A company set out to provide 100 planting kits. What comes next will make you incredibly proud to be a Houstonian.

These photos are so pure

Just some of the children with their gardening projects. (Photos provided by John Moore Services)

It all started as a seedling of an idea.

It all started with seeds.

A home services company in Houston, John Moore Services, on April 10 announced that it would deliver on that “Moore” name -- and, in the spirit of “Be Moore and Do Moore,” they’d provide 100 free planting activity kits for local children amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The kits would involve contactless delivery, and interested families could apply to receive a kit online.

Cute idea, right?

Fast-forward to May 1, and the company announced its humble little community initiative had far exceeded expectations.

The demand for the kits “surpassed our wildest expectations,” said Don Valentine, president and owner of John Moore Services.

Valentine and his colleagues had no idea they’d get so much interest.

But they embraced it, and when all was said and done, they had ended up distributing more than 5,000 free planting kits across Houston.

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Children are shown with their planting kits or gardening creations.

Although the project is now complete, it’ll touch you to hear how much the company truly enjoyed assembling and passing out the kits.

Everyone got involved, from the office managers to the technicians.

Could all businesses be like this?

It was “a true labor of love,” as Valentine called it, and it served as John Moore Service’s own “Something Good” that it could contribute -- as the coronavirus pandemic continues locally and globally.

“Something Good,” by the way, is a new feature from KPRC and Click2Houston.com, in which we highlight acts of service benefiting the local community. As we navigate these tricky times, it can be easy to lose sight of the goodness in people, but rest assured, it’s there.

“Something Good” highlights the best in humanity.

And John Moore’s “Seeds of Hope” is just what we mean.

As it turned out, people just wanted to get their hands dirty -- they needed a wholesome distraction. And John Moore was more than happy to help.

When the company received more than 3,000 requests in less than 24 hours, did the employees falter?

No. They hunkered down and worked quickly to meet the larger-than-expected demand, build the kits, schedule drop-offs, and provide drive-thru-like services to as many families as possible.

“We wanted to reach out to families and provide them with a fun, learning activity to brighten their days at home,” Valentine said. “Community is so important right now, and we’re grateful to have this opportunity to give back to our fellow Houstonians.”

Below is a video of the company’s response after they were first flooded with all those thousands of responses.

What was once a friendly little project grew into much, much more -- like a seed often does.

The John Moore team said it has really enjoyed receiving countless calls and comments from families expressing their thanks, and the John Moore technicians have loved seeing the children’s happy faces waving and smiling through the window as they made the happy deliveries. A gallery of photos is included above, and you can find more on the company’s Facebook page. You have to flip through them and smile back at these beaming faces.

The free gardening kits contained potting soil, pots, and several vegetable and flower seed packets.