  Wouldn’t it be great if we could harness that giving and every month concentrate on raising funds with our work?  And wouldn’t it be awesome if we could get industry leading designers to guest with us every month?  Yeah, that’d be awesome we thought – but how could we do it?  A few months of planning and preparation and Songbird Avenue came to be.

Over the years we have seen the community come together and rally for amazing causes.  We have in our three and a half years of being part of the digital community raised nearly $50,000 for all sorts of charities from Toys for Tots to Autism Speaks to the Fisher Foundation.  Your support has been so key to all of that success and we truly appreciate it.

However, it is time to say goodbye to Songbird Avenue.  While we love what we do here, Jan and I feel that we aren’t able to give it the attention it deserves anymore and so after this month, September 2010, we will be shutting the site down.  Customer service will continue on a limited basis after this month through the end of the year, just in case you’ve misplaced downloads and whatnot.

Thank you so much for the years that you have given us by being part of this incredible website.  It has been a wonderful, heart warming experience that I know I will always treasure.  We wish you all the best and hope you have incredible journeys that take you farther in life than you ever imagined.