On a Mission to Spread Joy

by Holly Stupak

Back in December of 2020, Brittany Scharr was known as the Media Santa Claus. A former waitress who spent years in the restaurant business, she was simply looking to spread a little joy to people in the industry who were suffering during the pandemic and restaurant shutdown. That year she drove around Media during the holidays, dropping off $100 to various service workers. “I just wanted to show people that they were valued and important,” said Brittany. Three years later she was able to turn simple acts of kindness like these into an official non-profit organization called Be the Joy Foundation.

A Delco native, Brittany was born in Media and graduated from Garnet Valley High School and Bloomsburg University, where she earned a degree in Public Relations. After college, she spent over 10 years as a restaurant bartender and manager, which is what sparked her passion to give back to restaurant staff in 2020.

Since 2020, Brittany has been able to raise funds for causes simply by creating a fundraising page on social media. That first year, her goal was to give 12 restaurant service members $100 each for the 12 days of Christmas. Thousands of dollars were donated to her “Christmas Restaurant Staff Support Fund.” Even after the 12 days of giving were over, donations kept pouring in. “I knew that since I had created an outlet for kindness as long as people wanted to continue to give I would continue to give!” she said.

Brittany’s surprise giftings even caught the attention of local and national news stations, and she was featured on 6ABC and PHL17 and on Good Morning America’s website. What sets her mission apart from some other charity organizations is the active engagement of the local community. “What I love about our organization is that we spread joy around our community highlighted by the element of surprise,” Brittany said. All the funds raised have been used for surprise gifts for small business owners and community members. From surprising people at the gas pump and paying for gas, to paying for someone’s groceries at the supermarket and delivering supplies to families in need, all the donations are about bringing joy to someone else.

The foundation’s most recent mission is to pay off student lunch debt in several Delaware County School districts, an idea that came about from chatter on social media. “I noticed a local mom had sparked a conversation about lunch debt on a Facebook page with like-minded residents,” said Brittany. She explained the idea behind it was also due to the fact that the federal government’s free lunch program that began during the pandemic was ending. “We knew that with the program expiring, it would leave many families and school districts left with the financial burden,” she added.

Be the Joy has already worked with several local districts, including Marple Newtown School District (MNSD) to ease the burden for students. Last month Brittany, along with Marple mom Jennifer Dalton Simpson, delivered a check for $4,480.74 to MNSD Superintendent Dr. Tina Kane. The check total not only covers all 273 student lunch debt accounts, but includes $2,000 to be added across 40 accounts to keep them in the green. Be the Joy was also able to donate $1,000 in grocery gift cards for the school to distribute to families going through hardship. “We were able to do this through incredible community support and many local businesses in Marple Newtown who jumped in to support this cause,” Brittany said proudly.

Brittany said the foundation will continue its ride through Delco this spring to pay overdue student lunch accounts and has already donated thousands of dollars to Rose Tree Media and Penn Delco School districts.

Since 2020 Be the Joy has surprised nearly 800 people. “Recently I read a quote that said One act of kindness can’t change the world but it can change the world for one person,” said Brittany. “I fully believe that.” The foundation is continuously coming up with new ideas to surprise and support people. “Our goal is to deliver joy year-round to remind recipients that their community supports them!” To learn more about Be The Joy, visit www.BeTheJoyFoundation.org. N S